No matter what you’re selling online, social media helps you sell it better. But you may be thinking “I already have Twitter and Facebook share buttons on my website – isn’t that enough?”

Not exactly.

Think about it. When was the last time you went to a website and thought, “this is such a great offer, I have to tell everyone I know about it!”

Never, right?

Because, chances are, your friends could care less about the awesome deal you got on ski boots (unless they’re avid skiers themselves), or that you finally found a filtered water fountain for your cats.

There’s rarely any product out there that’s so worth talking about, you’ll drop everything to share their homepage with the world.

Don’t be discouraged though, because there are ways to integrate social media with your product or service that makes it absolutely irresistible to share. Here are some of the strategies we recommend:

Encourage Greater User Adoption of Your Product with a Social Login

Social logins allow users to login to websites using their social credentials

Social logins are convenient for both end users and content publishers. First, users don’t have to remember yet another sign in and password, and the content publisher (you) get access to their social details. It’s the ultimate vote of confidence from the user that says “I trust you enough to connect with you on more than just a consumer level.”

Integrate Social Comments for More Engaged Discussion

An example of Facebook comments from Business Insider

If a social login is the ultimate sign of trust between customer and company, social comments are an extension of that trust. While Facebook Comments is one of the most popular, LiveFyre and Disqus also have their respective fan bases. With social comments, customers can not only join in the discussion, but also read reviews, questions from potential buyers, and ask their own questions.

One of the main features of social comments is that users can optionally choose to share the post with Facebook, which if it’s something they’re passionate about or have a question about, can help your post get more widespread visibility. Having social comments shows that you’re open to inviting discussion and questions, and helps boost your product’s credibility and trustworthiness.

Use Social Proof to Fuel Your Sales

Social can also be used to help boost sales. One example is flash-sale-site-turned-shopping-paradise Fab.com. Fab uses likes, shares and other social indicators as a way to showcase their most popular items:

Fab.com segments their most popular items by category

This style of social feed makes it easy for Fab and their fans to see what’s trending, further spurring on the sale of these products and pointing out potential new hot sellers.

If Nothing Else – Add a Like Button

If integrating all of these social media platforms and options seems overwhelming, at the very least, you can add a Like button. Doing so not only helps your Facebook presence, but can also invite comments and discussion, much like social comments, but on a smaller scale. According to one whitepaper, “likes” work best when paired for videos or images, questions or games and trivia, so keep those content types in mind as a way to boost likes for your page.

The Bottom Line on Making Your Product More Social

All of these social media integration options have one major underlying current in common: they help foster more open, two-way communication between you and your target audience. Although people don’t come to social media websites primarily to buy, they’re all too eager to share and like the brands that most reflect their lifestyle and personality – and that’s the kind of customer loyalty that traditional e-commerce alone simply can’t match.

What are some ways you’ve integrated social with your products or services? Share your thoughts and comments with us below: