How to add Social Media to Shopify | Step-by-Step Guide

You may have a carefully crafted social media profile and it may be underutilized. Luckily, there are countless ways for businesses to build social media directly into their Shopify stores. It is no secret that social media is a critical tool for ecommerce businesses and for some, it may even be integral for lead generation.

Whether you are a business that is just starting off or if you are trying to better utilize your social media for leads, there is serious utility in Shopify social media integration. The sheer transformative power of social media applies to businesses of all sizes and niches. Shopify is one of the most versatile ecommerce platforms and fortunately, there are several ways you can go about implementing social media features into your Shopify store. 

This guide will show you how to add social media to your Shopify store in 4 simple steps.

Step One: Create and Optimize your Social Media Profiles

This step is necessary for the success of your social media selling strategy, as the platforms you choose, the content you create, and your reach are what ultimately determine the success of your plan. There are a few “necessary” steps we need to take in order to make our overall social media strategy a success.

1. Choose the Right Platform:

Do your customers typically consume a specific type of content? Some platforms are tailored more towards images and others short-form videos. Does your product require more comprehensive information? It’s also important to consider the platform's technical features and if they have the tools that you require. But the main point is finding the social media platform that is most relevant to your audience. 

Popular Platforms:

• Facebook: Facebook has a massive user base and they have extensive profiles for business to market their products with great visual ads if needed. They also support a variety of different content formats, which makes it perfect for a more diverse social media strategy.
• Instagram: Instagram has half a billion daily users and it is a great tool for creating stunning images and short videos. It’s also fantastic for accumulating interested followers and has great features for businesses.
• Twitter: Twitter is one of the greatest platforms for engaging with customers. Their delivery method is low-impact, while also being great for more business-orientated marketing. You can find most of the world’s top brands on Twitter and their profiles are something to be envied.
• Pinterest: Pinterest is probably the most creative social media platform on this list for graphics. If you browse around Pinterest you will surely find something that stands out for its stunning visual creativity.
• Snapchat: Snapchat hosts one of the youngest demographics but their content is highly engaging. It is possible to create amazing video content to demonstrate your products.
• TikTok: TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms around and boasts some of the most powerful engagement rates. The short-form video format popularized by TikTok is proving to be the preferred content for more than a billion monthly users. 
• YouTube: The market presence of YouTube is undeniable and its content has some of the highest consumption rates of any other platform. They are the kings of long-form video content and this format is especially useful for reaching a target audience.

2. Consistent Branding:

It is perfectly normal to use more than one social media channel at any given time. When you do in fact use multiple channels, it's important to establish consistent branding. This has to do with creating a clear association across all your channels. This will help confirm the authenticity of your brand no matter where shoppers may discover your business. 

3. Complete Profile:

A very clear next goal is ensuring all your profiles are complete. Enhancing your brand's profile is fundamental for the success of your social media selling strategy. This will include contact details, your company profile, descriptions, and naturally a link to your Shopify store.

4. Content Strategy:

Content creation is the most powerful component of your social media strategy. It is a creative process and can be highly impactful on your business, this is where we see the most diversity between brands. There is the potential for great marketing success in your content strategy; but the real challenge is production, organization, scheduling, and quality.

Step Two: Adding Social Media Icons to your Shopify Store

Once you’ve managed to straighten out your social media profiles, it's time to actually link social media accounts to your Shopify store. This can be done in three ways; through your theme in the admin panel, through code if your theme does not have the required feature, or through apps in the Shopify App Store.

Adding Social Media to your Shopify Store:

1. Login: into your Shopify admin dashboard.

2. Navigate to Online Store > Themes: Click on “Customize” next to the theme you want to edit.

3. In Theme Editor: look for the “Sections” or “Footer” settings, depending on where you want to place your social media buttons. Tick the box titled “Show social media Icons”.

4. Navigate to Theme Settings: link social media accounts according to the platforms you use.

5. Save and Publish: Once you’re satisfied with the changes, save your theme settings and publish your changes.

6. Add Social Media Icons: Not all Shopify themes have built-in social media icon options. If not, you can use HTML, or use the simpler options and install a third-party app from the Shopify App Store to add social media icons.

Step Three: Using Social Media to Promote Your Products

Once you’ve decided on how to add social media to your Shopify store, it’s time to shift towards promoting your products. The benefit of using social media for Shopify is clear but the methods we use to promote our products can get a little tricky. Below is a short list of guiding principles for a successful social media promotional strategy.

1. Share High-Quality Content: Regularly post engaging content related to your product, including images, videos, blog posts, and customer testimonials. Content is inherently creative and there are endless opportunities that can help you spread your brand name and reach your target audience.
2. Use Hashtags: Hashtags are crucial to social media as a way of categorizing users by their interests. Incorporating relevant hashtags means reaching the people who are interested in your content.
3. Run Social Media Ads: Consider running paid social media advertising campaigns to target specific demographics and drive traffic to your social media profile and Shopify store. This a great way to drive traffic to your Shopify store and collect your first bulk of followers.
4. Collaborate with Influencers: Relevant social media influencers can relay their approval and if they are a good match, they can promote your product to your particular niche.
5. Engage with your Audience:  Respond to comments, messages, and mentions promptly. Building a strong community around your brand can foster trust and loyalty. By being proactive you can also improve the follower outlook of your Shopify store.

Step Four: Leveraging Shopify Third-Party Apps

Shopify has a blooming third-party app store with thousands of highly effective and thoroughly vetted apps that promise to transform your business. Amongst those endless options are Shopify social media integration apps, which each have a unique set of features that work in conjunction with your social media profiles.

Additional Ways to Use Shopify Social Media Integration:

• Create custom pages with your choice of social media content displayed in a unique fashion.
• Integrate shoppable galleries with your social media content for visitors to browse.
• Leverage user-generated content (UGC) across your Shopify store for additional social proof.
• Link social media accounts to your Shopify store so people can register and log into your store with ease.
• Referral and sharing features through social media platforms.
• Reward points for social media likes, follows, comments, shares, and more.

Recommendation: TikTok Sales Funnel by TikTok

• Developed by TikTok for the Shopify App Store
• Free To Install
• Complete TikTok integration features

Recommendation: Pinterest for Shopify

• Developed by Pinterest for the Shopify App Store
• Free to Install
• Complete Pinterest integration features

Recommendation: Facebook & Instagram Developed by Meta

• Developed by Meta for the Shopify App Store
• Free to Install
• Complete Facebook & Instagram integration features

Conclusion

Social media is essential for a growing Shopify brand. This guide gives you a step by step guide on how to add social media to Shopify for the best customer experience. Luckily for us Shopify's versatility allows us to do a great deal with our social media profiles for a fully integrated experience. After reading this article you should have enough of an understanding about your options and how to add social media to Shopify.