Content Matrix: How Architects Generate Endless Social Media Post Ideas

A few weeks ago I revealed the top reason most people and businesses stop posting on LinkedIn and other social media accounts. Do you remember what it is?

They run out of ideas.

In that tactic, I shared 4 different types of formats that you can use to present content to your audience and begin attracting high-quality clients organically. But there’s actually another part that I left out, which will ensure that you never run out of ideas.

It’s a strategy that’s used by every creator, influencer, and thought-leader that you follow to maintain an endless supply of valuable content. In fact, I first learned about this from the King of LinkedIn, Justin Welsh. I’ve used it to generate my LinkedIn and newsletter content for the last year and a half (so 38 newsletters deep seems like a good time to share it 😂).

The best part? It’s incredibly simple, which allows me to keep this week’s newsletter short and sweet.

Let’s take a quick dive into your new content matrix.

Content Matrix

You can think of a content matrix as an endless idea-generator. Each time you use it, you’ll discover new concepts to explore and share with your audience.

Remember that your audience is your next high-quality client! If you consistently share content that is valuable, helpful, and relevant with them, then they will consistently come to you for architectural services.

A few weeks ago, I shared prompts that you can use for 4 different content formats:

• Listicle

• This vs That

• Educational

• Contrarian

Feel free to read it again if you need a refresher.

To create your content matrix, we’re going to give each format its own column like this:

The second part of your content matrix is themes that are relevant and valuable for your audience.

If you’re a residential architect, that could be things like:

• Space planning

• Furniture design

• Bedroom design

• Kitchen design

• Renovation budgeting

• Roof design

• Framing strategies

• Choosing a GC

• Material selection

If you’re a commercial architect, that could be things like:

• Parking requirements

• Code constraints

• Lighting design

• Material selection

• Historic preservation

• Ventilation

• Office space/restaurant/retail design

• Interior build-outs

• Cost-saving strategies

• Curtain wall construction

• Facade design

So now your matrix will look something like this:

Using your content matrix

Using the example above, our content matrix now has 4 columns (content formats) and 9 rows (content themes). That’s at least 36 valuable content ideas - over one month of content if you post every single day!

How does it work? Simply choose a theme and select a content type to see what comes to mind. Let’s give it a shot - what comes to mind?

• Roof design + Listicle

• Choosing a GC + This vs That

• Framing strategies + Educational

• Material selection + Contrarian

Based on your experience, you’ll likely find yourself overflowing with stories, ideas, and examples that you can explore. That’s why your content matrix is endless - you can add more themes and columns, but each combination can produce multiple results.

Here’s what comes to mind for me using the above examples:

• Roof design + Listicle: 5 different types of residential roofs with their primary benefit.

• Choosing a GC + This vs That: Signs of a good GC vs Signs of a bad GC.

• Framing strategies + Educational: How to frame an exterior corner.

• Material selection + Contrarian: Why the most expensive material isn’t always the best option.

Is that similar to what you came up with?

TL;DR

Most people and firms stop posting on social media because they run out of ideas.

To prevent that from happening to you, use a content matrix of formats and themes that are relevant to your audience to create endless ideas.

You can grab a copy of your matrix HERE → Just go to File > Make a copy.

Happy posting 🙂