Social media platforms offer various options for sharing content, with Javascript SDKs and embed codes being common tools used to create sharing buttons. This usually involves adding the provided javascript code to a webpage or embedding a button from the developer site onto your page (often in an iframe or div).
For example, Facebook provides a Javascript SDK and simple share button embed code. The embed code looks like this:
<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/share_button.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXXXXXXX&layout=button&size=small&mobile_iframe=true&appId=XXXXXXXXX&width=59&height=20" width="59" height="20" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
On the other hand, the JavaScript SDK embed code is structured differently:
//include the SDK:
<div id="fb-root"></div>
<script>(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.11&appId=XXXXXXXXXX';
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script>
// include the button
<div class="fb-share-button" data-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXXXXXX" data-layout="button" data-size="small" data-mobile-iframe="true"><a class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore" target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXXXXXXXX&src=sdkpreparse">Share</a></div>
In your case, you are looking for a custom button, which may require modifying the generated button and incorporating a linking mechanism.
Nevertheless, there are several reasons why I advise against this:
- Legality: Altering social network sharing buttons may violate their terms of use, so it's crucial to review their guidelines.
- Usability: Network-designed buttons are instantly recognizable to users and help promote brand recognition. By replacing them, you risk confusing users and potentially impacting engagement metrics negatively.
- Configurability: Custom buttons may lack features such as share counters offered by network-provided buttons.
- Longevity: Making changes to standard buttons can complicate future updates when networks modify their SDK or embed code.
Below are links to developer resources where you can generate buttons for popular platforms:
Facebook:
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/share-button/#
Twitter:
Instagram:
Sharing YouTube videos directly to Instagram is not feasible due to platform limitations designed for mobile photo sharing.
YouTube:
YouTube does not provide a dedicated share button as sharing within the platform is different compared to other social networks.
Alternatively, consider using:
Third-party services like "AddThis" or "ShareThis" that offer comprehensive sharing widgets for multiple platforms. However, these services may introduce performance overhead.
If I were to make a recommendation:
Utilize the built-in sharing tools within YouTube embeds, as they feature recognizable icons familiar to users. These tools provide a wide range of sharing options and maintain user familiarity, ultimately enhancing usability and engagement. If facing pressure to implement custom buttons, A/B testing could provide insights into user preferences and performance metrics.