How to Choose Social Media Share Buttons

Social share buttons are a great way to spread the content you have deeper into networks across the Web – but which social share buttons are right for your site? Sometimes, the “catch-all” approach to buttons that we so often see isn’t the best route; you know, those widgets that produce a bunch of buttons for social communities for the sake of trying to reach everybody and their mother … Oftentimes, this can just confuse readers or make them think more than they should have to in order to share the content they like.

• The social share buttons we’re getting rid of and why
• The social share buttons we’re adding and why
• How do you know if a social share button will work for you? 
• FAQ: How can I determine which social share buttons are right for my website?

There are several approaches to how you can identify which social share buttons you should include on your Web pages. One is checking traffic sources in your site’s analytics. Another is knowing who your target audience is and where they are hanging out socially online. And yet another is assessing the importance of individual social share buttons as metrics in whatever goals you have for the business. Virginia and I recently decided to do an analysis of the social share buttons on the SEO Newsletterarticle pages, since they hadn’t been refreshed in quite some time. I’m going to share with you what we uncovered about some of the social share buttons, what we plan to do with it, and how you can better assess the social share buttons on your (or your client’s) site.

The Social Share Buttons We’re Getting Rid of and Why

Here’s a snapshot of the social share buttons on our newsletter article pages: As you see, we have Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit and Delicious. Looking at sitewide analytics, we saw that we did have traffic from all of those sources, but some more than others. And for many, there were specific stories behind the traffic. But, before we decided, we wanted to understand the health of the individual community and the types of audience it draws.

• Digg: While Digg does have a community within it that’s technology news-focused, its numbers were in steady decline this year, as recorded by Quantcast.com. Even though the more than 4 million people per month reach is nothing to scoff at, we ultimately decided this community did not directly fit into our goals for content sharing. This was confirmed by the fact that none of our newsletter stories had been shared through our Digg button all year. In this debate on Reddit, it talks about the decline of Digg and the rise of Reddit. But, we weren’t sure Reddit was right for us either, so we did some research on them, too.

• Reddit: Reddit’s user-generated news links draw a fairly steady audience in numbers  month over month (about 14 million users), and the community does have a targeted SEO category within the site. Our analytics showed that we did see traffic from Reddit – but the answer was no when we looked to see if anyone was sharing our newsletter stories from the share buttons. In fact, the spike in traffic we saw from Reddit last year occurred from a guest author we had on the blog who was an active Reddit user. So we concluded that active Reddit users will share information they find useful as they come across it, but that it’s going to be more far and few between with our audience, so a share button is not warranted here.
• Delicious: This bookmarking site reaches a smaller audience than the prior two, and data on Quantcast.com shows that the typical visitor goes to Cooking.com, watches Food Network, and uses Realtor.com. – not necessarily our target market; but the site does have a dedicated technology and science category. There were rumors of Delicious shutting down in late 2010, but it has since been sold to YouTube founders by Yahoo!, and active users have risen significantly since then. For our goals, however, it didn’t look like a social share button for Delicious was something we wanted to pursue.

At this point, we were ready to delete the three social buttons we just discussed from our newsletter article pages, but we performed one final sanity check to see if any of them factored as strong social signals in the search algorithms. As far as we know, they don’t, so in the end, it didn’t look like any of these turned out to be significant to us.

The Social Share Buttons We’re Adding and Why

StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is a growing network that presents a lot of opportunities for people to share content (more than 1 billion referrals per month, according to data in this post on visualizing the StumbleUpon audience). StumbleUpon itself offers many resources for people to target and grow their intended audience, and has also been known to be a factor in content “staying” power. For us, it made sense to keep this button and further explore how we could maximize our presence in this community.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an often-overlooked network that’s proving to be more and more important as a place for professionals of all industries to share ideas and content. If you’re feeling lost about how to best use LinkedIn for business, check out resources like “RockTheWorld with LinkedIn” – a webcast on WebmasterRadio.fm.

Facebook

I don’t think much of a case is needed for this one. Facebook is where the eyes are and is the volume leader in social networks. Not to mention certain search engines have reported using Facebook signals in their algorithm for search results. Looking at our analytics, we already receive a ton of traffic from Facebook. Bottom line: It’s probably never a bad idea to have a Facebook Like button on your Web content so it’s sharable there. If you want to learn more about this button and how it works, check out “The Facebook Like Button, Dissected.”

Twitter

Again, it’s hard to argue against the idea that a Twitter share button is good for pushing out content. With 80 million users (according to an October 2011 stat by Quantcast), the microblog Twitter is an ideal place to share good content and have it spread quickly. On our blog, Twitter is a popular way our audience shares content, and it’s considered a social signal in certain search algorithms. You can learn more about the power of tweets and retweets on rankingon SEOmoz.

Google +1

While many might argue that Google’s social network, Google+, is only used by a niche community (comprised of lots of techies), one report predicts the network will reach 400 million users by the end of 2012 if it continues at the pace it’s going. The fact that the community is comprised of lots of tech people works in our favor; for businesses in other industries, it’s worth exploring whether Google+ and its +1 button is the right place to share content. When a person +1s content, it not only shows up in the Google+ community but the endorsement can also be seen alongside search results. And as many of us know, these types of endorsements are becoming increasingly important for many reasons. Many are speculating what the Google +1 button will mean to the future of search. For us, we’re going to stick it out with this share button and see where it takes us.

How Do You Know if a Social Share Button Will Work for You?

There are a million things that a person could examine in order to validate the use of one social share button over another. In fact, I could probably write a 10-part series on this if I really dug in. The important thing to remember is whichever direction you choose, don’t just shoot in the dark.

Take the time to understand who your audience is, where they are spending their time online, how people are coming to your site, and the long-term health of the social community before making decisions about which social share buttons you want to include on your Web content pages. The more choices a reader has, the more likely it is to cause analysis paralysis. And the messier your Web page might look with all the social share button clutter. Give fewer, more targeted options to make it easier for your visitors to choose and share content.

And test! Don’t just put a button up and then ignore it for the rest of your life. See if it’s working for you by extracting the important data to measure social share button success and its impact on your content goals.

Do you have thoughts on this topic? Please share with us below!

FAQ: How can I determine which social share buttons are right for my website?

Integrating social share buttons has become a fundamental aspect of website optimization. However, the abundance of options often leaves website owners grappling with the question: “How can I determine which social share buttons are right for my website?” The answer lies in a thoughtful evaluation of your audience and strategic considerations.

Begin by understanding your audience demographics. Different social platforms cater to distinct age groups and interests. If your target audience is predominantly on visual platforms like Instagram, prioritize share buttons for those channels. If your content is more tailored towards professionals, LinkedIn might be an appropriate platform.

Be mindful of the user experience on your website. The placement and design of social share buttons significantly impact user engagement. Conduct A/B testing to find the optimal placement that encourages sharing without disrupting the overall user experience. Subtle, visually cohesive buttons often outperform flashy, intrusive alternatives.

Platform compatibility is another crucial factor. Ensure that the social share buttons seamlessly integrate with your website’s architecture. Visitors should be able to share content effortlessly, irrespective of the device or browser they use. This inclusiveness contributes to an enjoyable user experience by creating an atmosphere of accessibility.

Social media trends are ever-evolving. Regularly reassess your chosen social share buttons to align with the current preferences of your audience. Stay abreast of platform updates and adapt accordingly. Flexibility is key to ensuring that your website remains a dynamic and responsive part of the online conversation.

Selecting the right social share buttons involves a strategic blend of audience understanding, user experience optimization, and adaptability to evolving trends.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Audience Analysis: Understand your target audience.
2. Platform Prioritization: Identify the social media platforms most frequented by your audience.
3. User Experience Testing: Conduct A/B testing to determine the optimal placement and design of social share buttons.
4. Inclusivity Check: Ensure compatibility with various devices and browsers for a seamless user experience.
5. Trend Monitoring: Stay updated on social media trends and adjust your social share buttons accordingly.

This article was updated on November 11, 2023.

Jessica Lee is the founder and chief creative for bizbuzzcontent Inc., a marketing boutique that focuses on digital content strategy and professional writing services for businesses.

See Jessica's author page for links to connect on social media.