When you share blog and news content on social networks, you probably do so by liking on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter. But have you ever thought to share on LinkedIn? LinkedIn recently revealed LinkedIn Today, a new social news website for professionals that makes it a good idea to add a LinkedIn Share button alongside your Tweet and Like buttons on your blog posts. Learn how to add the LinkedIn Share button to your Squarespace blog in today's post.
LinkedIn Today is like Paper.li mixed with Digg and LinkedIn. You'll see a dashboard comprised of the most popular content being shared on LinkedIn by your professional network. Adding the LinkedIn Share button to your blog posts is as easy as adding the Tweet or Like button, and may be a good way to increase traffic and readers to your blog from the professional social network.
Getting the LinkedIn Share Button Code
In order to add the LinkedIn Share button to Squarespace, you must first get the code for the button from the LinkedIn Publishers page. Choose the button style you prefer and then enter %PERMALINK% into the URL to be Shared field (Important: Case sensitive). Copy the resulting code from the text box displayed.
Adding the LinkedIn Share Button to Squarespace
Next, we'll add the LinkedIn Share button to Squarespace. Navigate to your blog main page and switch to the Structure Editing mode.
Click the configure this page link to enter the Journal Page Configuration menu.
Scroll down to the Post Display Configuration section and click on an unused HTML Snippet from the list of Squarespace journal components
Paste the LinkedIn Share button code you copied from the first steps in the process and then choose Hide & Save.
Finally, arrange the HTML Snippet within the blog post layout. Generally, Like, Tweet, and Share buttons should be at the top of blog posts to promote maximum visiblity.
Now when you look at each blog post, you'll see the LinkedIn Share button alongside any other social sharing buttons you've added via the HTML Snippets.
Share and Nurture Your LinkedIn Network
Your blog is the point at which your website, your brand and all of your social networks intersect. It's important to develop and nurture relationships in as many social networks as makes sense for your brand, whether it's personal or professional. Add the LinkedIn Share button to your Squarespace blog and make it dead simple for your LinkedIn contacts to promote and share your content to their network. I look forward to reading your blog and news content on LinkedIn Today.