I had the opportunity to hear a motivating talk by Life Coach and self-taught Social Networking guru Joy Flemming recently. She had a lot of tips that I thought were worth sharing. Joy’s competence in the complicated world of online marketing is demonstrated by her 3000+ fans on Facebook, 57,000 followers on Twitter, and her robust blog. That’s a pretty good resume!

Here are the 5 social network marketing tips that I took home from her talk:

1. Have a plan

Only posting when the mood strikes ain’t cutting it. Come up with a plan (preferably in writing!) and do your best to stick to it. Here are some suggestions to include in your plan:

  • Put in the time. Try to budget 30-60 minutes per day for social networking and blogging.
  • Blog every single week. EVERY WEEK.
  • Follow the 90/10 rule: Spend 90% of your time building relationships; 10% promoting your brand.
  • Don’t be overwhelmed by the list of social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, etc). Pick two and focus your energies there.

2. Define your target audience

This is a very basic business concept, but it can be easy to lose focus when dealing with the staggering numbers on the internet. Don’t be intimidated by the 500 million active tweeters or overwhelmed by the fact that Facebook is pushing a BILLION users. Instead, put this positive spin on the situation: Your target audience is out there. Go get ’em!

3. No one should have to search for your phone number

We all know to make sure that our basic contact information is available and easily accessible on our website, but is your phone number and email address public on your Facebook page? Seems like a no-brainer, but this was a good tip for me. I think it is easy to let our justifiable personal security paranoia carry over to our business page and become a handicap.

4. Consistent branding across platforms

If someone were to hop from your Facebook page to your Twitter profile or Pinterest boards, would it be obvious that they were all part of the same brand and owned by the same company or individual? You don’t have to duplicate content or use identical images to have a consistent brand, but you do need to pay attention to the overall look and feel of all of your online entities.

5. Call to Action

Don’t forget the importance of a Call to Action on each blog post. “Thanks for visiting/reading/watching. The next step is ________.” Like us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Sign up for our newsletter! Make it easy for your visitor to continue their interaction with you.

Speaking of… have you liked FIVE10 on Facebook, yet? 🙂