If there was ever a social sharing function to have on one’s website, a Twitter retweet button it would be. Simply having the button present and functioning is crucial, but to be sure you are maximizing your retweets, a few steps beyond basic installation and activation are needed.
TweetMeme
Probably the most common form of this button is the TweetMeme option seen above. TweetMeme is available for WordPress.org, Blogger, Typepad, Tumblr and Drupal websites. TweetMeme also comes in 2 forms; the popular look shown above and as a blue-on-blue button seen below.
After installing and activating a plugin, it’s always a good idea to check to see if there are any settings that can or need to be customized. In the case of the “classic” version of the TweetMeme button at the top, you can designate the pages of your blog where it shows, whether or not you want it present in your RSS feed, the position of your button on a page (before or after content, and to the left or right), the source of the tweet (meaning, RT from @YourTwitterHandle) and if you want hashtags included.
(The code in the Styling field is: float: left; margin-right: 10px; for a button that is positioned on the left side of a post. To position yours on the right side, it would read, float: right; margin-left: 10px;)
Share and Follow
Share and Follow is a popular plugin because it incorporates buttons for just about every social sharing and social bookmarking site out there. There is a section in the Share and Follow settings specifically for the Twitter Retweet Button if that’s the style you’d like to use.
Settings here are fewer and simpler, though users are still given the option to choose the positioning of the button as well as including their Twitter handle.
AddThis
AddThis Social Bookmarking is another plugin that incorporates content sharing functions beyond just Twitter. It provides several options for button styles, and 2 button locations.
AddThis also allows users to customize settings beyond button look.
AddThis does not have a default field that allows users to easily include their Twitter handle (in order for it to be mentioned in a retweet), and asks users to create a profile, username and password in order to discover how their content is being shared. It’s important to note that AddThis also provides analytics, so registering with them would be worth the effort.
A Few Extra Minutes is Worth Your Time
With a few clicks and keystrokes beyond installation and activation, you can customize your retweet button plugin settings to best fit the look and layout of your blog, encourage sharing of your content, and gain knowledge of who in your Twitter stream is promoting your content.
Helpful post, as always! I need to go look into this immediately.
I have been really curious about this. I use shareholic, which has all the sharing buttons at the bottom. But I see a lot of the tweetmeme buttons at the top of the post. Should I have both? Would it be more effective at the top? Though I assume readers won’t tweet until the end and have decided they like the post.
Please advise!
It’s definitely better to have both a link to comments and all share buttons at the bottom. It makes it easier on the reader and they are more likely to comment/share if they don’t have to scroll back up.
OK, now I need to go back and look at mine again. I think mine is Add This, and it wasn’t easy for me to figure out where to change the @ to my Twitter handle.
Thanks!
Great post! thanks for this!
I’m going to have to look at this more later on. I have Add This on my blog, but I’d like to know how/if people share my posts.