Buttons to like, share, and retweet information are becoming more and more common on websites as social media becomes even more of a driving force on the internet.
These buttons have huge marketing potential.
The easier it is for someone to share your content on Facebook, to like your page or product, and to tweet your latest article, the more likely they are to do so.
Why is this so crucial? Because it is essentially free, word of mouth, advertising. Not only does it let people quickly promote your content, but it also helps with search engine optimization. Pages that are more social and better connected to social media are ranked higher on search engines like Google.
There are buttons for almost every type of social media website out there. Facebook alone has three different types of buttons (like, share, and send buttons). So, how do you know which ones to include on your website?
As many as you need to.
Make it as easy as possible for people to share your content. Your company or product may only have dedicated Facebook and Twitter pages, but that doesn’t mean someone won’t want to easily share your article on Digg or Stumbleupon.
If you’ve only got a small amount of space, collapse all the buttons in a convenient “share this post” button (like the one at the bottom of this page) that expands when clicked on or rolled over.
If you need help with setting up different kinds of buttons try the ShareThis website. If you don’t like that layout there are plenty of others to choose from, or you can even make your own.
What buttons do you use on your website? Are you using standard buttons, or did you make your own? Are buttons helping you stay connected with your audience?