Content Management Systems and Social Media Marketing

Everything in social media revolves around communications, connections, community, and content. Developing and publishing content can help your company communicate its message, create connections, and build community.

Managing the production and distribution of content for social media marketing can be challenging, particularly if you aren’t in the business of content production. Using the right tools, including Content Management Systems (CMS), to handle the different kinds of content development your business requires can help streamline your editorial process.

There are many different types of CMS products out there, from free to fee based. Here are some of the most common.

Website and Blog Content

If you are looking to publish and manage a website, with or without a blogging component, Wordpress reigns as one of the more popular platforms. Wordpress.com is a managed web-hosting service with a free version that provides tools, such as design templates and plug-ins, to build a website and publish content. The content publishing interface is similar to Microsoft Word.

Wordpress.org is an open-source software that provides similar features as the hosted version but with more flexibility, customization, and control. To use it you have to either have your own web server or subscribe to a hosting service. Other website content management systems include Wix and Squarespace, both of which offer tools to make it easier for non-programmers to build and manage a website.

All of these CMS platforms include plug-ins or modules to integrate social media into your site. Some of the typical capabilities include:

• Adding social media icons to your web pages to lead people to your social media accounts.
• Adding buttons to your web pages and blog posts to easily allow site visitors to follow your social media accounts or share your content.
• Automatically distributing your blog posts to your social media accounts when you publish them.
• Importing your Instagram or Pinterest posts onto your homepage.

If you’re looking to connect your website or blog to your social media accounts, standard CMS platforms should do the trick.

Ecommerce Content

If you are selling online, a basic CMS may not provide the robust ecommerce integrations you require. Social media is an important component of online shopping these days, so using a CMS that provides social media integrations helps you better market your online store.

A popular ecommerce CMS is Shopify. One key Shopify feature is full integration with Facebook, making it easy to create a seamless shopping experience integrated on your Facebook Page. Another option for Facebook ecommerce integration is BigCommerce. If you’re using a Wordpress product, WooCommerce is a free option for adding an online store on your website.

Platforms such as Squarespace and Wix include ecommerce modules to help make building an online store more "plug and play." Using these CMS options can take a lot of the complexity out of setting up an online store, however, you will have less ability to customize beyond the templates they offer.

Social features on ecommerce CMS products include the ability for customers to choose to share purchases to their own personal social media profiles. As with regular websites, your online store can lead people to your social media accounts to encourage follows.

Content Marketing

Another type of CMS with social components are content marketing platforms such as Hubspot. There are some valid pros and cons to using a system that is built around content production, sales, and customer service with a built-in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) component. On the one hand, it provides a comprehensive all-in-one system to handle content, communications, and customer relations.

While the automation and integrations can be helpful, the system can also lock you into a process that can be overwhelming and all-consuming to any small business owner whose first priority is running a business, not feeding a content machine. It can also become cost prohibitive depending on the features you opt to use.

Understanding your business and marketing needs as well as your budget can help you zero in on the CMS that is right for you. Whether you’re looking for a basic web presence or an online store, a good CMS will have social media functionality integrated into its features to help you distribute your content and build your following.