In today’s online world, it is important to turn your website into a social hub in order to grow your business. Facebook provides a variety of free plugins that will enable you to integrate the social network into your website quickly and easily.

Research has shown that integrating Facebook will boost traffic to your other web pages. According to statistics from SearchEngineLand, the typical media website that has Facebook integration sees an increase of 300% in referral traffic.

Here are ten of the top social plugins available from Facebook to use on your website, completely free!

Like Button

We are all pretty familiar with this one. When you add the “Like” button to your website, users are able to share individual pages from your site or blog with the click of a button. Clicking the Like button will add that story or post to the user’s news feed along with a link to your website.

Send Button

Rather than having your story added to a user’s news feed, clicking on the “Send” button allows your readers to send content to members of their online network via a message. This will increase the likelihood that someone will read the content instead of missing it because it dropped off a user’s news feed too soon.

Comments

Adding the “Comments” plugin to your site allows your visitors to comment on a specific bit of content. This is handy if your website is not built on a content management system, which already allows for comment threads. Users will be able to leave comments after specific products or ask questions about them.

Activity Feed

Users can see what their friends have been doing on your website with the “Activity Feed” plugin. It lists any recent activity by Facebook friends on your website.

Recommendations

You can give users suggestions for pages they might like on your website with the “Recommendations” plugin. This tool will automatically compile a list for users based on their typical activities on your site. Users will be able to view these recommendations once they logon to Facebook. Their friends’ activities on your website will also affect the list of recommendations.

Like Box

Facebook users can “Like” your Facebook page and see your website’s stream directly with the “Like” box. You can control how much or how little of the types of content your visitors will see on your page by toggling this stream on or off. You only want to keep this stream going if you are updating your page regularly. If not, the content will appear stale and turn users off.

Registration

People will be more likely to sign up for your website if they can do it easily by using their Facebook login information. People already have too many user names and passwords to remember, so allowing them to use one they already have makes it simpler.

Login Button

When a visitor has registered as a user on your website, the “Login” button lets them see the profile pictures of any friends who have also signed up. Having the Login button on your site not only makes it easier for users to sign onto your site, but it gives your domain permission to access any available information they have shared on Facebook. With that information, you can have a better understanding of the type of people interacting with your site.

Facepile

This plugin will display the profile pictures of any user’s friends who have also “Liked” or signed up to your website. It is a nice surprise for visitors to see that their friends like your website as well.

Live Stream

Similar to the Comments plugin, the “Live Stream” plugin lets users share their comments and activity in real time while they are interacting in a webinar or presentation. These comments are not permanent, displaying the last ten or fifteen comments only. You can choose how many. You will not be able to delete or edit comments on the Live Stream, but you can ban users who misuse it.

What plugins have you been using on your website? What types of plugins would you like to see in the future? Share with us!

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Once again, Facebook is preparing to initiate a new tool in order to enhance users’ social networking experience. Now, instead of making a conscious decision to click on the “Share” button on a blog or website, Frictionless Sharing on Facebook will automatically post viewed content on a user’s wall once it has been enabled.

So, what does that mean for you? Consider this: Facebook has over 750 million users, a number that continues to grow daily. If you’ve been on the fence about the benefits of Facebook as a tool for driving more traffic to your website, hurry up and get off it.

You might think that the social network doesn’t cater to your target audience but it will surprise you to know that, according to a study by the Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds of Americans are using social media sites. More than 60% of those users are over the age of thirty-five.

With those numbers, it would be more surprising not to reach your target audience. People from all walks of life and with a broad spectrum of interests are connecting through social media. Making changes that help streamline the sharing process means more traffic coming your way.

With this upcoming change, it’s important to ensure your website is ready to draw more traffic. Here’s what you need to do to maximize the impact Frictionless Sharing will have on your site:

Make Sure Your Content Is Share-Worthy

You probably follow a fine-tuned formula when it comes to your content, making sure that you have an exact 2-4% keyword use and that its search engine optimized. That technique may work with search engine spiders, but it doesn’t exactly whip readers into a frenzy of excitement.

It’s important to include these techniques in your writing, but it’s even more important to have content that is interesting and engaging. You don’t want to sound like a page from the encyclopedia. You want your readers to enjoy reading your content. You want to be informative, but you also want to use a conversational tone with your readers. This will keep them coming back repeatedly, which in turn will post your content on their Facebook wall each time they visit your site. When their friends see your pages popping up on the feed, they will be more inclined to check you out for themselves.

Amp Up Your Connectivity

It has been drilled into us that the key to connecting on social media is using a few select niche keywords in order to find potential readers. Then we draw a line in the sand that shows how far we need to go before we can stop putting in too much effort- 2,000 fans, 3,000 followers. After that, it’s all downhill, right? Wrong. Social media is a vast, hilly landscape. If you expect to stop making an effort once you’ve crossed your line in the sand, you’ll be missing so many more opportunities to make worthwhile connections.

The introduction of Frictionless Sharing on Facebook is going to make your reach even wider. Visitors to your site won’t have to think about clicking on the “Share” button once they enable this feature. Just going to your webpage will post a link on each visitor’s wall. Before you know it, friends of friends of friends will be introduced to your fabulous content.

Don’t limit your possibilities out of the mistaken belief that it only takes a little effort to reach a multitude of readers. You have to put your whole self into it in order to get the results you want to achieve.

Are you ready for the possibilities that are coming with Frictionless Sharing? What changes have you made to be more engaging with your readers? Share with us!

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