Research shows that social media is the third-highest source of website traffic, at around 16%. Therefore, having the option to share your website content is an excellent way to get more engagement from your website and social media followers.
Using social media sharing buttons and in-app functions is one way to encourage your audience to re-post your content or share their wishlists. Plus, social media sharing buttons help users seamlessly integrate posts from social media into their product research and shopping experience.
Are you ready to learn more about the best practices for social media sharing buttons and in-app functions below? Let’s dive in!
What Are Social Media Sharing Buttons and In-App Functions
Social media sharing buttons are clickable icons on a website linking users to the site’s associated social media profiles. In-app functions are added features on an app, like in-app purchases or social media sharing features.
Unfortunately, social media sharing buttons are rarely clicked, meaning great content goes unshared. That is unless you follow some best practices to get the most engagement with social media sharing buttons and in-app functions.
Best Practices for Social Media Sharing Buttons
Connecting your audience with affiliated social media accounts for your website can aid you with valuable information about your customer base with social network data mining. With more information about customer engagement, you can tweak things on your website to find which configuration gets the most engagement on your website.
Below, we’ll talk about the best practices for social media sharing buttons, like design, placement, frequency, and more.
Design
Choose the design of social media sharing buttons and in-app functions based on your target audience.
Some websites use company logos as clickable icons, while others use the company name; pick your icon designs to mesh with your brand and company voice.
For example, A fashion blog would do better with logos since that audience would recognize them. On the other hand, a website for a construction company would better suit using the company names since some company logos might be less recognizable to that audience.
Number
Less is more with social media sharing buttons. Choose two to four social media platforms with your biggest following to advertise on your website.
You don’t want to bombard your audience with too many choices because visitors could get overwhelmed and choose none or get used to ignoring the buttons altogether.
Placement
Where you place your social media sharing buttons on your website matters; of course, the correct placement will largely depend on your website design and audience.
You have four main options for the placement of social media sharing buttons, at the top of a post, left of the post, bottom of the post, or embedded into your content.
Top
Placing social media sharing buttons at the top seems counter-intuitive since readers haven’t browsed your content yet. However, this placement helps adds social proof to posts since viewers can see a tally of other likes, getting posts the engagement they deserve.
If you place your social media sharing buttons at the top of a blog post, readers will have to scroll back up to share the post if they liked it. This placement can be a benefit since readers who took the extra time to scroll and click post provides information about highly-engaged readers.
Left
Sometimes you’ll see social media sharing buttons at the left of an article. Readers are familiar with a scroll feature following them down the page as they browse content, so having social buttons on the left is a comfortable and non-intrusive way to place them on the client’s buying journey.
Bottom
The bottom of the page is a popular, and perhaps the most common, placement for social sharing buttons, especially for blog content.
Homepages and other website pages typically feature social media sharing buttons at the bottom. Viewers are used to finding contact information at the bottom of the page, so this is a comfortable way to display these icons without interfering with their browsing experience.
Social sharing buttons on the bottom of blog content mean readers can share a post immediately after reading it. That is, assuming they read the post from start to finish – if they don’t, then try embedding socials into your content.
Embedded
Embedding social media links into written content is a growling-popular way to share your website’s social media pages with engaged readers.
Instead of using icons or clickable buttons, share your social media tags as CTAs throughout the post. By embedding socials into your content, readers become aware but are not pressured or distracted by flashy icons.
Frequency
As we mentioned above, less is more for successful engagement with social media sharing buttons.
Choose how frequently you display your social media sharing buttons on your website because not all pages need this information. More buttons and icons mean slower website loading times, so limiting social sharing buttons to pages where they’ll get the most engagement helps create an overall better user experience.
Best Practices for Social Media Sharing Buttons and In-App Functions on Mobile Devices
Many of the best practices for social media sharing buttons and in-app functions with mobile devices are similar to those for desktop versions. Below, we’ll discuss things like plugins, intuitive placement, frequency, and size.
Plugins
Plugins are used to add social media sharing buttons and in-app functions to websites and mobile devices. However, some plugins offer different additional social sharing buttons, like showing the number of likes a post has received on each platform.
Similar to selecting the right design logo, choose a plugin that fits your brand voice but isn’t distracting or overwhelming to the viewer.
Intuitive Placement
Hand-held devices make clicking and sharing posts easy, but websites can help boost engagement by intuitively placing social media sharing buttons and in-app functions within reach when the user is most likely to want that icon.
Intuitive placement of in-app functions and social media sharing buttons make the user experience exceptional, encouraging more engagement.
Frequency
Just like the desktop version, only include social media sharing buttons and in-app functions on the most engaged-with pages of your mobile website or app. With a smaller screen size, website designs for mobiles should optimize space and use icons sparingly.
Size
The size of your social media sharing buttons and in-app functions should be relative to the device’s screen size. Adjust the icon sizes to fit each mobile version to ensure a quality user experience across all platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about the importance of following the best practices for social media sharing buttons and in-app functions with answers to popular FAQs below.
Do people click share buttons?
Unfortunately, the click-through rate of share buttons on most websites is low. One study found that 99.8% of mobile users don’t click on social share buttons, though the desktop click rate is higher at around 0.06%. That’s why following the best practices for social media share buttons is crucial to getting the most engagement from your content.
Why are social media buttons important?
Social media sharing buttons are important because they help users find and follow a website’s official social media pages. Having a seamless connection between Instagram photos, TikTok videos of products, and Facebook chat support, is one way to boost your website’s SEO and the customer’s user experience.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know the best practices for social media sharing buttons and in-app functions, you’re ready to update your website and mobile apps and maximize engagement across all platforms.
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