Ariel Hyatt's Social Media Food Pyramid

Cyber PR’s Social Media Pyramid

It’s no longer a question whether or not social media is here to stay, but it STILL after all these years confounds so many of us. When I’m teaching clients best social media practices or speaking about it, I find the same scenario plays out almost every time. Faces go pale, frustration begins to well up, and then the next words are, “I just don’t have anything interesting to say.”

If you’re an entrepreneur or an artist, of course, you have something very important to share.

All you are missing is a system for your social media posting. I have created an Infographic to help you ratchet up your social media and manage it easily.

There are five kinds of activity that you need to understand.

Feel free to mix and match within these groups in order to suit your comfort level.

Group #1: Group 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. Here are a few ways to do so:

Facebook: See something interesting on a fan, friend, or group’s Facebook page? Don’t just “like” it: write a true comment about it and get more involved.
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 you like by others.
Instagram: Like and comment on others’ photos!
Blogs: Read and share great posts on your socials and leave comments!
YouTube: 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.

Group #2: Shine a Light on Others

Like: FRUITS & VEGETABLES

Servings (Recommended Frequency): 3 out of every 10 posts

All the best social media users know this, and use it well. This takes all of the attention off of you and puts it onto others, and people will appreciate your kindness because you are recognizing them in front of new potential fans and followers, and therefore, helping them get visibility. Don’t forget to tag everyone you shine a light on so they can see.

Facebook: Quote people you like by sharing their profiles and videos on Facebook and share (re-post) on your page. Also link to articles and interesting things that catch your attention, share videos by people in your tribe that inspire you
Twitter: Use hashtags, @’s and RT on Twitter — talk about why, and how particular tweets influenced or touched you.
Instagram: Regram others and add a comment about why.
YouTube: Curate lists of videos you like created by others

Group #3: Curate Content on Social Media

Like: MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, BEANS, EGGS

Servings (Recommended Frequency): 2 – 3 out of every 10 posts

Set up a RSS reader to pull interesting content for you so you don’t have to come up with anything brilliant. Also, curate lists on Twitter so you can pick out the good stuff easily select what you like, and share. If it’s interesting to you, it’s probably interesting to your crowd.

Ask yourself: How do I spend my time online? What do I read? Are there sites I visit daily? What makes me inspired? What makes me laugh? Then simply add them to your RSS reader.

Some great items to share are breaking news, reviews, in-depth discussions and commentary on topics of interest to your crowd, fun factoids, and so on. Blogs are a great resource for curated content: politics, celebrity gossip, parenting, music, fashion, art, and sports all make good topics for people to connect around.

Group #4: Images and Visuals on Social Media

Like: MILK, CHEESE & YOGURT

Servings (Recommended Frequency): 2 out of every 10 posts

Visuals are extremely effective, and they are a great way to “mix up” your social media strategy.

Facebook and Instagram: Take photos using your mobile and post them to Facebook and Instagram. If you have an iPhone, the best way to do this is with the Instagram app.
Twitter: Mix up your Tweets with photos & videos — they go straight into your feed and they get stored on your homepage — bonus!
Instagram: Visualize your blog posts and share.
Pinterest: This is a wonderful way to share photos of anything you are passionate about, and create boards for your own content and anything you sell.
YouTube: Post videos on your YouTube channel, embed them and post across socials too! They don’t even have to be videos that you make on your own. They can be videos that make you laugh, or subjects that are thematic to your niche.

Group #5: Self-Promotion (Use Sparingly!)

Like: FATS, OILS & SWEETS

Servings (Recommended Frequency): 1 out of every 10 social media posts

Of course, you should post self-promotional content once in awhile, but not in an over-hype-y, annoying way. It is, after all, vital to tell people if you have a program, project or product coming out, or anything that’s newsworthy or noteworthy for your crowd to know about. That being said, don’t forget about your specific Calls To Action, or these won’t be fruitful.

Mix up these five activities and soon you will be fully engaging people easily and naturally, and your crowd will grow organically in size — and loyalty too.

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