Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows users to communicate in snip-its of 140 characters or less. The so-called “tweets” are posted on online profiles and distributed to other Twitter users who choose to receive them as a “follower.”
According to the Technorati State of the Blogosphere 2009, 73 percent of professional blogger respondents use Twitter. Of those, 52 percent syndicate their blog posts to their Twitter accounts, and 41 percent do so while also posting tweets that are unassociated with their blogs.
The following WordPress plugins for Twitter allow bloggers to integrate the service into their blogs, both as a means of sharing blog posts and boosting a Twitter following. All can be found in the Official WordPress Plugins Repository, which houses more than 7,500 plugins.
TweetMeme Button
The TweetMeme Button plugin allows visitors to easily “retweet” a blog post. Administrators can select the location of a button, which also provides a visible count of how many times the story has been retweeted. Additionally, the administrator has access to tweet stats.
Twitter Widget Pro Plugin
Twitter Widget Pro is a popular WordPress plugin that provides a sidebar widget with a Twitter feed. It includes the @username, #hashtag and link parsing. It also supports profiles images and allows administrators to control whether or not to display the time and date of a tweet.
URL Shortener Plugin
The URL Shortener plugin allows bloggers to turn long links into short links, which can then be used in a character-limited Twitter post. Administrators can create their own short URL using the WordPress Post ID (e.g.: http://yoursite/POST-ID). Additionally, bloggers can use this plugin to leverage third-party shorteners.
Tweet Blender
Tweet Blender has similar functionality to Twitter's own widget, yet it offers support for multiple authors, lists, #hashtags and keywords. The plugin can display tweets from one user or a list of users. In addition, it can show tweets for a topic which the administrator defines via a Twitter #hashtag or keyword.
There are thousands of WordPress plugins that can enhance a blog’s functionality. The plugins mentioned above, which help users maximize Twitter on a blog, are all free. They can be found in the Official WordPress Plugins Repository. Some WordPress plugin developers accept donations to offset to cost of developing the plugin.
To learn more about popular WordPress plugins, visit:
- Top WordPress Plugins for Contact Pages
- Top WordPress Plugins for Footers
- Top WordPress Plugins for Sharing Blog Posts
Andrea Aker - PR & Marketing Professional in Arizona Andrea Aker founded Aker Ink Public Relations in 2007, armed with an diverse background in PR ...
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