social media integration

Social media integration is the use of social media in a marketing strategy. This can mean the business advertises its social media in business gatherings, meetings, webinars, on websites or during product showings. Social media integration also means the business uses social media to direct customers to business events, making the advertising move both ways. Social media can help direct customers to a company's website or inform them about company events, such as meetings or webinars. Companies can also use their websites to manage social media accounts, informing customers of them so they can follow them.

Why is social media integration important?

Social media integration is important for many reasons in a business marketing strategy and provides these benefits:

Improves business awareness

When a company promotes its social media through multiple channels, it can help improve business awareness depending on those channels. Advertisements in public areas or websites can advertise on two fronts, both to those within view and to social media users. Promoting the business where you work through social media can help reach customers who might not otherwise interact with the company's products. By integrating social media, a business could give customers more opportunities to see products and services.

Advertises products

Integrating social media into different aspects of business practices can help create awareness surrounding specific products. For example, suppose employees integrate social media during new product presentations and simultaneously post about the same products on social media. In that case, customers could view both presentations and maybe choose to buy the product. Social media can help enhance a customer's product experience, even during services or after checkout.

As another example, consider a customer who recently used a service from a business. Integrating social media into the checkout system can allow the customer to review the service, leave feedback or ask questions about the company efficiently. With proper management, social media can act as an impromptu help service when customers need to talk to business associates as soon as possible. Social media can help inform customers about products, services and when or where they may be more readily available.

Improves customer retention

Integrating social media into a business website can help improve the likelihood that a customer returns to make another purchase. For example, suppose a potential customer visits a website and discovers the company's social media. In that case, they may want to follow it so they remember to return for products later. Because social media integrates with the daily lives of some customers, having social media as available to customers as possible helps ensure customers remember and consider the products from a company.

Helps form a brand identity

Social media can help form a brand identity within the company and in product presentation. Marketers can accomplish this through advertisements and social media if company wants to present casual language as a brand identity, Social media can help form the attitude, language, imagery and response rate of your brand. Through replies, posts and likes, your social media can even go as far as forming an online persona as a representation of your brand to customers.

Contributes to company culture

While social media can help develop a brand, it can also help develop a company culture. The language used in social media, especially within your marketing team, can help form the company culture within multiple other departments. For example, if you want a casual company culture within your department or others, consider writing social media posts for the company as casually as the business allows. Casual posts may influence casual behavior among coworkers and even leaders.

Arranges advertising campaigns more effectively

Elements of an advertising campaign, such as commercials, webinars and social media advertisements, can all have improvement from social media posting. If your department wants to further use an advertisement video, posting it to social media can help it circulate even after the adperiod is over. You can also help extend the attendance for webinars by posting the links for them on social media, including reminder and after-conference links.