Social media share buttons shouldn't be this complicated.
Seriously, it is 2016 and it is time for the battle to end. Thankfully the war is over. Today you are going read a review of the Social Warfare Plugin.
Bonus: Download a free checklist of the first plugins that I always install on a new WordPress Blog.
Social Media share buttons have been a constant struggle in my blogging life. Seriously, I have had to walk away from computer over the stupid social media share plugins more than anything else.
Have you had trouble getting your buttons to just show up on the page? Yeah, me too!
Are you sick and tired of creating so many different images for social media? Yeah me too!
You do not have to struggle any longer. The Social Warfare plugin saved me today and it is going to save you too.
Oh and let us not forget about the struggle of what a share shows on Twitter versus what it shows on Facebook.
Well today, I fought back. After 3 hours of sitting here fighting each plugin I made a decision that should have been made months ago.
I bought Social Warfare. This is a WordPress plugin that not only displays beautiful social share buttons but also allows me to control the images that are shared on social media.
Yes, this battle has been won!
Features
The Social Warfare plugin has beautiful social share buttons and allows you control over what will be shared on each social media platform. This plugin loads quickly and includes a click-to-tweet functionality that just makes life easy.
User Friendly
This plugin makes social media sharing easy, the way that it always should have been. It is easy to setup and. Once you install it, you will be setup and back to blogging again minutes.
Price
The price of this product is beyond reasonable. It is practically a steal for what it offers.
While there is always a desire for free, innovation does cost. ​
Summary: Paying attention to how your blog posts appear on social media is no longer an option for bloggers in 2016. However, until now trying to control how those images look has been a pain in the butt. With Social Warfare you will now have absolute control of how your blog posts appear on social media. This plugin will save you time and heartache. This is a lightweight WordPress social share plugin that you want on your site.
We Like
- There is no longer a need to create separate images for Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook and Linked In.
- The interface is super simple. It is truly a plug and play WordPress plugin.
- You will not need to read a long set of tutorials to use this product.
- Loads fast and doesn't slow down your site.
We Don't Like
- There could be more button options.
- It requires a yearly subscription to receive the latest updates.
- You will be driven to create custom Pinterest images.
$29 Single Site License
What makes Social Warfare amazing?
The social media image
Are you tired of Twitter just picking up a random image or even worse, not picking one up at all? Me too! With Social Warfare that will no longer be your struggle. Now your only question will be, what amazing image do I want shared on social media?
Before this plugin I would create a special image for Twitter, Facebook and if I was being really good, also for LinkedIn and Google Plus.
Note in the image below Social Warfare recommends an image size that they will optimize for all of the platforms. The image size is 1200 px by 628 px. If you create or resize an image to their specifications, they will optimize it for each social platform.
No more repetitive image creation.
WOW. Just WOW.
Create a specific social media title for each blog post
Finally!
Would you like to set a custom share description for Pinterest? No problem!
Would you like to create a custom share description for Twitter? No problem!
Tip: Don't forget your hashtags when you write your custom Tweet.
Would you like to set what image is shared on Pinterest?
Done!
Social Warfare recommends that you create a Pinterest image that is 735 x 1102 pixels. Once you have done that, just upload it and you are all set.
Good Looking Social Share Buttons
While, I would always prefer more options when it comes to design, the Social Warfare plugin provides some super nice looking social media share buttons.
They provide 16 variations for your social share buttons. One of these options is custom color outlines. You can control the size of your social share buttons, the shape and hover color.
A few Social Warfare Button Design Options
Floating Social Share buttons
Floating social share buttons are a nice touch on any blog. Instead of your reader having to scroll to the top or the bottom of a blog post to share, they can share from anywhere on the screen. Floating share buttons entice your reader to share more often.
You will also have two design options on your floating share buttons. You can either boxes as I have on my blog or you can have buttons.
Turn Social Media buttons off
Perhaps you have a page or a post that you don't want people to share on social media. If you run into this scenario, as I do from time to time, you can control that on the post / page now.
To do this, just click on the drop down under each option. From there you can specify where the buttons show up on the page or disable them for that specific page.
Click to Tweet styles
A nice bonus from Social Warfare is that they include a click-to-tweet option that you can use in your post. This means one less plugin that you will need to run on your blog.
There are 7 different design options to choose from. If you are feeling really spicy, they provide you with the option to create your own custom CSS and really make it your own.
Your Twitter handle included in the Tweet
Would you like to know when people share your blog post on Twitter? Well, with Social Warfare you can and they make it easy. All that you have to do is add your Twitter handle in the Social Identity tab, as seen below.
Easy to use link shortening
With Social Warfare integrating with Bit.ly is easy. Finally! When you use this plugin you won't have to go hunt down your API key. Instead, you just click on that big green button and it does all of the work for you.
Note: You will need a Bitly account to connect. If you don't have one, this is a good moment to do it. Shorter links make your social media shares look better, take up less space and allow for easy tracking.
Easy share tracking
This may be one of my favorite features of Social Warfare. They make it easy to see what blog posts are being shared the most and how often.
When this feature is activated you will have an easy to see snapshot o your social shares, see below.
Share Count Recovery
Have you changed your URL structure on your blog? If you have done this in the recent past, this will have an impact on your social share button numbers. If this you, there is good news. Social Warfare has a share count recovery tool that you can activate on your site.
Conclusion
I hate spending money if it can at all be avoided. To be honest, I am guilty of not spending money when I should. So how much is the plugin? It is a steal at $29 for a single site license.
Incredible I know.
Well worth it? You betcha!
There are times when we are losing money because we are wasting time trying to save money. Have you ever been there?
I just bought this plugin and it is already making my life better. Hopefully, it will make yours better too. If you want to have full control of what is shared on social media, this is the plugin for you.
I’m new to WordPress, and this was helpful. I’m not sure if I’m ready to buy this just yet, but I’ll definitely keep it in mind!
Erica,
I hear you. It took me a few years of blogging to break down and buy something like this myself. However, the time that it is saving me is huge for me right now.
-Renee’
Very detailed post!! I have heard of Social Warfare, but did not dig further. It seems to have quite a lot of features. I have Shareaholic now, not quite happy with it. Might change soon. Thanks for such a good review.
Sireesha,
Yes, I hear you. I had Shareaholic and loved it for the longest but it kept giving me fits. It was time for a change.
-Renee’
This makes perfect sense, Renee! As you know, all this stuff makes me kinda nuts, but even I can understand this one! Thank you.
Susan,
Yes, I wondered what you would think of this. I had just had enough already with this battle.
-Renee’
This was an amazing review of Social Warfare, Rene! Thanks. I had read a review before but not in this much detail. It sounds incredible for only $29. I am going to consider it, as now I am using AddToAny and although I like it, it doesn’t have as many features as this. Also, thanks for mentioning the part about social sharing retrieval. I just changed the URL of the blog post I am sharing this week and wondered what happened to my FB likes…now I know! ;)
Renee,
A wonderful evaluation of social welfare and I definitely like the features and the way you broke down everything. I am in need of a new social media button that is attractive yet, effective. Great article.
Lori English
Lori,
Thank you much. I seriously can’t recommend this plugin enough. It just worked. That is a beautiful thing.
-Renee’
Wow, Renee, I learned a lot just hearing about your challenges and victories, though you are light years ahead of me in terms of what you expect and want your share buttons to do for you. Nice to get a little glimpse ahead to the next stage!
Reba,
Well it is good to be inspiring. Keep blogging and you will be ready for these things in the blink of an eye.
-Renee’
Your timing for this is great considering that I have exchanged about 15 emails over the past week with the company that does the plugin I’m using for social sharing now. It’s a constant battle. I lost all of my shares when WP did their latest update. Grrr…..
Jennifer,
Oh no! That is terrible to hear. I am so sorry and hopefully this helps you resolve it.
Good luck!
-Renee’
A great suggestion, Renee. Anytime we can consolidate functions to make things easier frees up time to be more productive somewhere else. I definitely will be taking a closer look.
What a great plugin! I never used it but this posted makes me want to. Thank you, I am going to make a note of it for future use.
Sabrina,
Yes, do make a note because you will not regret it.
-Renee’
This sounds amazing and you explained everything with so much detail. I nearly gave up blogging before I even started when I was setting up the social share buttons on my site – it was so frustrating! I’m not prepared to spend much money on my blog just now but I will definitely keep this in mind when I’m ready.
Tamuria,
Yes, I hear you on getting so stuck on a function that you want to give up. Believe it or not, I have those days too. That is exactly why I purchased Social Warfare. I was seriously sick and tired of the fight.
Blog on,
-Renee’
A few years ago I hired a web designer/SEO/ fantastic woman who is also our coach & maintains everything on our site. What I learned thru trial & error is there is a big difference managing an Ecommerce site of 100 changing products & a service or content driven site. We change things up frequently as analysis dictates & I don’t need Social warfare as my coach codes everything, checks & monitors & we speak weekly., but if only a 1x $29 fee sounds like a steel.
Rosyln,
Yeah it is possible that this would save your developer hours of work, which in turn could save you dollars. Well worth it, if that is the case.
Blog on,
-Renee’
Hi Renee,
Thanks for the awesome review on the social warfare share button! Great breakdown and so many benefits I did not realize :)
Joan,
Yeah and I keep discovering features that are simplifying my life. For example, there are pages that I do not want shared with people. I can turn off the share buttons on that specific page.
Good stuff!
-Renee’
Thanks for the comprehensive post – I never heard of this plugin – looks like some serious benefits for sharing!
Jas,
Yes. The options for how to present the buttons have proven to be quite helpful. For example, you can even control it on a page by page or post by post level as needed.
Blog on,
-Renee’
Renee, thanks for such a thorough explanation of Social Welfare. Looks like it may be a great option for me soon.
Karen,
Yes, and it keeps proving itself as a tremendous value.
-Renee’
I had never heard of Social Warfare before. Why do you think it even exists to begin with? This can’t all be an issue of many people competing for the same $ from potential customers.
Joan,
I think that it exists for many reasons including saving people time. That is the biggest thing for me anyways.
-Renee’
Good to know! Will be converting my site to WordPress in about a month and I’ll keep this in mind as I talk to my designer. And you’re right — it shouldn’t be this hard. Funny thing is…I just finished sending a note to another blogger, saying her share buttons didn’t work. Great timing!
Jackie,
Ohh converting to WordPress, that is exciting. Good luck to you.
-Renee’
Thanks Renne for sharing. I have been into blogging for a long time now, but never even heard about social warfare!!!
Clare,
Well I hope that you use Social Warfare because it just makes blogging life so much easier!
Blog On!
-Renee’
Thanks so much for sharing this! I’ve never heard of Social Warfare (I used to be way on top of my game when it came to social media, since I used to work for a marketing agency)… now that I work in influencer marketing (mostly with bloggers/content developers) I’ve been staying away from the social media stuff, but I miss it! Thanks so much for sharing this–always love to hear about what’s new and innovative in the digital space :)
Charlotte,
Great that I could inspire you with a new tool here. Social Warfare is such a great tool. I am grateful that we made the investment.
Blog On!
-Renee’