Integrating one or all of your social media feeds is becoming more popular on both personal and professional websites. Whether you just want to show your most recent tweets or integrate an entire lifestream into your site, the examples below can give you some great ideas. Following those are some tips to help you build a better integration.

Doejo

Doejo integrates a customized Twitter icon in their footer. It maintains the feel of their site while still using the familiar bird symbol people associate with Twitter.

Design Newz

Twitter buttons and icons don’t need to stand out from the other icons on your site. Sometimes integrating them right alongside your other icons works best graphically.

Mostly Lisa

Mostly Lisa integrates both Twitter and Flickr feeds on her site. The Twitter section offers up her latest tweet, while the Flickr section shows nine of her photos.

FRONT

FRONT also shows their most recent tweet, right above their most recent blog posts.

Delicious Design Studio

Delicious Design Studio offers their most recent tweet right next to their “welcome” message.

J Taylor Design

J Taylor Design displays their most recent tweet just above their footer, alongside a bird icon.

GirlsGuideTo.com

GirlsGuideTo.com makes use of Facebook Connect instead of using their own signup system. It makes sense in a lot of ways, mostly because people are more likely to join if they don’t have to go through yet another signup process. They also include express instructions for how to join using Connect, making it even easier.

This Moment

This Moment also uses Facebook Connect in addition to their own signup process.

Urban Pie

A Facebook icon matched up to the other icons used in a sidebar looks a lot cleaner and more streamlined than a bunch of disparate icons.

Lifestreaming White

Lifestreaming White is a lifestreaming template that makes it easier to set up your lifestream.

David Cramer’s Lifestream

David Cramer includes his lifestream in his blog sidebar, as well as on its own dedicated page.

Colin Anawaty

Colin Anawaty has his lifestream as his home page, aggregating his Twitter, Y Combinator and other feeds in one place.

Andreas Lanjerud

This is a gorgeous lifestream setup, giving equal weight to every service included. It also gives users the option to filter to only see the elements they’re interested in (blog, videos, etc.).

David Catalano

This lifestream is formatted more like a timeline and also gives users the option to filter based on service.

Thomas Baekdal

This lifestream shows photos, article, tweets, and more, but what really sets it apart is the inclusion of Twitter replies.

Tim Van Damme

Using a single icon set and a clean design makes it possible to provide links to all of your different social media accounts while still maintaining a minimal and cohesive design.

Productivedreams.com

Productivedreams.com integrates a Twitter icon, icons for each social network, and a set of bookmarking icons (that reveal themselves as you scroll down the page).

Bert Timmermans

Bert Timmermans integrates both a Twitter feed in his footer and a set of social media icons on his contact page. It’s a good example of how using icons from different sets can still work, as long as they have similar styles.

Basil Gloo

Using monochromatic logos instead of regular buttons maintains a clean look across platforms.

Integration Tips

Here are some tips to get you on your way with your own social media integrations.

1. Consider the platform’s pre-established standards.

Some platforms have certain elements associate with them. Twitter has birds. Facebook has the blue and white “F” icon. LinkedIn has the “In” icon. Think about what’s already associated with the platform you want to integrate and see how you can include that in a way that makes sense for your site.

2. Take the time to design it.

Don’t just slap a Twitter feed into your sidebar. Take the time to really integrate it into your site and design around it. Look at the elements currently in your design and decide what will work best around your integrations.

3. Consider putting it front-and-center.

Some of the best integrations put the social media content front and center. It can have a big impact. Just make sure the tweets, videos, or whatever else you’re integrating are going to be relevant to your website visitors.

4. Use apps or plugins.

While you can definitely go ahead and custom-code your lifestream or social media integration, there’s likely already a plugin or app that will do it for you. Check the plugins for your CMS to see if someone’s already built on, or see if there’s a widget that will work.

5. Remember where your content is showing up.

If you integrate your feeds into your professional website, don’t forget that they’re showing up there. Current and potential clients will see what you’ve written or posted. And while they can also see these things if they look directly at your feeds, they tend to hold a bit more weight when they’re showing up on your corporate website. If you regularly post links that are NSFW or use foul language, you might want to think twice about integrating.

Related posts:

1. Free Social Media Icon Set
2. Social Media Isn’t Enough: Why You Need a Dedicated Web Presence
3. 20 Social Media Sites For Web Designers / Developers
4. Tips for Designers and Developers Using Twitter
5. 10 Essential Features Your Blog Needs