Social Media Integration takes several forms (Inside, outside, local, global, enterprise, etc.), all of which take some major planning and time to execute. However, there are some basics that you can tackle and start building on your existing Internet marketing tactics.
SEM (SEO / PPC)
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is all about getting people you find you and your products via search engines. As such there is a lot of target content, landing pages, etc. that can be used for your social media usage as well.
There have been several studies done to show that brands engaging in social media are much more likely to be searched for. With your SEO efforts in full swing you will have better control of what people see when they search for you. Also, you can ensure that your social profiles are linking back to perfectly optimized pages.
If you’re doing PPC right you’ll have target landing pages created for your campaigns. These pages should have gone through A/B testing, SEO, and user testing to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your PPC dollars. These pages are the links you want to send out via your social profiles. Be sure to use a link tracking service to see how the links are doing.
Put links to your relevant social profiles in the emails and display them prominently. This should help you build your community from existing customers / fans. You can also export your email list to a gmail account and then have Twitter find people for you to follow who subscribe to your email.
Tip: If you’re going to create a list on Twitter of people you find this way, make it a private list.
If you buy ad space online then be sure to include the icons for the social outposts you use. This gives people the ability to go and get more information about you. While ad CTR typically hovers around 1%, and demonstrates our lack of interest in traditional marketing, it doesn’t demonstrate our lack of curiosity.
The cornerstone of PR is a great place to promote your social profiles. At the end of your press releases add the line “for more information check out our web site or look us up on Twitter and Facebook” with links to all three. Here is a good way for people to move from something static (release) to something dynamic (your interactive profiles).
Your social icons / links should be placed prominently on your site. If you’re using these tools then use them properly and be proud of it. Give your customers more ways to contact you and interact with you. Build more value into your online presence and integrate your feeds on your site (where appropriate).
Personally, the first thing I do when looking at a company is see if they have a Twitter, Facebook, etc. account and then look at them. Based on what I see is what I base my initial opinion on and then move from there. I’m not alone either, as more and more people are getting involved they’re expecting more and more from companies.
What do you think? Anything else that should get added to the basics list?
Thanks for reading,
Josh S Peters