Creating Social Media Buttons: Twitter

 

If you have a website, Twitter account, Facebook page, YouTube channel, or Pinterest account for your chapter or state organization, you are always looking for ways to extend your connection with your members or potential members.

At first glance, this topic seems to be short and sweet . . . and it can be with a little patience that will pay dividends for your chapter and/or state organization. Twitter and Facebook alone have many ways to incorporate different buttons. As a result, this topic will be broken into two articles. This posting will deal with Twitter. Next week we will cover Facebook.

Twitter Buttons

Twitter allows you to create a variety of buttons: Follow, Share, Mention, Hashtag or Message.

To create these buttons, go to https://publish.twitter.com/# . Scroll down and click “Twitter Buttons.” Select the button that is needed (see below), and you will be asked to customize the look, the text, account, etc.  Each button requires slightly different customization. Twitter will generate HTML code that will be embedded on your website. Twitter’s documentation and directions for customization are found HERE.

Twitter Follow Button allows members to follow you with one click, all without leaving your website.

Twitter Share Button enables site visitors to easily share content (e.g. your website, or specific pages)

Twitter Mention Button This button encourages website visitors to communicate with you via Twitter. This button can be added to “Contact Us” or “About Us.”

Take NOTE: Following and Sharing buttons are different.

Follow buttons promote your presence on the various social media by taking the member to your linked social media. These buttons can be placed anywhere on your website to create visibility to your presence in other social media. Placing in several places is recommended--including the Home page, About Us page, or even in a sidebar.

Share buttons share your site with members’ social media connections and networks. These buttons allow you to expand your reach to new audiences and perhaps bring visitors back to your website. These buttons can be added to your web page, blog articles, email signatures, QR codes (for business cards, etc.), or any other piece of content you create.

Additional “Buttons”

In addition to the buttons created by Twitter, one other idea cannot be omitted--creating what, technically, is not a button but rather an anchor text link. An example is below ( it is not an active button.)

You can create a free “button” at this URL:  https://clicktotweet.com. You will be asked to login to your Twitter account. You enter the text you want to populate the tweet, copy and paste the generated URL into your anchor text (e.g., “Tweet This” or “Click to Tweet”). As a best practice, include a shortened URL in the Tweet to direct members back to the original piece of content you are promoting. Also include your @name.

Are you ready to widen your chapter’s reach? If Twitter isn’t your thing, visit our blog next week when we cover “Buttons for Facebook.”

Twitter image customized by Eileen