The share icon is a powerful yet sometimes overlooked and underused feature. Clicking the share icon allows you to easily share a page on your county site to Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. The feature auto populates a social media post with a link to the page you’re sharing, along with other information. Anyone who visits your site can use it — including you.
Which information displays in a post depends on the platform you’re sharing it to and the contents of the page. For example, when posting to Facebook, it can grab an image, the title and the URL. It also provides a box for you to enter additional text to accompany the post.
When you share a page, the post displays on the social media account you're logged into. If you manage your county’s Facebook page, you can share an article to it by selecting "Share on a Page You Manage" before clicking the "post to Facebook" button.
▶ Watch video "Share a county site's web page to a county's Facebook page" (0:47)
Sharing is one way to promote your site and drive traffic to it. Set sharing goals for your site and encourage others on your team to share relevant content. Then, compare before and after traffic to measure the success.
Did you know you can use the share icon to get a short URL for any page on your site?
Go to the page, click the share icon then click "Get a Go URL" in the dropdown. A box will display with a short URL. It doesn't replace or change the original link, it just provides another way to get to the same page.
EXAMPLE
Page URL:
https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/antelope/proper-sun-protection-healthy-living-article-6-26-17/
Short URL:
https://go.unl.edu/n8u8
Short URLs created with the share icon can be easier to say on the phone or type in a message when directing clients to a page. They begin with go.unl.edu and include a few random numbers and letters. If you need a more memorable, custom short URL, you can create it using the Go URL app.
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Site Bytes is a regular column in Nebraska Extension – Keeping UP that provides quick tips for enhancing your county website. Written by Anne Holz, IANR Media web strategist.