Monthly content themes: when they help

Key takeaways

A monthly theme for social media content helps when the month has one clear focus, such as a launch, a season or a service you want to sell, and gets in the way when it forces every post onto one topic. Run the theme inside your content pillars, not instead of them, and give it about half the month's posts at most.

• A theme is a focus for the month; pillars are permanent.
• Give the theme about half the posts at most.
• Pick themes from the business calendar, not a list of ideas.
• Skip the theme in months with no real focus.

What is a monthly content theme?

A monthly content theme is a single topic that a share of the month's posts focus on, such as 'getting the garden ready' in April or 'year-end for small firms' in March. It differs from content pillars, which are the permanent categories every month draws from, like proof, help and people. The theme picks the topic; the pillars still shape the posts.

• How to build a monthly social media content calendar
• Content pillars for social media that never run dry

When does a theme help?

A theme helps when there is something the business wants buyers to think about this month: a launch, a seasonal service, a new location or a price change. It makes filling slots faster, because each slot now has a topic, and it repeats one message often enough for people to notice it. Repetition is what makes a message land.

• How early should seasonal content go out?

When does a theme get in the way?

A theme gets in the way when it pushes every post onto one topic, so followers who are not interested scroll past for a month, or when it is chosen for novelty rather than for the business. 'Wellbeing month' at a logistics firm with no wellbeing story to tell produces filler. If you cannot name the buyer the theme is for, skip it.

How do you run a theme inside your pillars?

Keep the weekly slots and pillars, and give the theme about half of them. A help slot becomes a themed tip, a proof slot shows a themed job, and the people slot stays as it is. That way the theme repeats often enough to notice without turning the account into a single-topic campaign.

• Recurring content slots: the backbone of the month

Where do good themes come from?

Good themes come from the business calendar: what you most want to sell next month, what buyers are thinking about at that time of year, and anything new. A short list of three or four themes for the year, set in the annual view, is usually enough. The other months run on pillars alone.

• An annual social media calendar on one page

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a business picks a new theme every month from an awareness-day list, so the account changes subject constantly and none of the themes connects to what it sells. Choosing three themes a year tied to its busiest services usually gives a clearer, more useful account.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Monthly theme checklist

• Only theme a month that has a real focus.
• Name the buyer the theme is for.
• Give the theme about half the posts.
• Keep the pillars and slots running.
• Set three or four themes a year, not twelve.

• Tie your content calendar to business goals
• Plan offers and promotions into the month

Next step

Ask what you most want buyers to think about next month. If there is a clear answer, that is the theme. If there is not, run the month on pillars alone.