Best Social Sharing Plugins For WordPress In 2015
Finding a decent social sharing plugin for WordPress is more difficult than it should be.
Crazy isn’t it?
There are thousands of plugins in the WordPress repository yet I’ve found myself switching plugins far too often.
It shouldn’t be this way though.
It should be easier for us to find a functional social sharing plugin that does what we need it to.
Then there is the all important element of getting support when we need it.
The truth is that the right social plugin is out there for you. I’ve included my personal go-to social sharing plugin in this list along with some other plugins that will help you.
Whether it’s adding social share buttons, follower counts, encouraging social shares or monitoring social shares in WordPress – there’s a plugin here for you.
I’ve also included free and paid options for you.
Monarch is a new social sharing plugin created by the team at Elegant Themes.
This plugin boasts some impressive features, similar to Easy Social Share Buttons, it allows you to display share counts after they reach a certain number.
In addition you can display social icons in your sidebar or other widget areas and you can monitor social shares in an impressive looking interface.
There are also several interesting placement options which include triggered popups and fly ins – these are designed to help you encourage social shares.
The plugin is well optimized and built with speed in mind but it still has all the important features you will need to encourage social shares.
Features:
I have hunted around for a social sharing plugin that does what I need it to do for a few years now.
I thought I would have to pay a developer to build a plugin that did what I wanted; thankfully I found this powerful plugin.
The problem is that most social share buttons are usually generic and give no control over how share counts are displayed.
This plugin is different; you can choose various ways of displaying share counts including total number of shares. You can also choose to disable share counts if they are below a certain number.
Why is this important?
When you have a post with a low number of shares, this tells people that your content isn’t getting shared – this has a negative impact on your visitor’s perceptions (we call this negative social proof).
The ability to set when share counts are displayed means that you can avoid negative social proof and leverage positive social proof when the opportunity presents itself.
Note: While this all sounds great, there is always a cost for such a massive amount of features, that cost is usually speed.
Recent updates have caused the interface to become more clunky and consume more resources. I recently switched away in favor of Monarch (listed above), I miss some of the features from Easy Social Share but it’s far more robust.
Features:
Shareaholic is more than just a WordPress plugin; you can also use it for a variety of different content management systems.
You have access to a variety of different looks for your social sharing buttons, all of which are more eye-catching than the usual native buttons.
You will need to register an account to access all of the features that Shareaholic has to offer, but it’s free which is awesome.
Features:
This is a straight forward and easy to use plugin that allows you to add basic share buttons to your posts or pages.
Choose your location, placement, share text and image set – then you are ready to go.
I personally find this plugin lacking in features, but its very light weight.
Features:
This handy plugin comes with plenty of features.
First of all you can do the important stuff which involves adding eye-catching social share buttons to your posts and pages.
Secondly, it also acts as a content locker, this means you can offer bonuses and exclusive content in exchange for a tweet for example.
Features:
Ultimate Social Deux is another great plugin for adding social buttons.
These buttons have a completely different look to most that I have seen and you’ve got all the important stuff like: share counts, shortcode support and plenty of display options.
You also get the option to display follower counts.
Features:
Adding shareable quotes is a great way to get more engagement for your content.
The problem has always been that existing solutions are more time consuming than they should be or the features you get are limited and force you to display ‘powered by’ links.
To add ‘click to tweet’ style quotes within my content I use TweetDis, here’s how it looks:
These tweet boxes stand out and work great because people love to tweet quotes.
Features:
This is a relatively new plugin but it’s brimming with potential.
Here’s the thing: when you give your visitors a direct call-to-action, they will be more likely to take an action.
So the idea with this plugin is that instead of merely displaying a Pinterest logo over your images, it will display a direct call-to-action which urges your visitors to share to Pinterest.
Features:
Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook are supported with some very handy features such as URL shortening and control over where the share buttons are displayed over your images.
You will need to register for an account, but it’s free and makes installing other apps very easy.
Features:
It’s easy to use and comes with a number of themes for your content lockers along with some other great features.
I have used this plugin successfully to boost social shares on certain posts by 30-40%.
It’s compatible with Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus and has some great functionality.
Below is an example of exactly how it works, just click one of the share buttons to see how well this works:
Features:
The Advanced Social Widget will make it extremely easy for all of your blogs readers to connect with you via social media.
You can integrate all of the main social networks along with your RSS feed and while giving your visitors the option to subscribe via email.
While this version is only compatible with Feedburner, there are other versions available that allow you to integrate other mailing list providers such as AWeber and MailChimp.
There are 4 different layouts that this plugin comes with but there’s not where the customization ends because you can change the majority of colours of the design and choose from 38 backgrounds. This means you can easily customize the plugin to fit your blog perfectly.
Features:
Monitoring is the key to understanding how your social media strategy is progressing.
The plugin I use to do this is Easy Social Metrics Pro; it’s a new plugin that does the job perfectly.
What I especially love is being able to see which networks I’m gaining ground on and which posts are performing well – all at a glance without having to dig deep into reports.
Previously I was using a plugin that only tracked 5 social networks and listed posts on an individual basis – this is a huge improvement.
Features:
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Read Related- WordPress Plugins to Add Social Share Buttons to Images
Crazy isn’t it?
There are thousands of plugins in the WordPress repository yet I’ve found myself switching plugins far too often.
It shouldn’t be this way though.
It should be easier for us to find a functional social sharing plugin that does what we need it to.
The truth is that the right social plugin is out there for you. I’ve included my personal go-to social sharing plugin in this list along with some other plugins that will help you.
Whether it’s adding social share buttons, follower counts, encouraging social shares or monitoring social shares in WordPress – there’s a plugin here for you.
I’ve also included free and paid options for you.
Top social sharing plugins for WordPress
Monarch
This plugin boasts some impressive features, similar to Easy Social Share Buttons, it allows you to display share counts after they reach a certain number.
In addition you can display social icons in your sidebar or other widget areas and you can monitor social shares in an impressive looking interface.
There are also several interesting placement options which include triggered popups and fly ins – these are designed to help you encourage social shares.
The plugin is well optimized and built with speed in mind but it still has all the important features you will need to encourage social shares.
Features:
- Support for popular social networks.
- Multiple display options.
- Choose when share counts are displayed.
- Easy to use interface.
- Popover and fly in share boxes to encourage sharing.
- Display social media icons in widgets or with shortcode.
- Track social shares, likes and follows with built in statistics.
Easy Social Share Buttons
I thought I would have to pay a developer to build a plugin that did what I wanted; thankfully I found this powerful plugin.
The problem is that most social share buttons are usually generic and give no control over how share counts are displayed.
This plugin is different; you can choose various ways of displaying share counts including total number of shares. You can also choose to disable share counts if they are below a certain number.
Why is this important?
When you have a post with a low number of shares, this tells people that your content isn’t getting shared – this has a negative impact on your visitor’s perceptions (we call this negative social proof).
The ability to set when share counts are displayed means that you can avoid negative social proof and leverage positive social proof when the opportunity presents itself.
Note: While this all sounds great, there is always a cost for such a massive amount of features, that cost is usually speed.
Recent updates have caused the interface to become more clunky and consume more resources. I recently switched away in favor of Monarch (listed above), I miss some of the features from Easy Social Share but it’s far more robust.
Features:
- Support for 20 social networks.
- 12 native social like, follow & subscribe buttons.
- Social fans counter.
- 12 built in templates.
- 8 different counter styles.
- Support for various positions.
- Support for shortcode placement.
- Customizable button text.
- Built in social metrics.
- Supports any custom post types.
- Compatible with WooCommerce, JigoShop, WP eCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads.
Shareaholic
You have access to a variety of different looks for your social sharing buttons, all of which are more eye-catching than the usual native buttons.
You will need to register an account to access all of the features that Shareaholic has to offer, but it’s free which is awesome.
Features:
- Control whether or not share counts are displayed.
- Support for WordPress, Tumblr, Drupal, Shopify and more.
- Support for shortcode placement.
- Support for social analytics.
- Display related content
Simple Share Buttons Adder
Choose your location, placement, share text and image set – then you are ready to go.
I personally find this plugin lacking in features, but its very light weight.
Features:
- Very light weight.
- Various image sets.
- Support for custom images.
Social Share & Locker Pro
First of all you can do the important stuff which involves adding eye-catching social share buttons to your posts and pages.
Secondly, it also acts as a content locker, this means you can offer bonuses and exclusive content in exchange for a tweet for example.
Features:
- 10 themes included.
- Compatible with WooCommerce, BuddyPress and JigoShop.
- Built in content locker to encourage social sharing.
- Various placement options supported.
- Support for shortcode placement.
- Fully responsive and retina ready.
- Display share counts.
- Option to change button text.
Ultimate Social Deux
These buttons have a completely different look to most that I have seen and you’ve got all the important stuff like: share counts, shortcode support and plenty of display options.
You also get the option to display follower counts.
Features:
- Fully responsive.
- Fan counters included.
- Support for native share buttons.
- Support for shortcode placement.
- Support for various ecommerce solutions.
- Support for the main social networks.
- Various placement options
- Option to display or not display share counts.
TweetDis
The problem has always been that existing solutions are more time consuming than they should be or the features you get are limited and force you to display ‘powered by’ links.
To add ‘click to tweet’ style quotes within my content I use TweetDis, here’s how it looks:
These tweet boxes stand out and work great because people love to tweet quotes.
Features:
- Various design layouts.
- Options to customize tweet boxes.
- Customize your call to action.
- Support for text highlighting.
- Tag a default @username in your tweets.
- Bitly support.
Power Pinner
Here’s the thing: when you give your visitors a direct call-to-action, they will be more likely to take an action.
So the idea with this plugin is that instead of merely displaying a Pinterest logo over your images, it will display a direct call-to-action which urges your visitors to share to Pinterest.
Features:
- 4 call-to-action designs.
- Customize your call-to-action.
- Autofill pin descriptions.
- Pin full images when used on thumbnails.
SumoMe’s Image Sharer
The Image Sharer from SumoMe is a great way to encourage people to share your images.You will need to register for an account, but it’s free and makes installing other apps very easy.
Features:
- Support for Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
- Basic sharing stats.
- URL shortening option.
- Supports using image alt text when sharing.
- Choose where share buttons are displayed (bottom left, top right etc).
- Support for a default Twitter username to be included in tweets.
- Support for HTML code to use outside of WordPress.
WP Sharely
WP Sharely is a content locker that allows you to ethically bribe your readers into sharing your content.I have used this plugin successfully to boost social shares on certain posts by 30-40%.
It’s compatible with Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus and has some great functionality.
Below is an example of exactly how it works, just click one of the share buttons to see how well this works:
Features:
- 4 themes for your content locker.
- Choose to hide the locker on mobile devices.
- Built in analytics.
- Customize tweet message.
- Support to alter the URL that visitors are able to share.
- Option to hide the locked content from your source code.
Advanced Social Widget
You can integrate all of the main social networks along with your RSS feed and while giving your visitors the option to subscribe via email.
While this version is only compatible with Feedburner, there are other versions available that allow you to integrate other mailing list providers such as AWeber and MailChimp.
There are 4 different layouts that this plugin comes with but there’s not where the customization ends because you can change the majority of colours of the design and choose from 38 backgrounds. This means you can easily customize the plugin to fit your blog perfectly.
Features:
- Responsive layout.
- 12 background patterns.
- Supports the main social networks.
- Helpful customization options.
- Various Feedburner subscription form layouts.
- Support for shortcodes.
Easy Social Metrics Pro
The plugin I use to do this is Easy Social Metrics Pro; it’s a new plugin that does the job perfectly.
What I especially love is being able to see which networks I’m gaining ground on and which posts are performing well – all at a glance without having to dig deep into reports.
Previously I was using a plugin that only tracked 5 social networks and listed posts on an individual basis – this is a huge improvement.
Features:
- Supports all custom post types.
- Supports 12 different social networks.
- Manual update option to re-scan your content.
- Monitor social shares for a particular time frame.
- See your top posts at a glance.
- See which networks are gaining the most traction.
- See which networks are gaining traction on a daily basis.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Read Related- WordPress Plugins to Add Social Share Buttons to Images
