Facebook’s Like button was first. Then came the Tweet Button. There were unofficial solutions well before either of those launched. Now, LinkedIn is finally getting in on the game with their own official share button.
Sharing links via LinkedIn is nothing new (the functionality using similar logic is already on this blog) but the new button allows content publishers to very easily create a button for their site that matches the ones offered by Facebook and Twitter without a ton of effort. It also can display the share count, which informs visitors of what content is popular and possibly make them more likely to share when others are already doing so.
This is another effort by LinkedIn to stay relevant to the professional user as Facebook’s reach grows in other spaces. By encouraging the sharing of links and other content on the site, LinkedIn hopes the site becomes a daily visit to stay on top of your career and not just a place to visit when you’re looking for a new job.
The decision on which share buttons to use and the prominence of their placement is an important one in encouraging visitors to promote your content without annoying them with a half dozen giant flashing buttons. Depending on your target audience and your content, putting a LinkedIn share button on your site or blog could be an effective tool in reaching the 7.9 million “business decision makers” that use the site.