4 Ways Facebook Social Plugins Can Improve Your Website

Everything is better with friends. If 2010 was the year of activating your fans on social media platforms, 2011 is shaping up to be the year of leveraging that social activity by bringing social interaction onto your company’s own website. With the advent of social media it seemed all of our clients wanted to enter those arenas. Now that they’ve seen it working for them, it is only natural that features and interactions on the brand’s main site seem stale, outdated, and under utilized. Enter the power of the Facebook “Like” button. “Liking” something has quickly become the most popular social media feature both for it’s simplicity of interface and low level of commitment. No need to come up with anything clever to say, simply express your opinion with the click of a mouse. The like button, along with related plugins such as the like box and recent activity feed,  can transform your website from a one sided brand presentation into a social conversation. Here’s how: 1. Like Button on the Homepage

A like button on the home page of your site allows people to like your company brand overall. This action automatically makes them a fan of your Facebook page so you can stay in touch with them via news feed updates. Best of all, users that are already logged into facebook don’t have to leave your website to like your facebook page! 2. Like Button on a Product Page

This same action is also possible at the product level. Not only will a “like” here promote a specific product you carry, but it will allow you to notify fans when that product goes on sale or has a line extension. Be sure that all products have photos, so an image of your product shows up in news feeds. This will garner more attention.
3. The Like Box

Some people need a little persuasion to like your brand. Why not show them the smiling faces of all the people that already support you? You can do this with the like box, which displays fans who are friends of the visitor first. With this plugin, you also have the opportunity to show a stream from the wall of your facebook page. 4. The Recent Activity Feed

With a bit more code you can also show visitors upon arrival more detailed information about what their friends “liked” on your site, visited and interacted with.