Where’s Your Share Button?

Katherine Bennett - October 10, 2011

When people like something they normally tell their friends. Many businesses would agree that word of mouth advertising is incredibly powerful as well. In fact, a satisfied customer can be one of the greatest assets to a company.  Social share buttons are the online version of word of mouth. This brings back the question of “where’s your social share button?”

Social share buttons allow users to share relevant information with their friends and associates. Many businesses don’t always see the value of the share button, but it definitely helps. The social share button is not about joining the social media bandwagon; it’s about getting relevant information to a greater number of people. Social share buttons should be located in obvious areas on your website where relevant information is located. Relevant information includes blogs, white papers, newsletters, and more.

When someone is reading quality information on a business website, they should have the option to share it with their social media circle. People want to share information of value with others, which is an added benefit to businesses. It’s literally free advertising. Want more proof that social share buttons work?  A study done by BrightEdge mentioned in an eMarketer article states that, “On average, a website without a Twitter share button was mentioned four times, while a site with a tweet button was mentioned 27 times. Including a Twitter plugin button increased mentions on Twitter almost sevenfold.”  

Social share buttons shouldn’t be underestimated by businesses, especially if that business produces a lot of written content that can and should be shared with others. Adding a share button doesn’t take a whole lot of time and the benefits should definitely outweigh the time it takes to add it.  If your business wants to share more info with others, social share buttons should be considered.