Cheers, fellow bloggers! ♥
Today’s post is all about sharing. Yup, because that’s what blogging is all about, isn’t it? Connecting and sharing lessons learned with tips and techniques to help make this blogging journey an awesome one. It’s why I started blogging and the very reason I remain so passionate about it.
We all know how much time and effort goes into crafting an engaging blog post. It’s not a simple task.
But… sharing it is. And it’s a win-win for all. Yet it’s not always an option.
I’ll set the scene. 🙂
I arrive at the end of an amazing post, eager to share …. and facepalm. No share options!
Say it ain’t so. I know, right? Missed opportunities.
As bloggers, we value the time visitors spend on our site. If they decide to share our content… happy dance, my friends! Let’s be certain we make it easy for them to do so. ♥
*Disclosure: These are resources I personally use and value highly. So much so, I became an Affiliate member. As an Affiliate, I endorse the products and services I use and love. If you see the value in these products and choose to purchase via my referral links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. ♥
Perhaps you’re a new blogger? If so, welcome aboard!
Maybe you’ve been blogging for a little while, but you’re still getting used to the ins and outs of it all. That’s completely okay, but let’s start sharing your hard work. No more missed opportunities.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- How to edit and customize the “Share This” text
- How to add and/or remove sharing buttons
- How to change the share button style/format
- How to turn on/off the like button
- How to add our custom @TwitterHandle to pages and posts
Below is a screenshot of the sharing options in use.
Adding Social Media Sharing Icons
Adding social media sharing icons is a quick and simple means to increase blog traffic and circulate content. A couple of steps and a few clicks is all that’s required. Let’s do this!
If you’re using WordPress.com or WordPress.org and self-hosted with Bluehost, you can easily set up this sharing capability using Jetpack. It’s included with WordPress.com hosting and can be easily added to self-hosted sites using the free Plugin ~ Jetpack.
Jetpack ~ WordPress Plugin
Once we install and activate the plugin, we’ll see it located in the top left corner under Bluehost (in my case) and/or listed with our Plugins.
Jetpack offers numerous valued options and settings. It’s fantastic for viewing website stats and performance and can be easily accessed from the Dashboard.
There are multiple ways to access the Jetpack Dashboard.
We can click on Jetpack > Sharing > Configure your Sharing Buttons at the far bottom of the screen.
For this tutorial, we’ll access the Sharing Options via Settings > Sharing, as shown in the image below.
From here, we can:
- Edit the sharing label text
- Add or remove sharing buttons
- Choose the button style
- Turn on/off the like button
- Add our custom @TwitterHandle to pages and posts
In the sharing settings, we can also connect our social media accounts via Publicize Settings to automatically share a post via each platform.
Let’s add our Social Sharing Icons.
To add or remove an icon, we just click and drag each icon in place. We can also reorder the icons in the same manner.
We can add social share icons to display under the More button. This is an ideal way to keep a clutter-free look while ensuring access and ability to share via these other platforms.
To edit the Share Label text, we just edit Sharing Label Text with our custom greeting. By default, it’s set to Share This. We don’t necessarily have to change it, but having the option of personalizing it is much appreciated. In the image below, you can see I edited my text to Thanks for Sharing!
We can choose and change the Button Style. I’ve selected Icon and Text.
We can also choose where to display the Share Buttons. I selected Posts and Pages.
The last step is adding our Twitter handle in the Twitter Site Tag. We can also set up the Like Button. We can set it to On for all posts or Turn on per post.
Let’s save our changes.
Adding our Twitter Handle is an awesome feature because we’ll know if someone shares our content on Twitter. It’s not necessary, but always nice, to recognize the gesture. I like to personally thank him/her in a tweet. I love this aspect of social media.
When visitors share a blog post via Twitter, it will look similar to the image below. The post title, link, and Twitter handle are all there and ready to tweet.
Easy peasy!
And that’s it!
If you haven’t been using the social share feature, I hope this post encourages you to jump on board.
Have a tip you’d like to share? Please feel free to share in the comments below.
Until next time … happy sharing, my friends! ♥
Free Download
Blogging Essentials Guide
After seven years of blogging, I thought I’d put together a Resource Guide with a list of essential tools and resources I use in hopes that it may prove helpful to fellow bloggers – newbies and/or not-so-newbies alike. After all, we’re always learning in this form of engagement. ♥
Another fantastic WordPress tutorial, Natalie!! Thank you!
Thank you, Jan! Always a joy to pass along blogging tips. Cheers! 🙂
You are so right about having share buttons. I will look around a bit wanting to share but sometimes there’s no option. Thanks for sharing how to do it!
Thanks, Denise! I first thought that maybe it was by choice, then I realized that some people may not be sure how to do it. Hence this post! Cheers to blogging and paying it forward. 🙂
I notice quite a few sites seem to have an issue with their Twitter button, any idea why?
Poohie. Not a clue, Jacquie.
Great post Natalie. Sharing. 🙂
Thank you, Marje! 🙂
You’re welcome Natalie. 🙂
Another useful and helpful reminder to those bloggers unsure about the follow buttons.. in the blogger daily later Natalie..hugsxx
That’s awesome, Sally. Thank you! 🙂
Thank you Natalie. Your posts are always helpful and informative.
Delighted to share, Brigid! Thanks for stopping by today. I really appreciate your knds words. Wishing you a fabulous day! 🙂
I hadn’t noticed you could edit the text for the sharing buttons. Great tip Natalie, thanks
Delighted to share! 🙂
Great post, Natalie.
Thanks for stopping by, Robbie! 🙂
Natalie, Many thanks for your terrific advice presented with great clarity. A lot of work for you but such a help for us. I’m bookmarking this as there are certain changes I want to adapt to my blog … and the new website I’m making. You gave me the courage to go ahead with that one! Thanks again! 😀🌺
That’s wonderful, Annika! I’m so delighted for you. It’s a lot of work for sure, but the creative process can bring so much joy. Happy to help in any way. I love sharing tips I’ve learned via blogging. Cheering you on across the miles! Many thanks for your kind words, as always. xo
Another excellent instructional, Natalie. Adding to draft for a future writer tip post. <3 Oh, may I also add that for those who like to share articles on pages with no share buttons, they can add the Chrome extension 'AddAny' which will install an icon on our top tool bars for easy access to click and a dropdown box will fall offering virtually every social media site option to share on . 🙂 xx
Thanks a bunch, Debby! I had no idea about the AddAny extension. That’s awesome and thanks for sharing the tip here. Cheers, my friend! 🙂
My pleasure. I have a post in draft to write about it. 🙂
Fantastic, Debby! 🙂
Just something else to add about the share buttons, Natalie. Only use the ones that included text. Why? I discovered a few days ago that those who are blind or have poor eyesight (and who use a reading software) are not able to decipher which sharing button is which if it only includes an icon. Fortunately, I’ve only ever only used sharing buttons that include both text and an icon which the reading software as no problems in picking up.
And thanks so much for mentioning about adding your Twitter username to your blog. I’ve written about it many times, yet many bloggers still do not add it to their blogs.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Hugh! After working in disability services for 15 years, I appreciate every aspect of website accessibility and love learning new ways to ensure it’s done in barrier free way. You rock. Thank you! 🙂
You’re welcome, Natalie. I only found out from a comment I received on my latest blog post. Like you, I want everyone to be able to access and use my website.
Love the new blog look, Natalie. 🙂
Thank you, Kevin! And for sharing, too. 🙂
My pleasure, Natalie. 🙂
Hi, Natalie! Your tutorials are amazing. WordPress should be paying you. 😉 <3
Thanks so much, Vashti! I’m always delighted to pass along tips. Cheers to blogging and sharing the love! Thanks again, my friend! Wishing you a fabulous week. xo
thank you for this useful and practical advice!
Warmest welcome, Jim! Delighted that you found it useful. Happy creating! 🙂
Thanks, Natalie, and same to you!