We have many prospective clients come to us saying they would like “Social Media Integration”. This means different things to different people (and often people just want it “all”, even if they don’t know what that is).

Here’s some of the common meanings of the term social media integration:

  • Facebook like button for the group’s Facebook page (without leaving the site)
  • Twitter auto-follow button for the group’s Twitter account (without leaving the site)
  • Social sharing of blog posts via Facebook/Twitter
  • Social media buttons to link over to Facebook/Twitter pages
  • Blog post commenting using Disqus (enables commenting using Facebook/Twitter accounts, and monitors Twitter replies), or using Facebook comments (which syncs comments and notifications between Facebook and your blog)
  • New blog posts are automatically tweeted and added to the Facebook page
  • Displaying latest tweets and Facebook status updates on the blog
  • Newsletters containing ways for people to like, tweet and share blog post content

In the list above, I’m just focussing on the two heavyweights of the social media world, Facebook and Twitter, but often these other social media networks come into play (whether via a generic “Share” button or otherwise):

  • Google Plus
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon

Of course, not all are necessary or useful for all sites, but it’s helpful to have a list of what these all mean.

Are there other meanings you have for “social media integration”?

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