2015 Social Media Pyramid by CyberPR
It happens to me all of the time when I teach social marketing. Faces go blank, frustration begins to settle in and then I hear: “I just don’t have anything interesting to say.” OR “I don’t want to share what I’m eating for breakfast!” REALLY? You do things we mere mortals are totally enamored by: you create businesses, you make art, you play music, you get up in front of people in public! Of course you have something to say!
Guest Post by Ariel Hyatt of CyberPR
Please do not tell me you have nothing interesting to say. I ain’t buying it. All you are missing is a System for Social Media Success. The inspiration for this hit me while I was teaching a client in my kitchen… THE FOOD PYRAMID!
I’ve been told they don’t actually teach this in school anymore… but for those of you old enough – it’s that chart they brought out when we were in 2nd grade to show us how to eat well-rounded meals? I have re-visioned it for you.
Most people are only serving their tribes / fanbases / followers one thing consistently and are trapped either being boring or overly promotional – This is like eating plain bagels over and over again.
But we want a burger, or a green healthy salad, or some candy! We want the protein but you keep serving bagels, bagels, bagels!To ratchet up your social media effectively and manage it easily, you only need to master five types of activities.
Use these as a guide and mix and match them to suit your comfort level (Just like your diet, eat what feels right for you, gets results, and makes you most comfortable)
GROUP 1. DIRECT ENGAGEMENT
Like: BREAD, CEREAL, RICE & PASTA
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 3 – 4 out of every 10 posts
Make sure you’re in a two-way conversation with people consistently.
Facebook: See something interesting on a friend or brand’s Facebook page? Don’t just “like” it, write a true comment about it. This gets you seen and heard.
Twitter: Send messages to people or mention you are with them by using the @ sign and their username (For Example: I’m @CyberPR). Retweet (RT) Tweets now let you add comments, so add your personal touch.
Blog Reading: Read and share posts by your industry's influencers on your socials and on LinkedIn. Leave comments on posts that are relevant to you.
Tumblr: Tumblr is a simple to use blogging platform that will allow you to comment on and re-blog others’ links, quotes, videos and songs with a click of a button.
Youtube: Bonus! Make custom video comments or greetings with a smartphone; post them as comments or contributions. Subscribe to other people’s channels, and comment on their videos.
Instagram: Like and comment on others’ photos! Use at least 3 hashtags when posting and don't cross post too much – build content that is unique to each platform.
GROUP 2: SHINE A LIGHT ON OTHERS
Like: FRUITS & VEGETABLES
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 3 out of every 10 posts
Savvy social users do this very well: Take the attention off of you and put it onto others. People will appreciate your kindness because you are recognizing them in front of new potential fans and followers and helping them get known.
Mention others in your posts (tag) and share (re-post) onto your page. Also link to articles and interesting things that catch your attention.
Twitter: Use hashtags, @’s and RT on Twitter – add comments on why and how particular tweets influenced or touched you. Use https://bitly.com to track the effectiveness and to shorten your Tweets.
GROUP 3. CURATE CONTENT
Like: MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, BEANS, EGGS
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 2 – 3 out of every 10 posts
Content may be king but content curation is queen!
The best part is you can set up an RSS reader to pull interesting content for you so you don’t have to come up with anything brilliant – just select what you like and share it. And if it’s interesting to you it’s probably interesting to your community.
Then all you have to do is grab the content you like and share (Remember to always give credit where credit is due).
Music: Use Rdio, Spotify, or Soundcloud to share songs, albums, and playlists
Recipes: Post links to foods you like from Pinterest, Epicuious or TheFoodNetwork
Media: Post book reviews, music reviews or film reviews
Blogs: News, politics, celebrity gossip, parenting, fashion, art, sports – all make good topics for people to connect around
GROUP 4. A PICTURE SAYS 1,000 WORDS
Like: MILK, CHEESE & YOGURT
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 2 out of every 10 posts
Visuals are extremely effective. And they mix up your strategy nicely.
Everyone loves Instagram. Take photos often – search for and use popular hashtags. Use apps like Mystic and Over to draw on and add cool edits to photos. Also use the Repost app to share the photos of others.
Mix up your Tweets with photos & videos – they go straight into your feed and they get stored on your Twitter homepage – bonus!
Pinterest lets you share photos of anything you are passionate about, and don't forget to create boards for your own content and anything you sell.
Post videos on your Youtube channel, and embed them across socials! They don’t even have to be videos that you created. They can be videos that make you laugh, or subjects that fit your industry style or sense of humor.
GROUP 5. SHINING A LIGHT ON YOURSELF (AKA SELF PROMOTION)
Like: FATS OILS & SWEETS (Use Sparingly!)
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 1 out of every 10 posts
These are OK when done well. Avoid the over-hypey way.
It is after all, vital to tell people if you have a new product coming out, an appearance, or anything that’s newsworthy, noteworthy, and important for your followers to know about.
Don’t forget about your specific calls to actions or these won’t be fruitful.
So – Choose from Groups 1-5 and mix it up and soon you will be fully engaging people easily and naturally, without thinking. Just like eating!
Just out of curiosity, is there evidence in support of these recommendations?