Personally, I regularly share through Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. But what am I sharing?…usually it’s information about (1) my company blog, (2) news articles that interest me or (3) videos and music that interest me. Reinforcing the value sharing has to publishers all you need to do is look at the sharing options on any article on Techcrunch, Mashable, HuffingtonPost or other mainstream news sites. It’s a slam dunk, sharing on content sites is brilliant stuff!

Sharing options as seen on most news and publishing websites.

But How Effective are Sharing Options for Businesses?

It got me thinking about the effectiveness of these share options for businesses. As a consumer when was the last time you clicked on an option to share or recommend a service?

Sharing or recommending a business usually puts a number alongside the share button to indicate how many people have shared that content, but browsing through Yellow Pages or any other online directory you will struggle to find business listings that have had anyone share, tweet or like small businesses.

Sharing options as seen on most business listings.

My feeling is that most businesses have implemented some form of sharing button because everyone else is doing it, and it can’t hurt! But, if the objective is to help your business and engage with people who visit your website or directory listing then perhaps it’s failing.

Why would a customer click on a share button on your business page? What possible motivation do they have to ‘like’ your business? How do you meaningfully engage with customers visiting your website?

Would love your feedback if you run a small business and have used social media sharing options here.

Technorati Tags: Add This, Reward Me, Social Media Sharing

How ‘Add This’ Works

Add This is a tool that most people who regularly read news articles online will have seen. It is the little button that appears below or above articles and allows the reader to share the article.

1. Once the user mousses over the ‘Add This’ button they are instructed to ‘Select a Service’ from a list including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a comprehensive list of lesser known social media sites.
2. The user then selects the service, for example ‘Facebook’.
3. ‘Add This’ contacts the users account in Facebook and opens a window allowing the user to post a link to their Facebook status.
4. Once the link is posted to the users Facebook status the users’ contacts will see that they have recommended the article and can click on a link to that article.

The process is similar for other social media sites listed on ‘Add This’. The power of the “Add This’ button is that it allows users to easily share articles with their networks.

So how could it work for business?

The traditional application for ‘Add This’ is for news articles and blogs but there is no reason it can’t be applied to many other web pages. For Example, The ‘Add This’ Button could be added to Real Estate property listings allowing for the easy sharing of properties for sale. Retailers and wholesalers of products can add the button to product descriptions for the easy sharing of product details resulting in possible sales. Add This is free, easy to install and highly effective for:

• Increased traffic to your pages/site.
• Better search engine ranking.
• Increased site popularity, awareness and possibly sales.

Setup Add This on your Site:

To setup ‘Add This’ on your website visit www.addthis.com and follow the simple steps in the presentation below:

Add This was launched in 2006 and is used on hundreds of thousands of websites including FOX, ABC, CBS, SAP, TIME Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, PGA Tour and Lonely Planet. With over 20 billion views per month, the Add This button could be a welcome addition to your website. To test how it works click on the ‘bookmark’ link below and forward this article using ‘Add This’. I also welcome any of your feedback on this great tool.

Technorati Tags: Add This, Social Media, Web2.0 Weapons