Social media should work together with your other marketing efforts to communicate your brand’s message clearly to your audience. One of the most effective ways to do this is by incorporating social media on your business’s website and vice versa. Not only can this increase traffic on your website, but it can also boost your social media presence. How so? It gives customers on your website an opportunity to see that you are active on social media, and if they are not already following you, they can follow you from your website. On the other hand, when you have your website and business information on your social networks, your followers that are interested in your products can easily access your website. Social media and your website need to be working together to communicate effectively to your audience.

Here are some tips to join together the two:

• Use social share and follow buttons. Adding these buttons to your website can make it easy for your customers to find the social media networks you’re using, as well as share your content. Make sure these buttons are visible, preferably at the top, bottom, or side of each page in your website, so they can be found quickly and easily by website visitors. Having follow buttons can also increase your followers on social media, broadening your audience.
• Incorporate social media to boost credibility. Using the right social tools allows you to display user-generated content from your social media platforms onto your website. One example is the Facebook social widget, “The Like Button.” This can show website visitors that your business is credible by displaying Facebook users that have liked your page. It also gives others the opportunity to like your page if they have not already done so. 
• Use customer testimonials and blog posts. If you have a page on your website that includes customer reviews, you can incorporate the positive ones onto your social media networks too. Simply post these customer testimonials onto your social page, such as Facebook, and tag the person who left the review (or include their name) along with a link to your website’s testimonial page. The reviewer will appreciate it, and other followers will see your business is credible from reading the reviews. Adding links to blog posts on social media is another way to potentially increase traffic on your website. If your business’s blog content sparks an interest in your followers, there is a high chance that they will browse your website to see what else you can offer.
• Take advantage of photos and information displayed on your social media networks. One example is your Facebook cover photo and profile picture. This will be one of the first things your followers will see, so it should be eye-catching and represent your brand. You can also include your website address somewhere in the photo to draw attention to it even more. It is also very important that all your information on your social media networks is accurate and update. This includes your website link, description of your business, current hours of operation, and your physical location. You don’t want potential customers to be directed to an incorrect website or location!

Using social media and your website together can help increase brand awareness and improve communication with customers. In addition, linking your website on your social media networks will also help boost credibility with your followers. When you integrate the two, your audience is getting the full brand experience from your business, increasing the likelihood of them doing business with you!