Content pillars: how to define your brand’s social media topics
Why are some brands recognizable from a single post, even without a logo? Because they have clear editorial guidelines: a consistent way of speaking, recurring topics, and a promise they keep post after post.
These guidelines are the second building block of a social media strategy, right after your goal and your audience. Here’s how to define them.
What are editorial guidelines?
Your editorial guidelines are the rules behind everything you publish:
- Positioning: what you want people to remember about you, in one sentence.
- Brand voice: expert, warm, straightforward, playful… and how casual or formal you sound.
- Content pillars: the main topic families you cover.
- Boundaries: the topics you stay away from and the words you never use.
- Visual identity: colors, fonts, photo style.
What is a content pillar?
A content pillar is a recurring theme that serves a specific goal. Three to five pillars is enough: fewer and you go in circles; more and you spread yourself thin.
The golden rule: every pillar should move your customer closer to buying. A pillar that entertains without ever bringing people closer to your offer is a hobby, not a pillar.
Five content pillar examples that work for most businesses
- Expertise: tips, mistakes to avoid, explainers. Goal: get discovered and show what you know.
- Behind the scenes: how things are made, your team, your process, a day in the life. Goal: build closeness and trust.
- Proof: testimonials, before-and-afters, results, case studies. Goal: remove doubts.
- Offer: products, services, what’s new, answers to objections. Goal: drive action.
- Point of view: your beliefs and your take on your industry. Goal: stand out.
Adapt them to your business: a coffee shop will talk about its beans, menu and seasons; a consulting firm about its methods and client results.
How to balance your pillars over time
A starting split that works well: 40% expertise, 20% behind the scenes, 20% proof, 20% offer. Then adjust based on your results.
In your content calendar, tie each posting day to one pillar: it’s the easiest way to keep the balance without thinking about it.
Finding your brand voice
Pick three adjectives that describe how you speak, then write down what each one means and what it doesn’t. For example: “direct, but never curt,” “expert, but jargon-free,” “warm, but not overly familiar.”
Read your latest posts out loud: do they sound like the way you talk to a customer? If not, voice is the first thing to fix.
Put your editorial guidelines on one page
- Your positioning in one sentence.
- Your ideal customer and their top three objections.
- Your three voice adjectives, with a sample sentence for each.
- Your pillars, their goal and their share of the calendar.
- What you never post.
This page is the reference for anyone who posts for you, and for AI if you use it to write (see how to use AI without losing your voice).
Frequently asked questions
How many content pillars should a brand have?
Three to five. With fewer, your content gets repetitive; with more, your message gets diluted and you lose consistency.
Should content pillars be the same on every social network?
Your positioning and pillars stay the same. Voice and formats adapt: a bit more professional on LinkedIn, more visual on Instagram, more spontaneous on TikTok.