Twitter recently has introduced the new twitter button which is similar to Facebook’s Like and really kicks the butt of the plain html way of making the tweet this on web pages. Here is why
Drawbacks of Simple HTML Twitter Share Button :
Using plain HTML code ( sample code for WordPress below ) you can only let people share but there is no way you can ask them for instant follow.
The only reason why you might like to use HTML code is if your host doesn’t allow you to do that. But in that case you can take a look at the Tweet Button API which lets you use query string parameter for the link to meet the same kind of functionality.
Advantages of the New Twitter Button :
- It’s a recommendation engine : The Tweet button is not just made for only tweeting but its a way to get more followers for your blog. The new tweet button lets you add two accounts which are displayed to the users asking them to follow them. The first one, IMO, should be your twitter account which you are using for your blog. For example we use @tsnw.
- It’s a boon for multi-author blog : If you have a multi-author blog, you can use the second account for the author of the post. This way the author and the blog’s official twitter id both get focus.
- Make money : If you do not have any multi author or twitter id to recommend another account, you can use to promote anybody’s account for a price. Thats pretty evil but twitter till now doesn’t stop you in doing that because the second account can be of anybody you want to.
- The Count Matters : It is possible to display number of times the post was tweeted. Showing off the count is good if lot of people have already shared it. This way you can give one more reason to all of your users to tweet it and make them think, yes this post has some value.
- Shared URL is displayed : The url shared when the tweet is made is diaplyed partically. This not only keeps the system transparent but also adds more trust which increases the click through rate
- Will Twitter Fail Whale sink by blog ? : If you are worried about loading time to get the tweet count or what happens to the button if Twitter gets down ? Dont worry Twitter has got you covered. Read the FAQ
