> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set Up Content Pillars for Social Strategy

> Organize your social content around recurring themes for a consistent brand voice

A content pillar is a recurring theme your social posts rotate through. Pillars keep your feed balanced, stop you from over-promoting, and build topic authority over time.

<Info>
  Before you start: have at least one social account connected. See [Social Posts](/how-tos/social-posts) if you haven't linked LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook yet.
</Info>

## Why Pillars Matter

Without pillars, content calendars tend to drift. You post a promo, then a meme, then three product updates in a row, then go silent for a week. Pillars force a rhythm.

Typical SaaS mix:

* **40% educational tips** — how-tos, quick wins, frameworks
* **25% customer stories** — case studies, testimonials, wins
* **20% product updates** — launches, features, roadmap
* **15% behind-the-scenes** — team, culture, process

Yours will differ. Pick what fits your brand, but commit to a mix.

## Create Your Pillars

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Pillars">
    Go to **Marketing** > **Social** > **Pillars** in your project.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click + New Pillar">
    A form appears with the fields below.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the pillar details">
    * **Name** — short and memorable (e.g., `Customer Stories`)
    * **Description** — optional internal note. Useful when a teammate asks "what counts as this pillar?"
    * **Color / icon** — shows up as a tag on the calendar. Pick something visually distinct from your other pillars.
    * **Target frequency** — how often you want to post to this pillar (e.g., `1 per week`). Used in the Pillar Balance chart to flag under/over-weighted pillars.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save**. Repeat for each pillar. Most teams land on 3–5.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Start with 3–5 pillars max. More than that dilutes your brand and is hard to maintain — you'll end up ignoring half of them.
</Tip>

## Assign Posts to Pillars

Every time you create a social post, pick a pillar from the dropdown.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create or edit a post">
    **Marketing > Social > New Post**. The post editor opens.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a pillar">
    In the right sidebar, there's a **Pillar** dropdown. Select one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    The post is tagged. It'll show up color-coded on the calendar view.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  Posts created by the AI or generated in bulk can be tagged with a pillar via the same dropdown. Ask the AI: *"Schedule three customer-story posts this week"* — it'll assign the right pillar automatically if the pillar name is unambiguous.
</Info>

## View the Calendar

**Marketing > Social > Calendar** shows every scheduled post color-coded by pillar. At a glance you can see:

* If you're posting too much of one pillar (wall of one color)
* If you're neglecting a pillar (a color you haven't seen in weeks)
* Gaps in your schedule (empty days)

Click any post in the calendar to edit or re-assign its pillar.

## Review Your Balance

**Marketing > Social > Analytics > Pillar Balance** charts actual posts vs. your target frequency over the last 4/12/26 weeks.

Typical patterns:

* **Promotional pillars over-index.** Teams unconsciously lean toward product posts. Pillars with under-delivery are usually educational or behind-the-scenes.
* **Customer stories under-deliver.** They require coordinating with real customers, so they fall off the calendar. Solution: batch-interview quarterly and bank content.
* **Trend posts spike then vanish.** If "Industry News" is a pillar, automate it — set up a [workflow](/how-tos/workflows) that drafts a post whenever an RSS feed updates, for you to review.

## Example: Agency Pillar Set

For a marketing agency, one way to carve up your content:

1. **Client Wins** — case studies, results, before/after (1/week)
2. **Frameworks** — the how of what you do (2/week)
3. **Industry Commentary** — hot takes on news (1/week)
4. **Team & Culture** — behind the scenes (1 every 2 weeks)

This gives you \~5 posts/week with a mix that positions the agency as both an authority and a human team.

## Test It

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a test post">
    Make a post tagged with one of your new pillars. Set the schedule for later today or tomorrow.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the calendar">
    Confirm the post appears in the pillar's color.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Try filtering">
    In the calendar header, click the pillar name to filter. Only posts of that pillar should be visible. Click again to clear.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check analytics">
    **Marketing > Social > Analytics > Pillar Balance**. Your new post should reflect in the "this week" column for that pillar.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can't find the Pillars tab">
    The Pillars feature is available on paid plans. Check **Settings > Plan** — if Social is included in your tier, Pillars should show up under **Marketing > Social**. If you're on a trial, ask support to enable it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Pillar won't save">
    The most common reason is an empty name field. The Name field is required; Description and frequency are optional. Also check for duplicate names — each pillar must be unique within the project.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Colors clash on the calendar">
    Pick colors with enough contrast — avoid three shades of blue. If you're colorblind, use the icon as your primary differentiator. You can edit a pillar's color/icon any time and it updates across all historical posts.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Calendar isn't filtering by pillar">
    Check the top of the calendar for an active filter chip — sometimes a previous filter is still applied. Click **Clear all filters** and try again. If filters still don't respond, refresh the page.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I have too many pillars and don't know where to put a post">
    Trim. Aim for 3–5 pillars maximum. If a post doesn't obviously fit one, either the pillar set is too narrow (add a broader catch-all) or too granular (merge overlapping ones).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What's Next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Social Posts" icon="share-nodes" href="/how-tos/social-posts">
    Schedule, publish, and analyze posts across networks
  </Card>

  <Card title="Blog to LinkedIn" icon="linkedin" href="/how-tos/workflow-blog-to-linkedin">
    Auto-tag cross-posted blog content with a pillar
  </Card>

  <Card title="Customer Journey" icon="route" href="/how-tos/customer-journey">
    Map pillars to buyer journey stages
  </Card>
</CardGroup>