If you have a blog or Web site, chances are you want the ability for users to share your content with the social Web. Many Web sites (like this one) offer “share” buttons enabling viewers to share content on popular social networking sites.
Many of those buttons are powered by AddThis and ShareThis, two popular sharing services that are free (requiring registration from ShareThis).
It’s pretty easy to put the buttons on your site (but gets more complicated if you want to customize them). All you have to do is go to the Web sites and follow the instructions. While AddThis might be simpler if you don’t want too many choices, ShareThis allows users to pick and choose the social networking services.
Regardless of the button you go with, most readers of your blog or Web site will recognize it as a universal symbol for sharing content.
If you have Social Media 101 suggestion, let me know. Send your questions to epbehling@gmail.com and I'll answer them (or find someone else on Twitter who will).
Correction: A previous version of this story said you must sign up to use the free AddThis button. Actually you can get the button without registering.
Comments
Hi, my name is Justin Thorp. I'm the Community Manager for AddThis. Thanks so much for featuring us in the article. We really appreciate it.
Just wanted to clarify a few things. You actually don't have to create an account with us to use our tool. Go to AddThis.com, click the big "Get Your Button" button, and put that code in your Web site. That's it.
In terms of number of social media sites that we support, we're currently at 53 and will be adding A LOT more soon. If you want to see the full list, just click on "More" from the compact menu that appears on hovering over the button.
From the AddThis code, you can customize which ones are immediately displayed but the ones that we display are the ones that are the most used and will get you the best results.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop me a line - justin@addthis.com. Thanks!
Hi Justin,
Thanks so much for correcting me, and please accept my apologies. I have corrected the piece.
As far as selecting social networks, I was trying to say that you can't easily customize which ones you want (even if it's possible with the code). Sorry if that didn't come across.
You'll be happy to know I use AddThis on my blog, www.y-rd.com!
Ellie
Hi! Great Article! I just want to know how can I get those pretty buttons with just "F" icon for facebook or"T" for twitter. I can never find them!
Thanks!
Norfolk Christian Fiction Examiner
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