![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzC0vblBDmBPlFnhnSHXsKbJwhoC-C_QbtL2iIx7ULVXk1bZBYSt-Mu004TjKWhU21UAZqZTdYzMJ-K5_506-DAHE7ZT36olpeY4UWHRsW5VhHbtITEzPUvh0RCUph5N6ogWjkHbC_x4Q/s320/useful-twitter-tools-blogger.png)
For this post, I have rounded up 16 of the most useful tools, tips and free resources to help you get the most out of Twitter through your Blogger powered blog.
Display your Latest Tweets
Visitors to your blog may also enjoy reading your Tweets, particularly if they are of relevance to your blog's niche subject.Here is a selection of the best tools for displaying Twitter updates in your Blogger layout:
The Official Twitter Badges
Twitter provides an animated "Profile" badge which you can use to display your latest updates as a widget in your blog layout:You can configure the size, colours and number of updates for your badge in the settings, then grab the code which can be pasted in an HTML/JavaScript widget in your Blogger layout page.
Another alternative is the Twitter "MySpace" gadget, which uses Flash to create a different appearance to the gadget:
We can copy the code generated for this widget and paste into an HTML/JavaScript widget in our blog - it's not limited only to MySpace profiles!
Blogger Widgets and Gadgets
Another way to display your Twitter updates is to install a Blogger widget or gadget in your layout. These can be configured to display as few or many Tweets as you choose, and require only your Twitter username to install:Simple Twitter Updates Widget
This was the first Twitter application I created for use with Blogger blogs and still remains one of the most popular tools on the site! To install, simply fill out the form and click "Add Widget" to install automatically in your layout.
Twitter Gadget for Blogger (EN)
This gadget works in much the same way as the Twitter Updates widget but is simpler to install and can be reconfigured after installation.
Twitter Updates Gadget (ES)
Daniel Ikeda has made a Spanish translation of my Twitter Gadget for easy installation.
TwitSig - Your Tweets in Pictures
TwitSig is an interesting free service which allows you to display your latest Twitter update as an image. You can add this in your layout as either an HTML/JavaScript widget (using the code generated on the TwitSig homepage) or as an Image gadget using one of the alternative backgrounds.Here's an example of the default Twitsig badge:
This one uses magnets:
Here's another using a fortune cookie:
Visit TwitSig to generate your own updating Twitter updates image.
Add a "Follow Me" Badge
To encourage your blog readers to follow you on Twitter, try adding a "Follow Me" badge which links to your Twitter profile page.
Here are some useful tools and badges which you can use to add a linked "Follow Me" badge to your Blogger layout:
Twitter Follow Badge by Go2Web"0.com
Here's a new and interesting way to add a non-intrusive "follow me" badge to your site, like this:
The badge can be configured for different colour schemes, height from the top of the page and left/right alignment.
To add the badge to your Blogger blog, visit the TwitterFollowBadge page and fill in the form to your requirements. This will generate some JavaScript code which you should add just before the closing </body> tag in your Blogger template. However, in it's native form this code will not display in Blogger!
Instead, we have two options:
- Paste the JavaScript into an HTML/JavaScript widget instead
- Replace <-- and --> in the generated code with <-- and --> (this enables the script to function correctly and display the badge in your page)
TwitterButtons.com
TwitterButtons offers several pages of free "follow" buttons to help your blog readers follow you on Twitter:Simply add your Twitter ID in the space provided and TwitterButtons will generate the code to add the button of your choice as a linked badge in your layout. Paste the code into an HTML/JavaScript gadget in your layout (or directly in your template if preferred!) and you're all set.
Twitter Buttons by Vincentabry.com
This site offers 31 different styles of Twitter buttons which you can add to your blog. Although the site is not in English, the Twitter buttons are.
To add these to Blogger easily, use your favourite image in a Picture gadget in the layout, then link this to your Twitter profile:
Add "Tweet This" Links to your Blog Posts
Twitter is an excellent service for syndicating blog posts and useful or interesting articles. Help your blog readers share their favourite posts on Twitter by providing a "Tweet This" link for each of your blog posts.Here are three different ways you could do this:
Add a simple "Tweet This" link
The simplest of all Twitter syndication links is a text link which uses the URL and title of your blog post:There are of course many ways in which this link could be styled, and where it could be positioned. For now I'll explain the most basic method of installation.
Go to Layout>Edit HTML in your Blogger dashboard and check the "Expand Widget Templates" box.
Then using your browser search function, locate the following line of code (or similar):
<div class='post-footer'>
Immediately after this line, paste the following section of code:<a expr:href='"http://twitter.com/home?status=Reading " + data:post.title + " @YOUR-TWITTER-USERNAME " + data:post.url' title='Tweet it on Twitter'>Tweet This</a>
Be sure to replace "YOUR-TWITTER-USERNAME" with your own username!Then save your template. This will add a "Tweet This" link in the post-footer section beneath each blog post. Readers can click this link to post a pre-filled template "Tweet" like this:
Image based "Tweet This" Link
If you'd prefer to use a stylish button or larger image link, you can simply replace the text from the previous example with an image tag, like this:<a expr:href='"http://twitter.com/home?status=Reading " + data:post.title + " @YOUR-TWITTER-USERNAME " + data:post.url' title='Tweet it on Twitter'><img src="http://image-host.com/your-image-link.jpg" alt="Tweet This" /></a>
Here's a great example of this effect on PSDrecipes:Using Short URLs in "Tweet This" Links
Many of us use lengthy domain names which take up much of Twitter's 140 character limit for the tweeting of posts.A while ago I posted a tutorial explaining how to enable short URLs for "Tweet This" links using Bit.ly. This explains how to add a similar text/button/combination link for each of your Blogger posts which adds a shortnened URL to the Twitter post template instead of the regular, lengthier one.
Enable "Tweetbacks" in your template
Our Blogger templates already support "Backlinks" (known as "Links to this post" in Blogger). However, these backlinks don't display links generated on Twitter which usually include shortened URLs.Dan Zarella's original "Tweetbacks" script is JavaScript based and can be used in Blogger templates to display tweets about your post. It is very easy to install and requires no customization (unless you wish to style how the tweetbacks are displayed).
To add "Tweetbacks" to your Blogger blog, simply copy the code below and paste this in your template where you would like the Tweetbacks to appear:
<script src="http://danzarrella.com/tb.js"></script>
The simplest installation is to paste this code into an HTML/JavaScript widget in your Blogger layout. This will display Tweetbacks on every page of your blog, and will show the Tweetbacks attributed to each individual page.Another possibility is to add Tweetbacks beneath the "Links to this post" section of your template, effectively grouping these tweets with backlinks to each individual post.
To achieve this, go to Layout>Edit HTML and check the "Expand widget templates" box. Then search for the following line in your template:
<b:includable id='backlinks' var='post'>
Immediately after this line, paste the following section of code:<h4>Tweetbacks<h4>
<script src="http://danzarrella.com/tb.js"></script>
This will add Tweetbacks with the appropriate title just above the "Links to this post" section of your layout.Note: you must configure "Backlinks" to "Show" in the Settings>Comments section of your dashboard to enable this method to work.
Add TwitPic Updates to your Sidebar
TwitPic enables us to share images to Twitter, which can be posted by phone, using the TwitPic API or directly from the TwitPic site.I've developed a gadget which you can use to display your recent TwitPic updates in your Blogger layout which is easy to install and can be configured to your needs:
Use this link to add TwitPic Updates to your Blogger blog.
Add "Real Time" Twitter Updates
Being a fast, virtually instantaneous stream of updates on any given subject, many of us like to keep up with references, news and re-tweets in real-time, rather than having to update or revisit Twitter search at periodic intervals.Here are two highly useful gadgets for blogger which can be used to display real-time updates in your actual blog layout:
Twitter Search
Developed by 32Hours.com, this gadget offers a stream of updates for a given search term, hash tag or username.Simply add the gadget to your blog and change the terms for search after installation (your readers can use this too!):
Visit this page on 32Hours.com to learn more about this gadget and install in your Blogger layout.
Juitter Gadget - real time updates with configurable search terms
Based on the excellent Juitter JQuery plugin by Rodrigo Fante, this gadget enables real-time Twitter updates based on the search terms you specify on installation. You can choose to display tweetbacks referencing your Twitter username, a particular search term and even combinations of terms:This gadget does not contain ads or added links, and can be configured to display exactly as you want.
Click here to add this Juitter gadget to your blog.
30 comments:
This is really really interesting!!
but i think you missed out TwitterFeed.Com and may be the retweet buttons!
Hi Amanda,
I always appreciate your articles and the tips your provide for Blogger users.
But one thing I noticed in the 'Tweet This' code you mentioned above. I am not sure if someone provided you that code by copying it from my article - http://www.knowliz.com/2009/01/how-to-add-tweet-this-button-to-your.html
But looks like an exact copy of the tutorial I created.
At the same time I understand that to figure out that code itself is not a rocket science, so you might have got it yourself too.
But 8 months back in January '09 there was no article (if Google was right) on the web, explaining this tip.
Let me know if you have any question.
I always appreciate your Blogger tips.
Thanks
Anurag Bansal
Hi Amanda,
Looks like you missed out two very famous twitter scripts used for retweeting :) have a look its like a digg button.. there are two variations in it.
http://chethstudios.blogspot.com/2009/05/tutorial-add-tweetememe-retweet-button.html
and
http://chethstudios.blogspot.com/2009/07/add-stylish-custom-backtype-tweetcount.html
hey I can see my twitter profile in this page.. lol the widget Twitter Search i think i was tweeting about your blog. Lol
Just put "Tweet this" on my blog right after read this post, hehe.., nice.
How about tweetboad ??
I think this really good. :-)
Thank You so much, your tutorials are always so easy to apply and always with useful information. I love following your blog, please stop by slipstitches.com anytime.
Thank you. This is a essential guide for tweeter lover.
Amanda a great resource for blogger users i have developed an ultimate tutorial to add a retweet button provided by tweetmeme and is fully updated.
How to add Retweet button to blogger : http://www.bloggodown.com/2009/04/how-to-add-retweet-button-to-blogger.html
Variables of formatting "tweet this!" link:
Link de Enviar ao Twitter nas postagens do blogger / "Tweet this" link into your blog
And... The language of Gadget Twitter Updates V.2 is wrong: my translate gadget is portuguese/language, but the Spaniards understand Portuguese,
and is accessible by the panel> layout> add gadget> More Gadgets> Twitter updates v1.3 or v2 (my). Good Work!
While I use WordPress more than Blogger, I do have more than a few Blogger projects that could make use of some of the twitter tools listed here to increase site exposure and interactivity. Thanks for getting them together.
Wow that was very helpful. Thank you. I'll have to go read up more on tweet backs though.
Thank you very much for the TwitPic App! It's applied and running on our blog :)
Thank you for your review. You can translate it into Russian and published in my blog?
@Amanda,the Twit Pic Gadget is Really Amazing!!
If you are a blogger who have a few blogs or even more, this is useful, but if you have just one blog, I don't think so.
That's not a question for one blog.
New York Mortgage Loans
Very helpful as usual! I just wanted to throw in that I also have a lot of fun with saytweet.com. You can take a picture and add a speech bubble over the user you tag. I put it on a blog a manage over at kylecease.com/blog. Its pretty neat.
Hi, the H4 tag at danzarella's related tweet script is not closed properly.
I recommend Tweetmeme to shorten using an available API like bit.ly and to include RT @username.
Good post
Hi!
I like it is very useful to me.
Thanks a lot.
For mor info about SEO tips, Visit my blog.
by,
Tips of Collective Web Experience for Blogging Sites!
Cine Indians
Its nice blog
Hai Amanda.
Thank for your great post. It will help a newbie like me to use twitter featured on our blog.
best regard
Blogger Template Place
Great post as always!! I actually tried the Follow me badge by Go2Web - the floating app one. It was in Firefox and Chrome but it was disastrous in IE7 - readers couldn't access my blog. It wasn't so bad in IE8 but my page did not load past the point where the widget was added. Once I removed it, my blog was fine in IE.
thats is so nice to get to know all the latest twitter tools... thankyou..
Juitter Twitter gadget on Blogger no longer working. Could the script be corrupted? Can anybody check it out, please? Thanks
Amanda,
Check out the Best Twitter Widget Tools, Buttons, and Icons. A great resource for twitter lovers!
This is my first visit to your site and i can say that its the best blog i have visited after long time.
Thanks for twitter information. I will implement the same on my blogger.
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for the post.
I tried to get the twitterbuttons, but I can't get the generated code work on my blog.
But... the twitter widget worked. And also the tweet this link. I like it.
Thanks for the tip about putting the Follow me on Twitter code in the Layout HTML box. That worked fine.
But I could not get the "tweet this post" to work on my blog. I didn't find:
div class='post-footer'
in my blog's template. So I tried pasting the code you said to, below just the word post-footer (because there was no div class before it, but that didn't work.
I'm looking everywhere... Is there a widget where I could put my user timeline on my blog sidebar? It will be basically a small version of my Twitter Homepage.
how could i create new Blogger Posts from my Twitter Tweets ???
Post a Comment