Facebook Part 3: How to Select the Widget or Badge for Your Website

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Connecting Facebook with your website is a great way to encourage conversations.[/caption]Integrating your website and Facebook page is a great idea! Adding a Facebook widget or badge to your website is the best way to sync up your Facebook page and website, or your Facebook and WordPress account. Syncing up your websites and social media accounts allows visitors to seamlessly move from your website to your Facebook page and vice versa. It also allows people to easily find additional information, share with you, and give you the much desired “thumbs up.” By linking up your website and Facebook page, subsequently, you will also be able to increase the amount of likes and followers you have.

Facebook is also a great way to easily share information and updates with your visitors and allow residents to join into conversations. Facebook also adds an additional layer of credibility to your website. The number of followers that you have, combined with the content, comments, and conversations helps to instill confidence in your visitors. By this point –you should already have your Facebook page, so syncing it up with your website is the next logical move. Here’s how you can go about connecting your Facebook page with your website or WordPress account. Choose Your Badge. There are multiple Facebook buttons for you to choose from. The right badge will depend widely upon where it will be located, and what you hope to encourage your visitors to do. Each badge (or widget) allows your viewers and followers to perform a different action –all related to your Facebook page, from your website. Here are a few badge examples that you can choose from.

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• Like Button We have all seen the ‘like’ button on websites. This button allows your visitors to “like” your content directly from your website without having to switch over to your Facebook page.
• Share Button The share button allows your readers to share your content with their followers from your website. This makes it easier for visitors to share pages that they find helpful, and can help increase your readership.

• Follow Button The follow button, as the name suggests allows your readers to subscribe to the content and updates you are delivering on Facebook. This is another easy way to increase your followers.

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Where to Add Your Badge

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The location of your badge will help you to choose which type of badge that you need. If you are putting the badge on your home page –you might consider a basic Facebook badge that alerts your readers to the fact that you have a Facebook page. If you have a news page –you might consider adding a share or like button so your viewers can share the information they find useful with their friends and family.

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Adding Your Badge to WordPress

There are a couple of different ways you can sync your Facebook page with your WordPress website. Both options are fairly easy to configure.[caption id="attachment_332" align="aligncenter" width="318"]

Adding a Facebook widget on WordPress.[/caption]

• Using the WordPress Plugin Using the WordPress plugin is probably the easiest option, since the widget is already set up and ready to use. Simply navigate to the widget area on your site –and add the widget to the desired location. Then fill in the information –and you’ll have your own Facebook widget on your WordPress page.

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Configuring the code to add a Facebook “like” button manually.[/caption]

• Add the Button Manually Adding the button manually takes a bit more work –but in some cases, it’s the best option. Manually adding the button to your site gives you more control over the design options –something that appeals to many. This is also the option that you –or your web designer, will use when adding a widget to your website.

To create a custom button, you will need to navigate to the Facebook developer page found here. Follow the instructions as provided, and then copy and paste the code onto your website’s HTML. You may wish to adjust the wording or the size of your button –which this option allows you to do. Adding a Facebook button is a great addition to your town’s website. Not only does it add credibility to your website and make it easy to update residents, it’s also a way to make your website more social –encouraging feedback and two-way conversations with your town’s residents. Do you have a Facebook page for your municipality?Image: PROCharis Tsevis