Guide
A content pillar is a topic you post about again and again
Updated
A content pillar is a theme you keep posting about. Most accounts pick 3 to 5, and every post fits under one of them.
In short
- A content pillar is a topic or type of post you come back to again and again on social media.
- Sprout Social recommends 3 to 5 pillars, because more than that spreads your message thin.
- A hair salon might use hair care at home, before-and-after results, and prices and booking as its pillars.
- A good pillar is something you know well, your customers ask about, and that connects to what you sell.
- In SEO, a pillar page is one long page on a broad topic that links to shorter posts on each part of it.
What is a content pillar?
A content pillar is a theme your posts keep returning to. Together, your pillars show people what your account is about.
- A pillar can be a topic, like tax deadlines, or a type of post, like customer stories.
- Each post you make fits under one of your pillars.
- The pillars stay the same for months. The posts under them change every week.
Content pillar examples
Here is how pillars could look for three small businesses.
- Sprout Social lists common kinds of pillar: your brand story and values, teaching with some fun, products and offers, posts made by customers, your community, and partnerships.
Example pillars for three businesses
Examples to show the idea. Your own pillars come from your own work and customers.
| Business | Pillar 1 | Pillar 2 | Pillar 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hair salon | Hair care at home | Before and after | Prices and booking |
| Accountant | Tax deadlines | Saving on costs | Common mistakes |
| Personal trainer | Home workouts | Food basics | Client stories |
Business: Hair salon
- Pillar 1
- Hair care at home
- Pillar 2
- Before and after
- Pillar 3
- Prices and booking
Business: Accountant
- Pillar 1
- Tax deadlines
- Pillar 2
- Saving on costs
- Pillar 3
- Common mistakes
Business: Personal trainer
- Pillar 1
- Home workouts
- Pillar 2
- Food basics
- Pillar 3
- Client stories
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How many content pillars should you have?
Most accounts do well with 3 to 5.
- Sprout Social recommends at least 3 to 5 pillars at any one time.
- With fewer than 3, your posts start to repeat themselves.
- With many more than 5, people cannot tell what your account is about.
How to choose your content pillars
A good pillar passes three tests. Keep the 3 to 5 topics that pass all of them.
- A good pillar gives you lots of post ideas. If you can only think of a handful, the topic is too narrow.
Three tests for a content pillar
| Test | Ask yourself | It fails if |
|---|---|---|
| You know it well | Could I talk about this for a year? | You have to look everything up |
| Customers care about it | Do customers ask about it in comments, emails or in person? | Nobody asks about it |
| It connects to what you sell | Does it lead people toward my product or service? | It gets views but brings no customers |
Test: You know it well
- Ask yourself
- Could I talk about this for a year?
- It fails if
- You have to look everything up
Test: Customers care about it
- Ask yourself
- Do customers ask about it in comments, emails or in person?
- It fails if
- Nobody asks about it
Test: It connects to what you sell
- Ask yourself
- Does it lead people toward my product or service?
- It fails if
- It gets views but brings no customers
What is a pillar page in SEO?
In SEO, the word pillar means something slightly different.
- A pillar page is one long page that covers a broad topic, such as email marketing.
- Shorter posts each cover one part of that topic and link back to the pillar page.
- This setup is often called a topic cluster. It shows readers and search engines how the pages belong together.
Where Cutroom fits
Each question your customers ask under a pillar can become one short video.
- You record one video of yourself answering one question, up to 3 minutes long.
- Cutroom adds captions timed to your voice, puts b-roll on the words you pick and, on the Punch and Native styles, shortens the pauses.
- You get a finished 9:16 MP4 for TikTok, Reels or Shorts. A 30-second video costs 110 credits.
- Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, which is about 11 videos of 30 seconds.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite removes it.
Questions people ask
- How many content pillars should I have?
- Three to five. That is what Sprout Social recommends, and it gives you variety without confusing people about what your account is for.
- What are some content pillar examples?
- A hair salon might use hair care at home, before-and-after results, and prices and booking. An accountant might use tax deadlines, saving on costs and common mistakes.
- Are content pillars the same as a niche?
- No. Your niche is who you serve and roughly what about. Pillars are the 3 to 5 themes inside that niche that your posts rotate through.
- What is the difference between a content pillar and a pillar page?
- A content pillar is a theme for your social media posts. A pillar page is one long web page on a broad topic, linked to shorter posts about each part of it.
- How often should I change my content pillars?
- Rarely. Look at them every few months, and replace one when you run out of things to say about it or your audience stops responding.
- Can one post fit two pillars?
- Yes, but give it one main pillar. Then you can see which pillars you have posted about lately and which you have skipped.
Pick your pillars and record one short video per question. Your first video is free.
Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it