I have been fascinated watching how Social Media Integration for Businesses and Brands have grown in popularity. From the “leaked” photo of Bane for the upcoming Batman movie, to Mazda & Toyota, to Music Artists and Athletes. They are all understanding how important Social Media Integration is!
In order to maximize your results with Social Media Integration, there are some steps you will want to take. I am sharing 5 different steps with your today in Part 1 of our Social Media Integration series…
Social Media Integration Step #1.
Before you do anything with Social Media, you need to take a step back and really get a clear idea of your market, what they are looking for and what Social Media platforms they are hanging out on.
When you have a clear understanding of what they are looking for like, coupons, prizes, free tips and training, etc. you can effectively engage your target market. I know most people don’t like homework, but if you do your homework on this, you will reap the benefits and stand out more than your competitors. There is no reason to go into social media blindly.
Social Media Integration Step #2.
Now that you know what your target market is looking for, now it is time to have a clear picture of how you want to express your brand through social media. Hopefully you already have a clear understanding of your brand, but it is well worth it to take the time to write up a list of how you want to be viewed via social media and how you do not want to be viewed. If you have a team of people, make sure everyone is on the same page with this. This will save any embarrassment later on.
Social Media Integration Step #3.
Being consistent with your Brand is HUGE! So you will want to make sure all of your social profiles have the same feel and express the same message. You don’t want to appear one way on Twitter and another on Facebook. This will confuse your viewers and express an inconsistency with your brand. I also recommend using the same user name for all your Social links. For example: for Facebook we have the username www.fb.com/iboostco and for Twitter we have @iboostco. With Youtube, we have the same thing. See how they are the same? This consistency will also help your image and make it easier for people to find you.
Social Media Integration Step #4
Now before you start engaging your target audience, you want to make sure you have a strategic plan in place. This includes have a Social Media Content Strategy and a clear call to action. Many make the mistake of promoting their pages and profiles with no real plan after people follow, like or friend them. You must have a plan of what content you will be sharing with them and when you will be sharing it with them. You also need to make sure you give them a reason why they should follow, like, friend you.
Social Media Integration Step #5
With all of this in place the integration process really begins. Let’s first start with offline promotional material. With your Social links all in order, you can now put this on business cards, postcards, T-Shirts, etc. But remember, don’t just ask them to join you, tell them why they should. Give them an incentive.
It is also time to make sure your web site in integrated properly with Social Media features. First, you will want to make sure it is easy for visitors on your site to ReTweet, share and like your content. There are more advanced strategies you can do with this, but this is a very good start! (By the way, feel free to ReTweet, Share and Like this page!) 
I will save the rest in Part 2. If you ave any questions or comments with what we just covered? Leave a comment down below and I will be more than happy to respond.
Social Media Integration for businesses and brands are not a way of the future, it’s the way of the NOW! 
