How to Integrate Social Media into Your Web Design

Utilize Social Media Sharing Buttons

One easy way to maximize the impact your content has on social media is to put social media sharing buttons on all of your marketing content. Every social media share, no matter what platform it is on, improves your brand’s weight with search engines and increases brand awareness with customers. 

It also impacts your site’s SEO. It has recently come to light that Google gives extra weight to sites that put the Google+ social media sharing button on their pages. Put social media buttons on the top of the page, so long as it doesn’t interfere with the content people are trying to read or distract from the message.

Note that you don’t see these same benefits when you put social media sharing buttons on e-commerce pages; the shared links end up looking spammy to consumers and have no impact on sales. However, you can follow Amazon’s example and give people the immediate option to brag on social media that they just bought your product. 

Work with expert SEO companies to integrate social media sharing with your content and shopping workflow the right way.

Convert Readers into Followers the Right Way

Suppose you’ve convinced someone to read your article. At the bottom of each page should be a “follow” button for your RSS or social media profile. 

This is a natural point to turn the reader into a long-term follower. Don’t forget a call to action at the end of the content asking them to click that button like your Facebook profile or otherwise become a follower on social media – this increases the conversion rate significantly over simply having the button on the page. 

If the viewer is watching a video on your site or an embedded YouTube video, ask the viewer to like and subscribe at the end of the video. However, know that the social media call to action competes if not contradicts anything else you asked them to do, so use the content to engage the audience or aggressively sell another action, whether buying your product or signing up for your newsletter.

Consider the Source

If possible, embed YouTube videos instead of posting videos hosted on your own servers. First, the videos on YouTube rank better in Google searches than ones posted on your own site, yet it is available on your site. 

The more places people can find the content, the greater the odds it will be seen. Don’t forget to put a link to your business’ website at the top of the video description so that those who do see the video on YouTube will follow it to your website.

Second, the video hosting via YouTube is more likely to run faster than it would if your server cannot handle a spike in demand. The embedded video option also allows people to copy the URL and view it on YouTube if there are performance issues with your site or they prefer YouTube. 

For example, they can comment on the YouTube video page if they like or dislike the content, whereas your website may not give them that option. 

YouTube hosting doesn’t work in all cases. Google may discriminate against your content, whether you’re selling adult products, weight loss drugs, debt consolidation services, self-defense products, or books by conservative authors. Or, you may want to prevent trolls from commenting on the video, hurting its ability to convert viewers.

Integrate Social Logins with Your Site

Social media logins serve several purposes. First, it eliminates the need to set up individual login pages, simplifying account maintenance. Second, it speeds up the login and account creation process, improving the odds they will register with you. 

You eliminate the long forms that drive many people away. Approximately three-quarters of users surveyed said they prefer social logins over giving businesses an email address and other personal information.

Third, when someone logs in via Twitter, Facebook, or another social media profile, you can automatically create an internal community with that information to engage with them at a deeper level. At a minimum, they enjoy the choice and can pick the option that doesn’t feel like it puts their privacy at risk. 

Yet sites that utilize social logins with good data mining tools gather far more information about their customers than you’d receive with the standard name, email address, physical address and phone number collected in most forms. This is critical for personalized marketing efforts later.

Integrate Social Media Reviews with Your Site

User reviews are incredibly useful in converting potential customers into paying customers. You can try to put testimonials on your website or copy reviews from business directories while risking duplicate content penalties by Google. The better alternative is integrating social media reviews with your website. Ask readers for testimonials and reviews on Facebook and then integrate Facebook reviews with your website. As a side benefit, it will automatically add the latest reviews to your site.

Understand the Rules

Learn the rules regarding social media sites before you leverage them to promote your company. For example, Google doesn’t let you use Google+ for contest entries. Alternatives to YouTube may not let you post videos for business purposes without paying for a business account. Facebook does not want you to use a personal Facebook page for business. Experts like those at Snap Agency already know these rules and can set up new social media pages per the rules each site sets out, if necessary.

Conclusion

Building social media sharing into your website on the right types of pages and giving clear calls to action result in far more sharing on social media sites that sites lacking these things. Integrate social media logins with your website instead of asking people to create user accounts. Learn the rules regarding social media sites before you try to use them for business purposes. Integrating social media reviews with your site to create a constant source of feedback that improves customer conversion rates.