How to succeed online using content pillars -

Investing in powerful content is a key long-term marketing strategy. Here’s how content pillars can help build your studio’s virtual presence...

Digital marketing can be a major obstacle for many start-up animation studios. Creating content pillars for your studio will drive your online engagement strategy and mean you’re never at a loss for content. This article dives into what they are and how you can use them to get your animation studio the online attention it deserves.

What are content pillars?

If you’ve ever explored the world of digital marketing, you might have heard the term ‘content pillars’ thrown around. But what are they?

Content pillars are key themes which will form the basis of your content strategy. They aren't always presented as 'pillars' - often, they're visualised through mind maps, columns of text, and lists. As you promote your studio across different social media marketing, you should aim for about 3-5 themes. Here’s how…

content pillars - what are they? visualisation

If you’ve ever explored the world of digital marketing, you might have heard the term ‘content pillars’ thrown around. But what are they?

Content pillars are key themes which will form the basis of your content strategy. They aren't always presented as 'pillars' - often, they're visualised through mind maps, columns of text, and lists. As you promote your studio across different social media marketing, you should aim for about 3-5 themes. Here’s how…

How should I choose my content pillars?

When selecting your content pillars, choose carefully. The topics you choose will underpin all the content you produce, so make sure they’re broad enough to cover everything you want to say but narrow enough to succinctly represent your brand.

Your brand

How well do you know your audience? Understanding your target audience is essential to creating effective content pillars. What’s the average age of your followers? Their gender? Where in the world do most of your audience come from?

Most importantly, what are their interests? First and foremost, your content should answer your audience’s needs. What is it they’re looking for, and what are the ways they can find it in your brand?

For example...

For a start-up animation studio, content pillars might look like:

Showcasing animations the studio's produced.
Promoting the studio's services to potential clients.
Connecting with other animators

This basic template can be adjusted depending on your market niche. Does your studio specialise in educational content? Adverts for technology? Medical explainers? This will affect the kind of content you’ll promote.

Your brand

How well do you know your audience? Understanding your target audience is essential to creating effective content pillars. What’s the average age of your followers? Their gender? Where in the world do most of your audience come from?

Most importantly, what are their interests? First and foremost, your content should answer your audience’s needs. What is it they’re looking for, and what are the ways they can find it in your brand?

For example...

For a start-up animation studio, content pillars might look like:

Showcasing animations the studio's produced.
Promoting the studio's services to potential clients.
Connecting with other animators

This basic template can be adjusted depending on your market niche. Does your studio specialise in educational content? Adverts for technology? Medical explainers? This will affect the kind of content you’ll promote.

How to use content pillars?

Have you ever been stuck when promoting your animation studio online? Having some bulletproof content pillars will solve all your problems! Use the pillars to generate content ideas, then ensure that all the pillars are represented in the content you produce. This ensures an even spread of content which will fulfil your brand vision. From the aforementioned pillars, we can generate content ideas. For example...

1. Showcasing animations the studio has produced

Content related to this pillar might include:

Behind the scenes footage of your animators at work
Clips from successful projects
Details of any awards your studio wins

2. Promoting the studio's services to potential clients

This could include:

Content which explains how your service is valuable
Testimonies from satisfied clients
Any analytics you have access to demonstrating the impact of your services.

3. Connecting with other animators

For your final pillar, focus on the appeal of your studio to job-hunting animators. This could include:

Positive feedback from your employees
Advice for other animators
Opportunities for animators to get in touch with you

Experiment with content pillars!

The best way to build effective content is to see what works. Your content pillars may need adjusting, so keep comparing your analytics until you get the results you need. As your animation studio grows, your client base will expand, so keep refreshing the content you promote to keep it as relevant as possible.

Want more tips on how to build your studio's online presence?

Check out our post on using Instagram and YouTube to grow your animation studio.