How to Share Your Blog with other Social Media Platforms

In this blog post, we are going to explore how to allow other people who read your blog to easily share your post on other social media platforms. Of course, many widgets exist for WordPress.org, so you may want to explore your options to see which ones best suit your needs. One popular WordPress.org plugin is called “Sociable” (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sociable/) that allows you to choose from 99 different bookmarking sites (not that I’d recommend you choose all 99—pick the ones that are most popular with your target audience so you don’t overwhelm them with too many choices!).

Go to their website and download the software. When you have downloaded it, you will want to log in on your administrative panel. Under “Appearance”, select “Plugins” and “Add New.” You will then see the “Install Plugins” on the next page and you will want to select “Upload.”

After you select “Upload,” you will browse your computer to find the zipped (don’t unzip this!) file to upload. Click “Install Now.” After you install, you will want to click the link to “Activate Plugin.”

You will be brought back to your page that lists all of your plugins. To set the social networks that you want listed on your site, simply select “Settings” under the Sociable plugin.

You will be brought to a page that looks similar to the one below where you will check the sites you want to appear on your site. You can drag and drop sites to reorder the way they appear. On each of your pages and posts, you have the option to disable Sociable. If you don’t want it to appear on that particular page or post, simply check the box that says “Disable Sociable.” Make sure that you “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page.

Enabling Social Bookmarking makes it easy for your target audience to share your posts with their followers and promote your brand. Using these features on other people’s sites makes it simple for you to share their articles and blog posts quickly. Which WordPress plugins have you found the most helpful in promoting your blog? Share them in our comments section.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Social Media, WordPress PlugIns, Kristen Jacoway, Career Design Coach