No matter who your target audience is, there’s a good chance that you can find them on social media. There are over 4.8 billion people on social media, over half the world’s population. The key is how to reach them. This is where social media marketing can be especially effective.

But if you’re not sure where to get started on social media marketing, it can help to consider different content pillars. Content pillars are 3 to 5 topics that you rotate to give your social media marketing variety while remaining consistent with your brand. Need help thinking of content pillars? Here are some of our top tips:

#1 – Create a Web Map For Your Industry or Niche

Consider your niche in the industry. Maybe you run a local pizza restaurant, or maybe you have an online store selling plus-size punk fashion. Keep this at the center of your map. Then branch out with other topics that relate to your brand. For instance, if you’re a plus-size punk fashion brand, some topics might include:

• Punk culture and the history of punk culture
• Fashion
• Body positivity
• Maybe even music, as music is a big part of the punk scene.

These can become your content pillars. You can create social media posts within these topics to keep your platforms from becoming one-dimensional while still staying within your brand.

#2 – Look At What Your Target Audience Is Interested In

Your social media marketing should always be relevant to your target audience. So if you’re trying to come up with content pillars, consider what your target audience is talking about. Make a list of some of the topics that you see come up frequently. Consider the 3-5 topics that are most relevant to your brand. When you have a short list that is relevant to both your brand and your target audience, you have a list of potential content pillars.

#3 – Avoid Too Many Promotion Posts On Social Media

Social media can be a great place to raise awareness of your brand and promote new events, products, or services. But be cautious not to spend too much time on promotions. When you do, it may leave your followers feeling as though your social media accounts are nothing more than a sales platform.

Consider the 80/20 rule: 20% promotion while the remaining 80% can be engaging content based on the interests of your target audience. The more you’re able to engage the interests of your followers, the more impactful your promotions will be when you do make those posts.

#4 – Find Out Who and Where Your Target Audience Is

Your content pillars may need to vary somewhat from platform to platform. For instance, on TikTok, you’re more likely to bring in Gen Z and Gen Alpha viewers who are looking for a sense of humor and trendy topics. On LinkedIn, you’re going to have mostly professional followers. If you have both LinkedIn and TikTok, you may need to change your content pillars from one to the other.

But also consider whether you need both platforms in the first place. Is your audience likely to be on both platforms? If not, which one are they more likely to use? It’s better to be active on a few effective social media platforms than to spread yourself too thin across all of them.

#5 – Make Your SMM Content Pillars Consistent With Other Content Pillars

Do you have a website? A blog? Then, you’re likely already making content to draw traffic to that website. You may already have a few content pillars you use on your blog regularly. The pillars you utilize on social media may not need to be exactly the same, but they should be consistent with those used on your blog. Your social media accounts and your blog should have the same voice and clearly come from the same brand. So if you have a blog or website, it might be a good idea to go through the content pillars you already use that you could bring to social media. The more overlap, the better.

#6 – Schedule Your Content Strategically

Once you have your content pillars, make sure that you schedule your content strategically. On social media, more than ever, your content needs to be topical. Create a social media calendar where you can plan ahead for holidays or for certain events or times of year relevant to your brand. You can choose the content pillars that would make the most sense based on the time of your post. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for any news within those pillars so that you’re not constantly sharing outdated information.