The Future of Effective Branded Content Strategy

Creating an effective content strategy is a vital part of any marketing campaign. However, it can take time to figure out where to begin.

One approach is to use a content pillar strategy. These are a network of keywords and content pieces that interlink.

What is a Content Pillar?

A content pillar is a group of related topics a brand focuses on when publishing posts. It can help create a better structure for your content and help readers digest the information you share.

A good content pillar should cover various topics your audience is interested in and align with your business goals. Customer questions, social media activity, and buyer personas can help you uncover these critical topics.

You can also use these insights to develop a strategy for your pillars. For example, if you’re a law firm that specializes in bankruptcy-related cases, a good topic could be “how to file for bankruptcy.”

Once you have a clear idea of the topics your audience is interested in, research potential subtopics to build your content pillars. It can be a fun and data-driven process, but it will take some time.

For example, a food blogger can create a pillar based on different countries and various popular dishes. They can then create blog posts about the most famous foods in each country and post them on their social media accounts.

Another significant pillar is the How-To pillar, which seeks to educate and empower your audience by explaining how to accomplish a goal. This pillar content type is perfect for beginners and experts, as it provides a step-by-step guide to the process.

How Do I Create a Content Pillar?

Creating content pillars is simple and a great way to keep your branded content strategy focused on suitable topics. The key is to choose a handful of pillars that align with your core brand message and values.

Ideally, your pillars will also be topical and relevant for the audiences you serve. It is critical to keep your branded content valuable and search engine-friendly. Pillars are the foundation of your content marketing strategy. They help you create a consistent and cohesive brand image, drive engagement, and increase authority on social media.

Before you can start writing pillar content, you need to know your audience and their pain points. It will help you develop a strategy that aligns with your brand and values and allows you to focus on topics that resonate with your target audience.

Once you have identified a topic important to your audience, you can start brainstorming ideas for a pillar content strategy. Ideally, you will have three to five pillars that you will use to create and amplify content across social media consistently.

The number of pillars will depend on your company size and the breadth of your product or service offerings. However, having a maximum of five pillars is generally ideal for most small-to-medium-sized businesses.

When creating a pillar content strategy, it is essential to consider the search intent of the pillar page. It will help you decide how granular you should get and whether or not to include related expertise within the pillar page.

As you write your pillar content, include links to the relevant core theme and related topics within the pillar. It will keep your pillar content fresh and up-to-date and help you maintain high search rankings for relevant keywords.

What are The Benefits of a Content Pillar?

Pillars, the subsequent development in effective branded content strategy, provide you with a tactical structure for consistently producing the proper kind and quantity of content.

Pillars help you create a strong brand voice that your audience will be familiar with and connect to your company’s core values and purpose. They also make it easier for search engines to index and rank your content – because they’re anchored around a central topic.

The first step in deciding on your content pillars is understanding your target audience – their pain points, what they’re looking for, and how you can help them solve those problems. You can use buyer personas for this or take a deep dive into the types of content that appeal to your different audiences.

Once you’ve chosen the pillars you want to focus on, it’s time to start ideating content ideas to help fulfill your goals. These might be based on internal data you want to showcase, industry trends, keyword research, or other factors – but they should all align with your pillar strategy.

Expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EAT) are all important factors for Google – they’re looking for content created by specialists with extensive knowledge of the topic. By developing a pillar page and a content cluster focusing on a specific topic, you’re showing that your site is an authority in the industry, and Google will reward you with higher rankings for these pages.