Content Pillars Vs Marketing Funnel – what should you be using?
I’ve seen a lot of discussion on the internet recently about the use of content pillars in content marketing no longer being relevant and that instead you should be creating content using the different stages of the marketing funnel.
Meanwhile other marketers are saying that the traditional marketing funnel is broken and we should be looking towards a new model.
Meanwhile other marketers are saying that the traditional marketing funnel is broken and we should be looking towards a new model.
If you’re new to content marketing, I’ll explain briefly what a content pillar is and what the traditional marketing funnel is so you can make your decision or at least know what your marketing agency is talking about when it comes to content marketing!
Content Pillars
Content pillars are the core themes that relate to your business that you can build content around. Usually, you’ll have around 3-5 pillars to build content around so that you’re consistently talking about the topics relevant to your business niche and for your audience to get to know you.
For example, if you’re a HR Consultant, your themes could be Contracts, Policies and Managing People. Under this main pillar, let’s take policies as an example, you’ll begin to build out content ideas… you may talk about all the different types of policies businesses need, why policies are important, how to create a policy, a free policy template and so on.
Each pillar should be filled with content your audience wants to see!
Once you’ve got your themes and topics, you can then decide what format to create the content in. Would it work best as a blog or perhaps it’s better explained by a video or infographic. Sometimes you may be able to turn it into multiple different formats.
Sometimes in social media, content pillars are referred to as the categories your posts fall into such as: educational, inspirational, entertaining, engaging or promoting.
Each pillar should be filled with content your audience wants to see!
Once you’ve got your themes and topics, you can then decide what format to create the content in. Would it work best as a blog or perhaps it’s better explained by a video or infographic. Sometimes you may be able to turn it into multiple different formats.
Sometimes in social media, content pillars are referred to as the categories your posts fall into such as: educational, inspirational, entertaining, engaging or promoting.
Three reasons to use content pillars
1. Content pillars are a great way to begin building content and aligning content to your wider business goals.
2. Content pillars can help you organise and plan content more effectively so you can create content and a content calendar more efficiently.
3. Content pillars help you maintain consistency and give your business a stronger identity because people will know what you talk about, what to expect when they come to your account, helping to build brand recognition and loyalty.
2. Content pillars can help you organise and plan content more effectively so you can create content and a content calendar more efficiently.
3. Content pillars help you maintain consistency and give your business a stronger identity because people will know what you talk about, what to expect when they come to your account, helping to build brand recognition and loyalty.
The Traditional Marketing Funnel
The traditional marketing funnel describes the different buying stages of a customer journey.
You’ve probably heard ‘Top of Funnel, Middle of Funnel and Bottom of Funnel’ or their (silly) acronyms ToFu, MoFu, BoFu which are used to describe the different parts of the funnel.
Top of Funnel = awareness
Middle of Funnel = Interest / consideration
Bottom of Funnel = desire / action / conversion
You’ve probably heard ‘Top of Funnel, Middle of Funnel and Bottom of Funnel’ or their (silly) acronyms ToFu, MoFu, BoFu which are used to describe the different parts of the funnel.
Top of Funnel = awareness
Middle of Funnel = Interest / consideration
Bottom of Funnel = desire / action / conversion
Why you should use the marketing funnel
A whopping 85% of your prospects aren’t in the market to buy, which means only 15% of your potential clients are ready to buy at any given time (Bombora).
This means that you need to create content for a range of different people – someone may be discovering your brand for the first time, whilst another person may have been following you for a while and needs a helping hand to push them over the line to buy.
It’s important for all marketers (and business owners) to understand a buyer lifecycle. They have to know, like and trust you before they’re willing to part with their hard-earned cash.
This means that you need to create content for a range of different people – someone may be discovering your brand for the first time, whilst another person may have been following you for a while and needs a helping hand to push them over the line to buy.
It’s important for all marketers (and business owners) to understand a buyer lifecycle. They have to know, like and trust you before they’re willing to part with their hard-earned cash.
The 'new' marketing funnel
Gen Z is said to have ‘broken’ the traditional marketing funnel. Young people in particular discover and consume content in a different way.
With the rise of social media platforms and YouTube, we discover brands and products differently and our relationships with brands have also changed.
The traditional buying journey is more blurred than before. In fact, marketing experts believe the ‘new’ marketing funnel is instead an infinite loop of inspiration, exploration, community, and loyalty.
Top of Funnel = Inspiration
Middle of Funnel = Exploration & Community
Bottom of Funnel = Loyalty
With the rise of social media platforms and YouTube, we discover brands and products differently and our relationships with brands have also changed.
The traditional buying journey is more blurred than before. In fact, marketing experts believe the ‘new’ marketing funnel is instead an infinite loop of inspiration, exploration, community, and loyalty.
Top of Funnel = Inspiration
Middle of Funnel = Exploration & Community
Bottom of Funnel = Loyalty
Gen Z consume so much content that businesses need to cut through the noise and create content that inspires them. It’s easy to forget that social media is supposed to be a platform for entertainment and that’s what people, especially Gen Z and Millennials are seeking.
They want to be inspired and entertained.
Not only that but social media is now being used as a search engine to research products people have seen on or offline and to learn about the items in more depth than ever before – they’re seeking the validation to buy.
70% of Gen Z and 69% of Millennials only trust a brand after carrying out their own research, which is why the exploration and community part of the new funnel is so important.
Meanwhile, loyalty also means something different to Gen Z. Gen Z expect brands and businesses to earn their loyalty, to feel like they are part of a community. To them it can mean loving a brand and supporting it but with no intention to ever purchase.
Here's what I think
In my opinion content pillars and the marketing funnel (new or traditional) are not mutually exclusive. When I create content for a client, I always consider what content should be used at each stage of the buying process (in other words, using the marketing funnel), but I’m also considering your businesses themes and building content around them.
I don’t think it’s very strategic to create content without considering a buyer journey or what you’re trying to achieve through content marketing.
Content pillars help structure content and give you a framework to build content plans with more ease and you can align this to the funnel.
Marketers want us to fit neatly into the different categories of the marketing funnel but in reality, we don’t always move down through the funnel as expected and a buying journey can be a much more wiggly path.
The new infinite loop of inspiration, exploration, community, and loyalty resonates more with me (but then I am a millennial) and how I would choose to buy something.
Ultimately if you can create content that inspires and attracts people who are then willing to explore your businesses in depth, you’ll buy loyalty and the desire to take action, whether that’s continually supporting your social media accounts or choosing to buy is the natural next step.
They want to be inspired and entertained.
Not only that but social media is now being used as a search engine to research products people have seen on or offline and to learn about the items in more depth than ever before – they’re seeking the validation to buy.
70% of Gen Z and 69% of Millennials only trust a brand after carrying out their own research, which is why the exploration and community part of the new funnel is so important.
Meanwhile, loyalty also means something different to Gen Z. Gen Z expect brands and businesses to earn their loyalty, to feel like they are part of a community. To them it can mean loving a brand and supporting it but with no intention to ever purchase.
Here's what I think
In my opinion content pillars and the marketing funnel (new or traditional) are not mutually exclusive. When I create content for a client, I always consider what content should be used at each stage of the buying process (in other words, using the marketing funnel), but I’m also considering your businesses themes and building content around them.
I don’t think it’s very strategic to create content without considering a buyer journey or what you’re trying to achieve through content marketing.
Content pillars help structure content and give you a framework to build content plans with more ease and you can align this to the funnel.
Marketers want us to fit neatly into the different categories of the marketing funnel but in reality, we don’t always move down through the funnel as expected and a buying journey can be a much more wiggly path.
The new infinite loop of inspiration, exploration, community, and loyalty resonates more with me (but then I am a millennial) and how I would choose to buy something.
Ultimately if you can create content that inspires and attracts people who are then willing to explore your businesses in depth, you’ll buy loyalty and the desire to take action, whether that’s continually supporting your social media accounts or choosing to buy is the natural next step.
Hannah Catchlove
Your Content Marketing Fairy
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