Most companies are now leveraging the power of social media in their marketing campaigns. However, many aren’t fully exploiting social media on their company website. Social media and your website can blend together seamlessly to promote your brand and increase your online presence. Take a look at these five simple ways of achieving this:
- Add a Twitter feed on your homepage
When a user visits your homepage, what will they see? A couple of stock images and a bit of marketing spiel? Static content that rarely gets updated will give users the impression of an outdated company. An easy way of injecting a bit of life into your homepage, and keeping it updated with your latest news, is to integrate a Twitter feed.
Most websites will place the feed at the bottom of the page, usually in the footer. However, if you want your site to stand out from the crowd, put the feed up front and centre on the homepage of your site. One of the easiest ways of adding the Twitter feed is to login to your Twitter account and create a new widget. After selecting a couple of options, you’ll be presented with a bit of HTML code that you, or your developer, can add to the site. Easier still, if you own a WordPress website then you can try installing one of the many Twitter feed plugins . A couple of top-rated, free plugins include Easy Twitter Feed and Kebo Twitter Feed.
- Create custom social media buttons
Adding links to your social media profiles is the simplest way of integrating social media into your website. Links to social media profiles allow users to quickly navigate to their favorite network, as a means to find out more about your company, contact you or share your content.
Incorporating these buttons into your site shouldn’t just be a case of copying the standard Facebook, Twitter and Youtube logos and cramming them into an empty corner. Instead, try to blend them seamlessly into your brand and website design. The furniture brand, Loaf, has achieved this with custom buttons using the brand’s colours. Each page features the buttons prominently alongside the product image, but slightly faded so that they don’t detract from the product itself. Hospitality company, Signet Apartments, have used simple social media logos in the pre-header of their website. These logos change colour on hover and match the blocky design of their main menu.
If having custom logos designed is too costly, then you can find varied and unique icons for free with a simple Google search. Download your favorite set and add them to your site!
- Include sharing buttons on your blog posts
If you have a blog then adding sharing buttons to each article is absolutely essential. Sharing buttons will allow readers to share your content with the click of a button. Without sharing buttons, you’re making it far more time-consuming for a visitor to get the word out.
Catchall services allow you to add sharing buttons with a few simple lines of code or by configuring a plugin. Ideas include:
- Add to Any – This allows you to create the sharing buttons for your website and customize them to your needs. Choose from dozens of social media networks and add only the buttons you want!
- Add This – Choose the style, size and position of the buttons with Add This. There are loads of options for integrating these buttons into your articles
- Share This – Share This is another service that allows you to select the size and positioning of the buttons.
- Utilise an Instagram gallery
Company’s can make use of this great tool in order to share their latest products or announcements with potential clients. However, one of the most powerful ways of utilising Instagram is by creating a live-feed of photo testimonials. By displaying a customised Instagram feed on your website, you can really connect with past, current and future customers.
A feed showing how great the food is at your restaurant, a dress from your latest collection or a celebrity spotted wearing your newest product would all look great displayed on your website. Showing your users that your company is popular, well-liked and relevant will go a long way to spreading the word and bringing in new customers.
If your website runs on a CMS like WordPress or Drupal, you can include a customised Instagram feed on your site by adding a free plugin such as Instansive. Once installed, simply set the hashtag you’d like to display and away you go!
- Allow users to sign-up/login with Facebook
Did you know that almost three quarters of people prefer to login to a website using a social login? If you have an account creation functionality or member’s area on your website then why not allow users to login with Facebook? This will improve the user experience and increase registration conversions. Developer tools on Facebook provides a guide on how to create this functionality on your site!
