Where and How To Use Social Sharing Buttons in Your Content

CopyPress

April 12, 2022 (Updated: December 20, 2022)

Encouraging your website visitors and loyal content followers to share your pieces on social media can have positive effects on your traffic. The more traffic you get to your content can increase brand awareness and recognition. And the more people that know about your brand can increase the number of qualified leads and paying customers you get. Today, we’re discussing how and where to add social sharing buttons to your content to start this chain reaction.

What Are Social Sharing Buttons?

Social sharing buttons are clickable tabs or icons that appear within your content and allow readers or viewers to share it to social media channels. You can include them in different locations throughout your content. Some common places to put your social share buttons are:

Beginnings of articles, under the title or subtitle
Ends of articles, after the conclusion, or with the author’s bio
Scrolling alongside the content as the reader browses
Triggered when the reader reaches a specific point in the article
Hidden behind a single sharing icon that reveals an expanded panel on click
Hidden like anchor text and revealed when someone clicks or highlights the right portion of an article

Why Should I Use Social Sharing Buttons?

Image via GIPHY by @backstreetboys

Social sharing buttons can help you drive traffic and increase engagement. They encourage people who already like your content to share it with people who may not know about your brand yet. According to Semrush, 90% of people are more likely to trust a brand somebody recommends, even if that person is a stranger. So, every time someone shares your content on social media, that’s like giving your brand their stamp of approval. Adding social sharing buttons can make it easier for them to do that.

Where Can You Use Social Sharing Buttons?

Where do you produce and house your best content? Where are you already getting a lot of traffic and feedback, even without share buttons? Whether it’s your blog, resource articles, eBook library, or videos, anywhere you’re getting buzz, that’s where you add your social sharing buttons first. This is because people are already finding and linking your content in those places, organically. Adding social search buttons there can make your audience even larger. If people already like what you produce, they’re more apt to share it with friends and colleagues.

Social Sharing Tools To Use With Your Content

You can use these tools to add social sharing buttons to your content:

Social Network Share Buttons

Most top social networks have their own share buttons you can add to your website or blog. Depending on the service, you can either copy and paste the embed code for the share button or follow a guided tutorial for web developers to add them to your layout. Some services that offer these kinds of social sharing tools include:

Twitter: This service lets you embed share, follow, mention, hashtag, and message buttons into your content.
Facebook: This service lets you embed page plugins, like buttons, and share buttons into your content.
LinkedIn: This service has code tutorials for widgets to follow your company page and share content.
YouTube: This service lets you add a channel subscribe button to your content.
Pinterest: This service lets you add follow, save, board, profile, and Pin buttons to your content.

It’s important to know that Instagram doesn’t offer native share buttons. The only way to promote your Instagram account or content is to embed a specific post from your profile or share a link to your page.

Third-Party Share Tools

Social sharing isn’t just for social media. It encompasses any way you can share links or communication between two or more people, like through email or text messages. To do this, you may need the help of a third-party app or service. Many of these tools work with specific website builders or email clients. Options include:

AddThis: This tool supports share buttons for Shopify, Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress. It allows you to place buttons inline with the text or float on the scroll with the content.
AddToAny: This plugin works with Tumblr, Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress.
ElfSight: This service offers customizable share buttons and works on platforms like Wix, Weebly, Shopify, and WordPress.
Shareaholic: This plugin service works with any website where you can embed code, including Drupal, Tumblr, and WordPress.
ShareThis: This service offers both inline and floating share buttons for Shopify and WordPress.

The best way to get people to share your content socially is to have engaging pieces they can’t help but talk about. Start a call with CopyPress to learn how we can create written content and custom designs your audience wants to share with their social networks and beyond. Looking for more helpful tools and content marketing tricks? Be sure to subscribe to the CopyPress newsletter to get them delivered right to your inbox.

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Kevin Doory

Director of SEO at Auto Revo

Christy Walters

CopyPress writer