Yesterday, when I was searching for something on Facebook that would allow me to see the whole list of people who “like” a post using the Facebook like button on bizchickblogs, I discovered a Facebook Developer’s blog post titled, “The Send Button, Because Sometimes It’s Private.”
I read the post and decided to install the Send button here on bizchickblogs. I think it’s a great idea. Now, I still like the “like” button for obvious reasons – the more people use it, the more exposure bizchickblogs gets. However, I also like the idea of being able to send one or more of my Facebook friends a link to page directly from the page. That is super.
Try it out! You can see at the top that I’ve implemented the Send button here. I actually implemented the combination like/send code, which is super easy to do.
***UPDATE***
My original & favorite Facebook Like button plugin was updated to support the Send button. So, I suggest you use that instead of the code below:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/facebook-like-button/
After you install this plugin, you will need to specify the correct app ID, and admin ID (which is different than your app ID), and then you will need to make sure you choose XFBML and not iFrame. The Send button will only work if you choose XFBML.
How to Install the Facebook Send Button On Your WordPress Blog
I had to deactivate the Facebook Like Button plugin I was using so that I could take advantage of this combination like/send button. After I deactivated that plugin and cleared my cache, I easily installed this new button with the following code.
See ***UPDATE*** above. I strongly suggest using that plugin rather than the raw code. The reason is that with this code, you will need to find an open graph plugin or insert WordPress specific open graph meta tags yourself to ensure that Facebook selects the right image, title, description, type, etc. for your post/page.
<div id="fb-root"></div> <script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script> <fb:like href="<?php the_permalink()?>" show_faces="false" width="450" send="true"> </fb:like>
That’s the basic code I use here, and This will set it up so that your visitors are sharing the right URL for WordPress. You can tweak that code as much as you like but keep the first two lines and the fourth line intact if you want it to work! Also, you need to keep the ‘send’ attribute set to “true” if you want to take advantage of the Send feature.
Insights lets you know how many people are using the Send button.
If you have taken advantage of Facebook Insights for your website (not just your Facebook page, but your website) you will be able to see how many people are using the Send button, just as you can currently track the usage of shares and likes, clicks to your site from Facebook, etc. using Insights. Insights is very cool.
How It Works
1. Clicking the “Send” button opens a small Facebook window
Visitors (aka, you) click the send button, which then opens a little window. There, you can choose the Facebook friends you want to receive the link along with the message you want to include. You then hit ‘Send.” The window disappears and your message is sent. The page doesn’t need to refresh. It’s all very clean.
2. Nothing appears on your wall.
This is the biggie. This is why the Send button was created, so that people could recommend/send a link to their Facebook friends without it plastering their wall. However, it’s not just for privacy – it could also be used as a more direct method of sharing. Say that you know only some of your friends would be interested in a certain link. You’d be better off using the Send button to get their attention than simply ‘liking it.’
3. You can verify that your message was sent.
I went to my Sent box in Facebook to make sure that the message went to who I wanted and sent the appropriate link.
What do you think of the Facebook Send button?
Do you like the idea of the Send button? Would you use it? What would make you use the Send button vs the Like button? Would you use both?
I’m using a different plug-in but I’m really happy with the new Facebook Like and Send. It has increased interactions and sharing to Facebook (compared to the usual social bookmarking widgets somehow)
I really like it, too! It was a good move on their part. Thanks for your comment!
There’s already a WP Plugin for the FB send button – just install and activate, simple as that.
Thanks, Marquita. I figured that within a day of putting up the post, someone would put out a plugin!
That Like/Send is pretty cool, need them to have a vertical style implementation for it, do you know if they have it?
Hi Justin – As of right now, this is the only combo option (horizontal). However, you may be able to do it yourself by installing the like & send buttons individually, stacking them with CSS. They offer a combo button code, and a standalone button code.
Hi Tia,
Very cool tutorial. I like the Facebook send option. I can see how this can come in handy. The only drawback, well not really a drawback but rather unfortunate circumstance, is that it doesn’t allow you to use your business page profile. So if I want to send this to people following my NewBizBlogger page and send as NewBizBlogger, it won’t allow me to.
I wonder if this something FB will allow for eventually.
Ciao!
I think it’s a drawback, Michele. I wonder if it gets complicated when they have to decide whether to allow posting to just pages you administer, or pages that you like.
I think the bigger drawback, though, is the inability to send to a LIST of friends. I use friend lists, and I don’t do much communication with my business friends (I don’t allow them to see my wall or post to it, for example). I would, however, be more interested in suggesting a post to that list (not my own, ha).
I can see that getting very, very annoying, though, since messaging in Facebook is a little invasive. That’s probably the main reason they don’t allow it! (At least, I certainly hope they considered that).
That is great Tia. This is new version of “send to a friend” that we would have used a few years ago. I’m going to install this on my blog.
Awesome! In awhile, we’ll have to track the usage using Insights and see if it’s something our readers like!
Yes, definitely a very good idea: Do you guys achieved to position it with an i frame or XFBML? either way I can’t make it display properly
half of it stays hidden
Hi Carl – To use the combination like/send button as I have above, it must be done with the XFBML. However, you can use the iframe option if you don’t want the combo button!
Do you mean you can’t make it display properly on this blog, or on your blog? I’ll check it out later and see if I notice anything out of sorts.
Cheers!
Hi Tia,
So cool button but I don’t know if I prefer it over the like one.
Perhaps I can accustom to it, is like an email to facebook – the idea is great
Cheers,
Gera
The nice thing is that you can have both! There is an option to just have the send button, but since they serve different purposes, it’s okay to show both.
For me, since I only have Twitter & Facebook buttons, I don’t feel that it’s too much. However, some people have 5 or more different buttons. That is too much, to me.
Hmm Something new from Facebook again. There is no harm implementing one more button it it pushes the content a bit further. Ohh! How many buttons shall we paste on page !
Thanks Tia for the update.
Suresh – I know, right?! LOL Too many buttons is not good. It comes down to knowing your readership and choosing the ones they are most likely to click.
Thanks for your comment! Have a great day!
OMG Tia! This is huge. Way to go on uncovering this gem. I can see a TON of benefits in this feature in addition to what you’ve share here. I’m off to check it out. Thanks!
Awesome! I can see it working really well for some blogs where people want to share but not so publicly! (Like, something personal that they want to send to their husband/wife or parents or something).
Thanks for the explanation Tia. I just noticed the “send” button on your blog today and I wasn’t feeling adventurous enough to try it. I think I’ll try it out now. I wonder if I can send it to a FB group?
Yeah, it definitely depends on the content.
I don’t know if you can send it to groups or to lists. That’s an interesting concept, though. It would be nice!
This is a cool idea to add for face book. It will certainly help to interact more and better.
Thanks for such a wonderful post.
Fran A
You’re welcome, Fran!
Cool Tia. Seems to be a nice addition to FB and to better interact and share stuff to online buddies
Gotta give this one a try as I think that it is no longer wise to neglect the power of FB. Thums up for the tutorial, seems simple enough.
Yes it’s very very easily to install. People will have their likes/dislikes but ultimately this just makes Facebook that much more functional, in my opinion!
Thanks for your comment!
Hmm not sure how I feel about it. I get why it’s there but I think with all the changes they are just confusing people and losing them along the way. Every week there is something new! I think I will hold off implementing it on my site for now. Thanks for sharing!
Facebook does implement a lot of changes. I really like this one and think it has a real function, and not just something new to be new.
I actually think this change is really significant. This move is indicative of Facebook’s importance in the email realm. Essentially, this is an “email” function, but it’s done within Facebook. It’s similar to the LinkedIn message function, which is such a massive part of LinkedIn. I will be interested to see how well it’s adopted among regular Facebook users.
i don’t like this button
Why not Adam!?
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