April 21, 2018
By now it should be assumed that most businesses have a website online. And some companies may also be running robust social media campaigns that are successful. But surprisingly, not many organizations are tying these two strategies together—despite them sharing a digital space. In fact, a recent survey of 200 small businesses showed that 70% weren’t displaying any call-to-action on their homepage. Including social.
Integrating your website with social media is essential for connecting with the largest audience of online buyers the world has ever seen. Brands that have figured out the best methods of doing so, see benefits like:
The list could go on. The point is that your website and social media are two powerful forces that, when combined, make for a mad marketing machine. Here are a few ways to get there:
47% of websites have a clear call-to-action button that takes users 3 seconds or less to see. If you make it easy to share, indeed people will. Buttons are one of the best ways to integrate your site with social media because it allows people to share from your page instantly.
Buttons are not difficult to create. They can be custom designed by a developer or, if you’re a tad tech-savvy, WordPress has some simple ones to install. The idea is that it takes one step out of the process for people to promote your brand.
That’s why it’s important to share links back to your website on social media. If people follow a cool blog and like what they read, they can click a social button and share straight from that page. Most buttons will also populate the social post with what the user would need to say to promote the content. This typically comes in the form of a link and a small sentence or two about what is being shared.
Most brands only put their buttons at the bottom of the content, where people are typically finished reading. In fact, only 11% of companies have social links above the fold (top of the page), whereas 89% present below the fold (bottom of the page). But there’s no rule that says you can’t add them to the side and top too.
Unless you are absolutely certain you know exactly where users are navigating on each page, it’s best to take advantage of a few locations on the page for placement. Most of the time, when they are on the side, they stay hidden until the mouse hovers over. So don’t worry. Your content won’t be crowded with social.
Buttons don’t have to just sit on blogs or page content. If you are an ecommerce site, you can also add social to the end of a purchase as a call-to-action. If a customer is engaged with your brand and they are making a good purchase, they’ll be excited about it. Why not give them the opportunity to shout it out right there? Capitalize on the enthusiasm of the moment. Put a CTA button that pops up right after check out and let people shout you out if they’re happy.
It doesn’t have to be a purchase, either. It can be another significant step on your site like signing up, meeting a goal, or saving money. The idea is that you are using the event as an opportunity to connect your site with that consumer’s social channel. This then puts your brand in front of an entirely new audience.
Let’s face it, people like shortcuts. That’s why logging in with a social media account has become such a popular option. In fact, even the numbers prove it. 73% of users prefer to log into a site using their social vs. an email (or creating a new account). Therefore, one of the best ways to integrate your website with social media is to allow people to log into your site via their social channels. It’s simple.
Setting up this integration is mutually beneficial for a variety of reasons. It is convenient and quick for the consumer, and for the business owner, it will increase registration and conversions. If someone is on a lunch break, they may not have the time to sign up on a lengthy form. But, if all they need to do is push a button, that’s another story. Allowing a social media log-in for customers creates incredible convenience and the payback is two-fold.
Companies that promote their blog have up to 97% more inbound links. A blog is the most valuable piece of content that can be used on social media to drive traffic. Think about all the things you would share in a social media campaign. The original content that represents you as a thought leader is going to be sitting on your blog. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be text.
Integrating your website with social media can also be done through video. If you choose the avenue of video marketing, you can build blog posts around that. It’s easy. Simply create interesting video content, post it on your website (in the blog section), then integrate it into an active social media campaign. Not only will this drive tremendous traffic back to your website, it will increase conversions, which leads to more sales.
The comment section of your blog is another way to integrate social media into your website. 15 years ago, comment sections were open to anyone that wanted to comment. Then brands got smart when they realized the potential marketing avenues. If you request people sign in to comment, it creates an opportunity to inspire conversation across multiple platforms.
Don’t ask them to enter an email, however, attach a social button that allows them to log-in to the comment section through their social media. The reason why these social log-in tactics work so well is that most people are constantly logged into their social accounts, to begin with. So, it facilitates the process times ten.
If you have an active social media presence and consistently run campaigns, it may be a good idea to embed those feeds into your website. You may have seen the concept done by news organizations who often embed their feeds to relay breaking news. The idea is to tie the activity on your social channels, back into your website. This enables multi-channel communication and a sense of brand continuity.
Another ingenious strategy for integrating social with your website is to embed the posts from users themselves. You can run a social media campaign encouraging people to post pictures using your product or service, then channel that data back into a stream on your website. Most companies do this with a hashtag, like Ulta Beauty.
Ulta (a chain beauty supply store) decided to allow their customers to also create their social and website content (a triple win). People who purchased their product could use the hashtag #ULTA to display the results. Not only did this engage their current customers, but it showed prospective customers how their products worked, without them spending a dime on marketing.
Be creative. These are just a few ideas, but there are always more ways to innovate. Keep in mind, not every tactic on this list will work for every company. It’s about tailoring the experience for your customers. If you don’t have a very active social feed, perhaps embedding feeds is not the place to start.
Installing a button is the easiest and first step recommended for integrating your site with social. It can be anything from asking people to follow you, encouraging a share/like, or a call-to-action offering a promotion.
Creating customer convenience can be a form of currency. When people live in such a busy world, their time is their money and bridging the gap between social and your brand’s digital space can have positive effects on your bottom line.
Meshing the two strategies will bring more consumers in as a community, rather than just looking at people as customers. Ulta is an amazing example of making that happen, but there are many other brands that are killing it when it comes to driving web traffic through social.
Start the process slow if your brand is new to digital marketing. Once you get the hang of it, the system will automate itself. Soon customers will be sharing your content, making posts about their purchases, and helping you develop innovative campaigns. You just have to clear a path first!
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