BrightEdge: Facebook hottest plug-in, others seeing growth

Buttons have never been more popular. No, not the unique buttons your grandmother put on blankets or the buttons you put on your jean jacket in the 1980s. Today's buttons are made for social sharing and they take consumers are place to place in a flash, but even with brands glomming on to the social trend, too many aren't utilizing social sharing buttons finds one report.

"Fewer than half the largest sites on the Web offer any kind of social link at all on their front page and these sites represent a massive slice of Internet traffic on any given day," said Jim Yu, BrightEdge CEO. "We would expect to see a land grab effort this year as plugins vie for placement on this very valuable Web real estate."

The BrightEdge SocialShare Site Analysis shows:

Meanwhile data from IgnitionOne finds that ad spending within Facebook has increased more than 280% (Q2 2010 to Q2 2011); Facebook ad impressions have increased by about 200%. Much of this increase has been from the rapid adoption of Facebook from a consumer standpoint. More consumers are spending more time within the social network as they connect with friends, brands and look for product information.

That is only one reason it makes sense for brands and businesses to include social buttons to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks on their front pages. Those buttons can take a consumer directly to a social page filled with product information and reviews or even special offers that may engage a consumer to convert a purchase.

Tags: BrightEdge, Facebook, IgnitionOne, social buttons, social marketing, social sharing, Twitter