Scannable, shareable, engaging content is the key to success on social media. However, once you have created captivating content, you can increase its reach by using social media share and like buttons. In this article we look at what social like buttons are at your disposal, and how they can be used to your best marketing advantage. From the placement of your buttons, to proven content marketing techniques, we have social media like buttons covered.
Experiment With Third Party Plugins And Graphics
Social media integration with your blogs and other content is imperative to the success of any content marketing strategy. Content which is shared through social media exposes you to an entirely new demographic, expanding your market. Native like and share buttons from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great to start with. However, greater success is often found in third party plugins and tools. Many options exist to give you completely customised social icons which are a perfect match to your target audience and site design. As with all creative endeavours, feel free to explore the use of unique graphics to use with your buttons. After-all, a branded solution should encompass all facets of your brand identity, which includes your social shares.
Button Placement
There is no proven correlation between sharing a blog post and reading it. This leads many to place their social media buttons right at the top of their post. The number of shares acts as social proof, encouraging the viewer to take the time to read your article. By placing your social like buttons below your headline, your social media exposure acts as additional leverage. Stay away from putting your social share buttons at the bottom of the page, as there is simply too much competition from other page elements. Once your readers are done with the article, it is likely that their interest has waned. In-line social like buttons can also be a great asset if they are strategically placed.
Use Large Icons
Large social like buttons typically get clicked more often as they obviously draw more attention. Always try to fit in a set of social media buttons which are as big as possible, while never breaking the streamlined design of you site. Customised icons are a great way to strike a balance between size and design aesthetics. A good rule-of-thumb is to stay as close to the original design of any given social media icon set as possible, while making only subtle customisations. Unfamiliar buttons may show individuality and creativity, helping to establish your brand. However, they come with a drawback. Most users will be hesitant to click on anything which they aren’t completely familiar with.
Keep Social Media Network Choices To A Minimum
There is a plethora of social networks to establish your presence on. Yet giving each and every network as a social share or like option will do nothing other than confuse your viewers. Too many options, and your reader becomes overwhelmed and most often resorts to ignoring the social media component of your page all together. An overflow of buttons also slows down your site, increasing page load time. Stick to the social networks in which you have the most traction. Always observe your analytics and add buttons from the networks which send you the most traffic.
Share Counters
Share counters are as beneficial as they can be dangerous. A share counter should never be displayed on any post which is new to social media. Once you have built up a decent amount of likes or shares, you may switch to a share counter. The perceived worth of your content is increased greatly by mass consumer opinion. When people see that others have taken an interest, they are far more likely to become interested themselves. Yet under no circumstances should the share counter be shown for a post which has few likes, shares or comments. This will do nothing other than deter viewers from opening your article.
Not Every Page Or Post Needs Social Shares
Research suggests that service and product pages experience an increase in conversions and a decrease in bounce rate when social media like buttons are omitted from their layout. Technical information and product sales pages are often not suited to social media shares. It is a far better idea to hyperlink to a product page from within an article or post which is written for social media engagement. Landing pages also do better when they contain nothing other than the information essential to converting the visitor to a lead. Encouraging additional social media engagement risks diluting the call to action and discouraging conversion.
Stay Active On Social Media
If you are going to be including social media like and share buttons with your content, then you need to ensure that you maintain an active presence on your core social media platforms. The lack of a current and engaging social feed will deter many visitors from returning to your site, if they decide to not just like your content, but explore your social feed as well.
Never Stop Improving
Social media like and share buttons are essential to driving customer engagement and form an important part of a content marketing strategy. They encourage backlinks and serve as a great source of trust. Be sure to test your button-set on multiple devices to be sure that your content is being displayed correctly. While button placement is important, if your content is good enough to share, a determined user will find a way to share it. Your job is to make this as easy as possible.
This shows that, as always, quality content and a genuine understanding of your audience reaps the greatest reward. When choosing your social icons, be sure to keep in mind psychological factors such as colours, repetition and the impact of geometric designs. A marketer needs to employ everything at their disposal to create an advantage in today’s competitive marketplace.
If you are looking for advice on how to integrate any element of design for the best content engagement and exposure, have a chat with our team of marketing specialists. A partnership with JDR brings solid guidance, proven techniques and unique social media strategies tailored to your grow your business.
