Social Media

Easy Ways to Integrate Your Web Marketing and Accelerate your Business Lorrie Thomas , Web Marketing Therapy - Mar 15, 2011

Weave your web marketing pieces together to accelerate your business with these easy integration ideas.

Share Messages on Multiple Channels

One of the first steps to integrate web marketing is to employ the "tell them, tell them what you told them and tell them one more time" rule. For example: You have business news. This could be donating to a charitable cause, getting covered in the media, having a new product to announce, etc. Make sure that company news is on the news page of your website (as a press release or link to the media coverage) and is re-communicated on other web areas like your blog (in a more conversational tone vs. a formal press release), tweeted on Twitter, posted on your Facebook business page and e-mailed to your opt-in e-mail list. The news may also be worth showcasing on the home page of your website too.

The reality is that your customers or potential customers will not access your communications the same way (or at the time!) you distribute information. By amplifying your voice on multiple web marketing channels, there is likelihood that your message will be read and remembered. Taking a little extra time to share messages on multiple channels can make a big difference.

Connect Your Social Media Messaging and Tap Automatic Tools

Give your current and potential customers choices on how they receive information from you. If you have a website, Facebook page, blog, Twitter account and LinkedIn account, show all the options on all channels. A website should have clear icons (otherwise known as widgets) that show all the social media outlets you are on. Consider using your Facebook page as an "info" tab. This tab can be optimized to include a link to your website, your Twitter account, your blog, etc. Check this section to see if you have all your links (most Facebook pages do not). Your Twitter account can link to your site and/or blog. A LinkedIn account can link to up to three links, so you can include your website, blog and Facebook page. There is also a Twitter link separate from the web links that you can tap to integrate your marketing options to boost communications.

Tap ways to automatically connect your social messages too. If you have a blog, tools like www.Twitterfeed.com will automatically tweet any new blog posted. Networked Blogs (search for this on Facebook) is a way to automatically have your blog feed into your Facebook business page. LinkedIn has an area under your profile (under Applications) that will sync your blog posts to your profile. Your LinkedIn profile can also take your Twitter account so your messages between LinkedIn and Twitter will sync up. Sometimes people want to hear authentic thoughts (and not just automatic updates), so leverage the great (and free) automatic syncing tools, but don't forget to share messages on multiple channels with your personal touch once in a while.

Make Your Site and Blog Integration Hubs

Websites can become web solutions when they include more than just information about your company. When there is valuable content to share, frequently asked questions answered, and service-centric social media sites to connect to, your website becomes a web solution.

Do you blog? Then consider including a blog feed (you can get this code from your blog or webmaster) on the home page of your website so it is frequently populated with new content. Not only will this give your website visitors a reason to come back (because there is new content to read all the time!), but it will also help boost your search visibility as search engines crave fresh content.

Do you have an e-mail newsletter that you want to build subscribers on? Then add an e-mail newsletter sign up box on your site. E-mail management companies like Constant Contact make this very easy to do.

Just as a website is the front door to the whole website house, a blog can become the nucleus of social media and can also be tapped to bring together all the web applications used. Be sure to add RSS (Really Simple Syndication) on your blog so loyal readers can have new posts spoon fed to them on their readers or to their e-mail inboxes.

Feedburner.com is an easy-to-use (and free) RSS solution. If you have a Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn account, be sure to add social media widgets on your site in a visible place to help invite visitors to connect on the channels they like the best.

Widgets have progressed beyond little graphics. There are tons of free widget tools online that go beyond the graphic to show scrolling tweets, community members, current feeds, and more. If you see a widget on someone else's site or blog and want it, you can usually have it. Just look at the widget -- most of the time the name of the widget maker is on the widget (near the bottom of it) so you can go to the site and get your own.

Make Your E-mail Signature a Super Integrator

Last integration tip: use those e-mail signatures for mega marketing power! E-mail signatures are a fantastic web marketing opportunity, not just for you but for the whole company. If you do not have an automatic e-mail signature, then set one up ASAP! If you have one, go back and identify ways to integrate important links that will help boost traffic and interactions. There are tools like www.WiseStamp.com that can create a fancier signature like the one below with the social media widgets.

You can also keep your mail simple and just have text that includes links to your blog and social media like this:

Make your marketing matter. The Web is all about connections. Be sure to integrate your web marketing puzzle pieces together to make your marketing click!

Lorrie Thomas, MA is The Marketing Therapist at Web Marketing Therapy. Her team of Wild Web Women (and men!) diagnose, prescribe and guide healthy marketing solutions to help make small businesses big with the web. Lorrie speaks nationally and teaches Web Marketing, Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Marketing courses through Berkeley Extension. Her book, the 36-Hour Course to Online Marketing for McGraw Hill is a must-read.