Introduction


Adding social sharing buttons to your website helps visitors share your content easily on social media, increasing your online visibility. In this guide, we’ll show you how to integrate a social sharing widget using ShareThis (sharethis.com) with Google Tag Manager (GTM). 


What will you need?


If you haven’t set up Google Tag Manager on your eDirectory site yet, follow this guide first: Google Tag Manager Configuration Guide.


Once GTM is ready, follow these steps to add social sharing buttons.

Step-by-Step Instructions


Step 1: Get the Social Sharing Widget Code

  1. Visit the ShareThis website and click Start with Share Buttons.

  2. Choose Sticky Share Buttons and click Customize your Sticky Share Buttons 

  3. Select the social media platforms you want to include. You can also adjust:

    • Button alignment (left or right side of the screen).

    • Labels for each button.

    • Button colors and styles.

  4. After customizing, click Next.

  5. Sign up for a ShareThis account (if you don’t have one).

  6. Copy the code provided in Step 1 of the ShareThis setup page.

Step 2: Add the Code to Google Tag Manager

  1. Open Google Tag Manager and go to your dashboard.

  2. Click Add a new tag.

  3. Click on Tag Configuration. 

  4. Select Custom HTML as the tag type.

  5. Paste the code copied from ShareThis into the HTML box.

Step 3: Set Up a Trigger

  1. Click Add a Trigger.

  2. Select Page View - All Pages (this ensures the buttons appear on all pages of your site).

  3. Click Save.

Step 4: Publish the Changes

  1. Click Submit in the top-right corner of GTM.

  2. Click Publish to apply the changes.

  3. Wait a few minutes, then visit your eDirectory website to check if the sharing buttons appear. 

Conclusion


That’s it! You’ve successfully added social sharing buttons to your eDirectory website using ShareThis and Google Tag Manager. Now, visitors can easily share your content on their favorite social media platforms. If the buttons don’t appear immediately, give it some time or refresh your website cache.



Disclaimer: eDirectory is not affiliated with ShareThis. The eDirectory support team does not provide training or support for third-party integrations.