No matter how popular your learning management system (LMS) is, if it works in isolation, you probably won’t be able to make the most out of it and may fail to utilize its full potential. The value you get significantly increases when you are able to integrate it with other systems. That’s why choosing an LMS that supports integration with other platforms is important.
Integration with CRM
You shouldn’t hesitate to integrate your LMS with your customer relationship management (CRM) platform because nowadays most businesses use CRM software for managing their customers. Once you click your way through the integration process, all users of your LMS will be able to access information using a CRM software (such as Salesforce). In other words, the information about learner engagement will sync in real time between your LMS and CRM. The additional benefit is that users can use the same credentials for both systems.
Accordingly, this integration will have a positive impact on user experience for both admins and learners. While learners have easy access to all training materials, the administrator can easily check which courses learners register for. Finally, training reports are generated in the blink of an eye.
Integration with an E-mail Marketing Tool
If you are using an e-mail marketing tool (such as MailChimp, for example), the integration will make your administration activities easier. They’ll make it possible for you to:
- Import Mail Chimp subscribers to your online learning system
- Directly assign them quizzes, lessons, and training
- Instantly subscribe your learners to MailChimp list by exporting the contacts
- Register new Mail Chimp subscribers to the classroom of your LMS right away and send immediate invites for classroom registration.
Integration with Google Analytics
Most businesses use Google Analytics to measure the results of individual campaigns in real time, compare data, and more. Thus, if you decide to integrate your LMS with Google Analytics, it will provide you with some imposing statistics that are especially useful for e-commerce businesses. You’ll be able to get detailed information about:
- The level of popularity for different courses
- The flow of the visits on a daily or weekly level
- The channels customers frequently use to get to your store
Once you get the access to these facts, you’ll understand the return on investment you may achieve.
Integration with LinkedIn
Integrating your LMS with LinkedIn means the learners who finish their training on your LMS can showcase their achievement on this platform. This is done by sharing the certificate of completion on their profile. This integration is useful both for administrators and for learners because LinkedIn is a business and employment-oriented social networking service.
LMS integration with LinkedIn offers many advantages. LinkedIn state that learners who display the certification on their profile get six times more profile views as compared to those who don’t. Also, training providers can easily promote their courses every time these certificates are shared.
Integration with Webhooks
The integration of the LMS and Webhooks is important because it makes it possible to customize and automate different online learning actions. It is especially good for getting real-time information about various activities. All you have to do is to specify what activities you want to be informed about.
For example, if you want to know the exam results of one of your learners, this information will reach you as soon as the exam is taken. Once you receive it, you can decide if you want to create extra processes in other applications or Websites based on the data you’ve received.
LMS and LRS Integration
Learning record stores (LRSs) represent the systems that collaborate with the Tin Can API and provide a large amount of data about online learning experiences. There are various learning record stores that can be integrated, starting with Learning Locker and WaterShed LRS, all the way to Grassblade LRS and Wax LRS, depending upon your requirements and preferences. Once integrated with your LMS, any of these systems can be a useful source of reports and statistics about learner data.
Many will state you don’t need an LRS in order to get Tin Can reports. However, if you want thorough analytics, you should implement this integration because an LRS provides you with more types of profound reports. This way, collected data becomes more accessible and easier for understanding.
Integration with Payment Gateways
This type of integration is especially recommended for those who are interested in selling their training and online courses. In most cases, potential clients will demand to pay through a verified and reliable service.
Some of the most popular services of this kind are PayPal, Authorize.Net, and Stripe. Integration will make it possible for you to provide your clients with a fast and safe checkout process with no unnecessary redirections. The integration doesn’t take much of time if you have chosen an efficient el-earning tool that supports LMS integration with payment gateways.
Integration with Twitter
As a social network, Twitter offers ample scope for promotion. So if you want to sell your online courses, this platform will let you communicate both with your actual learners and potential clients.
Thanks to this integration, LMS users can share the news about completed courses with their followers on Twitter. Moreover, course providers can embed their Twitter feed and make the company news more appealing for prospective customers. This integration is the most cost-effective marketing strategy that will help you obtain considerable visibility in the shortest possible time.
Ultimately, an LMS that supports integration:
- Can improve the user experience
- Reduce admin and user frustration
- Increase the variety and depth of deliverable reports
In other words, if you still haven’t chosen any e-learning system, it is best to go for a responsive one. An LMS that supports integration with different types of productivity-enhancement platforms will help your business grow.
Kamy Anderson is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. He is an expert in learning management system and authoring tools and currently associated with ProProfs.
