How To Quickly Add the Tweet Button and Facebook Like Button to Your Site

If you have a website with a blog or frequently updated posts, you can easily add the Tweet button and the Facebook like button to your posts – and you don't have to have a designer or developer do the coding for you.

Facebook Like Button

To add the Facebook like button (or the recommend version, seen below), visit what Facebook's developer's Social Plugins section, and click on Like Button. Don't get nervous that it's a "developers" section – if you know how to copy and paste, you can do this.

Scroll down until you see this:

As you fill out the fields, Facebook shows you what visual changes you are making to the widget. Basically, just choose whatever you want visually, if you want faces to be shown, if you want it to say "like" or "recommend", and if you want a specific font or color scheme.

Once you have the design you want, click "get code" and copy and paste the iframe code to the post, anywhere below your text. If you're using Blogger, Wordpress or another site that differentiates between rich text formatting and HTML, you'll need to paste this in the HTML section.

Here's an example of the Facebook like button on one of our articles.

And what happens when someone clicks it? It appears in their profile under recent activity, and increases the chances that one of their friends will click and read the same content.

Tweet Button

If you think the Facebook like button is easy, the Tweet button is even simpler.

Go to your Twitter page, click on Goodies in the footer, then click on Tweet Button.

Twitter gives you customization options, from button design to text and URL options. If you want to link to the page on which you're adding the button, you don't even have to fill in the URL (which is handy if it's a post you haven't published yet).

You can optionally add a Twitter username to the auto-generated tweet. If you have a Twitter account, this is a great idea to not only increase traffic on your site but also to gain more followers.

Once you've filled out all the necessary fields and chosen your design, just copy the code into the HTML section of your post, and the Tweet button will appear.

Here is an example of the Tweet button on an article about Tennessee Civil War Trails.

And here's what happens when someone clicks the button:

Unlike with Facebook, you can edit what appears, but most people stick with the default setting.

Have you used the like or tweet buttons on your site? Do you find them effective?

Tweet

Tweetbeat Firsthand: Build Your Twitter Lists, Enhance Your Online Reading Experience

Kosmix's new Tweetbeat Firsthand is the coolest thing I've added to my web experience lately.

What is it? Call it an add-on, extension, plug-in, what-have-you ... it's a browser utility that is nothing short of awesome, especially if you are always looking to add to your Twitter lists, or if you simply want to see what is being said in real time as you read articles and blog posts around the web.

All you have to do is visit the link (Tweetbeat Firsthand) and install the add-on in your browser (there are versions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari). Then, as you read articles, small Twitter icons appear in the text next to names, places and organizations that have a presence on Twitter. Hover over the icon, and the real-time Twitter feed from that organization will appear.

Besides being able to see the live feed, it also allows you to share the feed and site you are via a tweet from your own Twitter account. In other words, it sends a tweet that says something along the lines of "I am reading tweets by @fema on cnn.com with the Tweetbeat Firsthand browser addon http://bit.ly/9xJyzN."

It's a great way to enhance content for the reader in a "read more, now, in real time" kind of way, but on first assessment, I'll probably be more likely to use it as a way to quickly follow Twitter accounts, if I don't follow them already. I can't count the times I've read an article or blog post and wondered if a publication or organization mentioned might have a presence on Twitter. It's rare that I stop what I am reading, open a new browser window and actually go search.

Read TwitterMedia's review of Tweetbeat Firsthand.

Asheville Filmmaker Plans Social-Media Themed Comedy in Her Hometown

Last Sunday, I caught about 20 minutes of You've Got Mail and giggled when I saw Meg Ryan waiting for her dial-up modem to connect to the Internet so she could log her into AOL account, so she then could see whether Tom Hanks had sent her another message.

Remember the sound of dial-up?

Then I wondered, "When are we going to have a new wave of blockbusters that correspond to our newer forms of social networking, featuring things like Tweetups, not-so-chance-meetings because of Foursquare, or perhaps something along the lines of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist but with a blip.fm twist?"

Film production companies have been marketing movies on MySpace and Facebook for a while, and many A-list celebrities have been shouting from their laptops into the Twitterverse almost as long. However, I'm surprised that we've not seen any big productions – yet – that heavily interweave everyday social media channels into the plot, other than the Facebook movie, The Social Network, that is supposed to be released in October.

I'll follow that statement with a disclaimer: I don't go to movies much, so it's likely I may have missed something. Along the same line, I have terrible cable channel options, as I haven't had enough room in my heart for cable ever since MTV made a marked shift away from actually playing music.

Remember the first video on MTV, The Buggles' Video Killed The Radio Star?

So maybe the Facebook movie will be the first, but I also saw a tweet this morning that interests me even more than Justin Timberlake playing the role of Facebook Founding President Sean Parker. According to @AskAsheville via @GSocialMedia not only is another film of this type on its way, but it will also be marketed largely through social media channels, and it will be filmed in one of JCI's communities, Asheville, N.C., for which we produce Asheville Travel Guide, Asheville magazine, imagesasheville.com and feature on Livability.com.

The movie is being created by Asheville filmmaker, writer and comedienne Angela Shelton, a name you may know from the 1999 film Tumbleweeds, which she co-wrote (it has an awesome soundtrack, by the way). More recently, Shelton has gained a higher profile through her documentary and book by the same name, Searching for Angela Shelton, for which she drove around the country, seeking out all of the other Angela Sheltons she could find. She thought this concept would yield mostly funny stories, but through her interviews she also discovered that most of them shared something else with her besides a name: Seventy percent of these women had also been abused at some point in their lives.

As friends and supporters promoted the film and book via Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, Shelton saw the power of social media. That power, combined with her desire to switch gears to focus more on her comedic skills, inspired this new movie, a romantic comedy titled Online Dating for Food. Yes, there already is an OnlineDatingForFood facebook page for the film, but here's another disclaimer: Be aware that if you "like" it, people may just think you're into the act of online dating for food and not the film. I'm not making any judgment one way or the other on online dating, you just may not want to advertise that you're doing it for food. That could ruin your whole plan!

A movie involving food in Asheville makes perfect sense, of course. Shelton knows her hometown of Foodtopia. The social media aspects will make it only more interesting.

Will it be as big as You've Got Mail or The Social Network? That remains to be seen, but stay tuned to your favorite social media channels to watch it develop.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Angela Shelton and her latest project at Angela Shelton's website, and here is the link to the interview with @AskAsheville about Online Dating for Food and why she's hoping to do this film (and two others) in Asheville.

Social Media As News: Following the Nashville Flood

Here in Nashville we have been glued to the coverage of the devastating flood that struck our community this past weekend. But keeping abreast of breaking news no longer means tuning into your local news channel. Sure, that's part of it, and I praise our Nashville meteorologists and news sources for excellent reporting keeping us up to date. But some of the most relevant flood information I found during this disaster came from social media outlets, both traditional and new media sources.

Twitter
Back in January, Nashville had its first major snowstorm in years, which became known on Twitter as the hashtag #thesituation2010. As the rain poured down on Saturday, someone jokingly tweeted this should be known as #OtherSituation2010. And the name stuck. On Monday, some of the Nashville twitterati pointed out that using such a vague descriptor probably contributed to a lack of national coverage. (Though personally, I did have a laugh over #thesaturation2010.)

Using an application such as TweetDeck, it's easy to create a new column using a hashtag and follow along on your desktop computer or your smartphone. I've used these two columns to follow up-to-the-minute information on everything from tornado warnings and flood reports to details on how to help flood relief efforts and water conservation tips.

Think of Twitter as a news distribution source – a way to get people from one place to another. Many people used Twitter to share links to photos and videos of the devastation. One local business even used Twitter to show the damage it received.

Due to SEVERE flooding, Bates Nursery will be CLOSED until May 6, 2010...cleanup underway... http://twitpic.com/1khf6e

No matter how small, businesses can easily use Twitter to distribute their news, whether needing to tell customers that you're closed in a situation beyond your control – or, on the brighter side of things, using it to advertise discounts, sales and giveaways. In fact, it's often Twitter or Facebook that businesses use during situations such as this – it's faster, simpler and sometimes even has more reach than posting the same content on their website.

Facebook
Just as tweets about the Nashville flood were trickling in, my Facebook news feed was predominantly photos of my Tennessee friends' roads and yards that had become rivers and lakes. People used their phones to upload photos straight to Facebook even when they didn't have electricity:

When we all thought this was just a one-day thing, someone created this Facebook Page. This quickly became my go-to source for photos of the flood as it was happening.

Facebook also became a way for Tennesseans, both those out of town for the weekend and those who now live elsewhere, to stay updated on what was happening. And Facebook also helped those of us here reach out to our friends in other states and countries, who at first (given the other news of the weekend) had no idea of the severity of the flood.

YouTube
YouTube is the second-largest search engine, and video often speaks louder than words – and spreads virally to other social networks. A video of a classroom disintegrating on Interstate 24 first appeared on a local news station. I searched for it on YouTube to show some out-of-town family members – and I wasn't the only one. Soon, it showed up on my Facebook news feed multiple times, and I-24 became a trending topic on Twitter.

On Monday, the social media news site Mashable posted a video in a post titled "Tennessee Flooding Inspires Stunning YouTube Video." This – "Flooding Inspires" – soon became a trending topic because Mashable has such a wide reach, one post on their site spreads instantaneously.

As they say:

You don’t see YouTube videos like this very often, and as one commenter put it: “This video so captured the heart of this story… if it doesn’t move someone, they should check their pulse.” While most on-the-ground videos covering disasters and other world events are hurried and low-quality, this one is beautiful and professional-looking.

Blogs
The Nashville blogging community combined all of these social media resources to spread the word quickly and efficiently. They compiled news sources, shelter information, ways to help flood victims, videos, photos and more. They used their large followings to help prevent misinformation. They even blogged about each other's blogs – showing not just each other but Nashville, Tennessee and beyond just how social media spreads news – and the sense of community.

All of these are great examples of social media as news at work, even during an unfathomable disaster. Did you turn to social media during this or another major news event? What sources did you find most helpful?

Twitter Glossary: Terms and Tools To Know Before You Tweet

Twitter describes itself as "a real-time information network powered by people all around the world that lets you share and discover what’s happening now."

If you’re new to Twitter, that description might seem a bit vague and ambiguous. So, to help you wrap your mind around the microblogging messaging tool, start thinking about Twitter as a new form of online communication. Twitter is just communication in a new shape, but it’s also a platform for listening to the communication of others in new ways.

Basically, Twitter is all about sharing links and content – but in 140 characters or less. Every post is known as a tweet. Yes, some tweets may be as boring as "I'm eating breakfast!" but Twitter is also a great business tool and another way to share your content. You build community by retweeting other content. Here are a few simple introductory terms to learn when you're just getting started on Twitter.

The Importance of @
On Twitter, when your username is preceded by the @ symbol, your username becomes a link. These are called "at-replies" or "mentions" and when someone mentions you, this makes it easy for their followers to view your profile and tweets with just one click, so it's important to use the @ symbol – and to get their username correct.

• If someone wants to say something directly to you, they'll begin a tweet with @[your username]. Example: "@livability Where is the best coffee in Pueblo?"
• If someone wants to mention you in a tweet, it has the same effect: "Going to Solar Roast -- @livability says it's the best!"
• There's no limit to the number of mentions you can use: "Going to @SolarRoast on @livability's recommendation!"

If you want to say something privately, you can send a direct message, or DM, which is essentially a 140-character e-mail through Twitter. You can do this through the DM link on your Twitter page, or by typing "D @username".

Retweets
Retweeting is how Twitter users share interesting tweets from the people they are following. To give credit to the original person, users usually put “RT” plus the original tweeter's username at the beginning of the tweet. Here’s an example:

To do this, all the user has to do is click the retweet button. However, this feature is relatively new to Twitter. If you want to leave some commentary, just copy and paste the tweet instead. (TweetDeck and other third-party applications make this much easier for users with functionality long before the new retweet button.)

Hashtags
One of the most complex features of Twitter for new users to understand is the hashtag, a topic with a hash symbol or pound sign (#) at the start to identify it. Twitter hashtags help spread information on Twitter while also helping to organize it. Hashtags are linkable, and you can click one to view all tweets with a single hashtag. They're popular at conferences, as well as events, topics and places.

URL Shorteners
When you're limited to 140 characters, URL shorteners are a must. TinyURL, bit.ly, kl.am and URLzen are just a few. Bit.ly tracks analytics for you too, so you can see exactly how many people clicked on your link. Both bit.ly and kl.am offer customized (or kustomized) vanity URLs, so you can incorporate keywords into the link, as well as make it seem more trustworthy and more likely to be clicked on.

Are there any other Twitter terms that confuse you? What else do you want to know about tweeting and microblogging? Check out the resources below, and let us know in the comments if you have any more specific questions.

Resources:

Mashable's Twitter Guide Book

YouTube video: Twitter: A Brief Guide to Tweeting

Using Social Media To Control the Conversation

Many businesses hesitate to jump on the social media bandwagon because they're nervous. It's a far cry from sending out a press release or direct mailer. It's a different kind of networking from exchanging business cards in the elevator. It's something new, and it's something you cannot completely control. But as marketing strategist David Meerman Scott puts it, you have to lose control of your marketing in order for it to succeed.

To get started, many businesses and organizations want to know everything there is to know about social media and how to prevent anything that can possibly go wrong. However, the whole idea behind social media is that it's social. But sometimes business professionals need to be reminded of that – it's the people, the consumers who are in charge, not the business. When you have a presence and you're there to hear what they're saying, then you are there to steer the conversation.

Blogger Kaila Colbin recently wrote a great article for Media Post entitled Two Golden Rules For Companies On Social Media discussing why many businesses and organizations hesitate to start out in social media:

People will be complaining, in public, and these complaints will be visible to everyone, and other people who see those complaints might not like us anymore, and then the good times will be over. Providing a soapbox on which our customers can advertise their dissatisfaction runs counter to every protective instinct we have.

The problem, of course, is that those complaints are already being aired online. Anyone upset enough to go to your Facebook page and tell you what they don't like is upset enough to tell their friends and followers in your absence. Staying off social media doesn't stop the problem; it merely removes the discomfort of having to deal with it. Being on social media at least gives you the chance to respond.

But there are distinctive right ways and wrong ways to respond.

The wrong way: what's happening with Nestle on Facebook.

Whether overwhelmed or underprepared, the company went on a counterattack - trading insults with its own Facebook fans and ‘unfriending’ them. It deleted threatening posts and modified logos, and posted a warning to users in the hope that it would deter them from sharing their views. Once the online ‘bullying’ got picked up on Twitter, it went global.

Nestle's public image suffered because they didn't follow Colbin's golden rules:

1. Act With Integrity: The first rule isn't about turning your company into a group of enlightened monks or save-the-world superheros. Integrity is about being consistent. It's about (to use a horrible consultant phrase) living up to the brand promise. It's about making sure that what you see is what you get.
2. Admit Your Mistakes: We all mess up, especially on social media. But the optimal way to deal with a mistake is to admit it, take any steps necessary to correct the situation, and then move on.

Two companies that followed these rules, particularly #2, are Domino's and Southwest.

Dominos had some very bad publicity last year, which got started on YouTube, and so CEO Patrick Doyle responded in the same medium where the problem occurred – YouTube. The video isn't highly produced – it's straight, to the point, no frills. But it does the job effectively.

Similarly, Southwest came under fire in February after an incident in which director Kevin Smith tweeted about being kicked off a flight due to his weight. Southwest is very active in social media, and less than 20 minutes after his initial tweet, Southwest responded with an apology. And multiple blog entries. Ten years ago, maybe even five years ago, they would have used traditional media such as a press release or press conference that wouldn't have had the same immediate and personal effect. Today, Southwest helped recover from a negative situation by responding efficiently and appropriately – using the right social media tools.

Both of these companies, while facing PR nightmares, used social media to try to make things right. They went directly to the source of the situations and used these channels as best they could. And most of these are circumstances that smaller businesses and organizations will never have to face. But what you can learn from these examples is that you have to be here to respond to the smaller problems that come up day-to-day.

Comcast is a great example of what social media can do to to improve your customer service reputation. Their use of Twitter to respond to customer complaints – not even those directed to them – has really made them a standout among social media success stories.

But how do you start from scratch? Unfortunately, there is no simple way to do this other than diving right into social media, headfirst. Not to say you need to immediately go sign up for Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, LinkedIn, Digg and YouTube today. But if you get online and spend a little time watching the conversations happen, you can quickly and easily start learning where your customers/clients/members are already located, which of the many (and there are many) social media tools are best for your particular purpose and how they can work to your advantage.


Photo: Matt Hamm