Discover Digital ‘How To’ Series – How to Integrate Social Media with Your CRM

Social media is a powerhouse for member engagement, communication, and brand visibility. For membership organisations, integrating social media with your CRM system is no longer optional, it’s essential for building deeper member relationships and streamlining operations.

In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits, steps, tools, and real-world examples of integrating social media with your CRM.

Benefits of Social Media-CRM Integration

Integrating social media with your CRM has quite a few benefits. We explore some here:

1. Streamlined Communication: Centralise member interactions across platforms to ensure consistent messaging.
2. Enhanced Member Insights: Gather data from social interactions to create more personalised member experiences.
3. Improved Campaign Tracking: Track the impact of social campaigns directly within your CRM.
4. Better Retention: Proactively address member concerns or queries flagged via social media.
5. Increased ROI: Leverage data-driven strategies to optimise social media investments. 

Steps to Integrate Social Media with Your CRM

1. Select the Right CRM for you

Not all CRMs are the same, actually they can be wildly different. If you don’t already have a CRM or you are in the process of choosing one, consider choosing a system that supports seamless integration with social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Some popular CRMs like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho offer native integrations or APIs to bridge the gap.

2. Define Clear Objectives

Set measurable goals for the integration. Are you looking to boost event registrations, track member interest, or optimise the onboarding processes? Defining objectives will guide your strategy and help prioritise features.

3. Utilise Automation

Use tools like Zapier or Make to automate repetitive tasks. For instance, you can:

• Automatically log social interactions in your CRM.
• Create tasks for team members when a member sends a direct message.
• Segment audiences based on social media activity

4. Centralise Member Data

Merge social media insights with CRM data to create a unified member profile. This allows for tailored communications based on member preferences and behaviour.

5. Monitor and Measure

Regularly track key metrics such as:

• Engagement rates on social posts.
• Conversion rates from social campaigns.
• Member satisfaction scores from surveys triggered by social interactions. Use this data to refine your strategy.

Example Key Tools and Platforms

Here are some example tools that can facilitate smooth integration:

• HubSpot CRM: Offers built-in social media management and tracking.
• Salesforce Social Studio: A comprehensive platform for managing social campaigns and analytics.
• Hootsuite: Integrates with CRMs to centralise social media activities.
• Zapier: Connects social media platforms with CRMs to automate workflows.
• LinkedIn Ads API: Sync leads directly to your CRM for B2B organisations.

Real-World Evidence Based Example: Boosting Event Attendance

A membership organisation focused on professional development wanted to increase attendance for their annual conference. By integrating META and LinkedIn with their CRM (HubSpot), they:

• Identified members who engaged with past event-related posts.
• Created targeted campaigns with personalised messages based on job titles and interests.
• Automated follow-ups for members who clicked on the registration link but didn’t complete the process.

The result? A 25% increase in event registrations and higher engagement from younger members.

Conclusion

Integrating social media with your CRM is a game-changer for membership organisations. It enables you to provide personalised experiences, streamline communication, and drive measurable results. Start small by connecting one platform and gradually expand as your team becomes more comfortable with the integration. With the right strategy and tools, you’ll unlock new opportunities to engage and retain your members.

Discover Digital is an award-winning Digital Agency with a core focus on Digital Strategy, Digital Marketing, UX Design, Solutions Architecture and CMS and CRM Integrations. Get in touch at [email protected]