Many clients ask me how to best connect their site to social networking tools. While there’s no short answer to this question, there are a few quick and easy tools you can use. The following are a few simple plugins that just about anyone can use to increase the viral power of blogs, websites, emails and more.
Facebook Share
Facebook offers an easy plugin that allows users to not only click to your homepage, but actually post the chosen piece of content directly to their wall. A good example can be found at the top of the main news story for Tech Crunch: http://www.techcrunch.com/. I believe the plugin is here:http://developers.facebook.com/tools.php?connect_wizard&wizard=stream_publish
Twitter Sharing
You can also use a Tweetmeme button like the one at the top of this post to share your content. Find it here:http://help.tweetmeme.com/2009/04/06/tweetmeme-button/
Topsy.com offers a great Retweet button similar to that offered as part of the Facebook Share Option. This comes in a variety of designs and can be placed next to the Facebook Share button.http://labs.topsy.com/widgets/retweet-button/
Linkedin Widget
Similar as the Twitter and Facebook tools above. Find it at http://developer.linkedin.com/docs/DOC-1075 . Us this as part of a strategy for sharing articles on Linkedin within your professional network.
Smart Digg Widget
Once your traffic grows as a result of smart blog and social posting strategies, it may be a good idea to add the Smart Digg Widget to your content. This is more effective than the “Digg This” button as it shows the number of diggs and is easier with which to interact. http://about.digg.com/button
Facebook Comment Tool
This tool allows for commenting directly onto your webpage in real time. Any comments made by Facebook members will be visible on your site as well as Facebook. http://developers.facebook.com/tools.php?connect_wizard&wizard=comments
RSS Feeds
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is one of the most popular way for people to digest information. The most common use is for people to collect blog feeds through a reader like Google Reader or My Yahoo. However, RSS feeds can feed into iphone apps, into your Linkedin account and more. Make sure your blog has an RSS feed. Be sure your job posts and even your featured talent all have enabled RSS feeds. Start taking photos at events and feature those in an RSS feed. Again, any dynamic content posted through your site should be RSS enabled. Consider this a building block.
Though there are countless ways to make online content more social, this is a basic list to get you started. Feel free to include your favorites to the comments below.
