Websites using AddThis

Okay, let s break down AddThis, covering its overview, revenue (or rather, what we know about it), alternatives, pricing, and customer care.

AddThis: Overview

AddThis is a social media sharing and analytics platform that provides website owners with tools to make it easier for their visitors to share content across various social networks and platforms. It s essentially a set of buttons and widgets you can add to your website to encourage social sharing and track the results.

Key Features of AddThis:

• Social Sharing Buttons: The core functionality is providing easy-to-use share buttons for popular social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and many others.
• Follow Buttons: Allows users to add buttons to their site that direct visitors to their social media profiles, encouraging follows.
• Social Media Analytics: Provides basic data on how often content is shared and on which platforms, helping users understand the social reach of their content.
• Customization Options: Users can customize the appearance and placement of buttons to match their website s branding and layout.
• Mobile-Optimized: Designed to work well on all devices, ensuring a seamless sharing experience across desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
• URL Shortening: Some AddThis options include the ability to automatically shorten share URLs.
• Email Sharing: Allows content to be shared directly via email
• Targeted Tool Tips: AddThis offers the ability to display customized promotional messages
• List Building Tools AddThis offers tools to allow users to build an email list

Revenue & Business Model:

• Acquired by Oracle: AddThis was acquired by Oracle in 2016. As a result, it s not operated as a standalone, publicly traded company, so precise revenue figures aren t readily available.
• Part of Oracle Marketing Cloud: AddThis is integrated into Oracle s broader suite of marketing solutions.
• Data Collection (Historically): Before Oracle, AddThis business model included collecting anonymized data on website visitor behavior, using this for targeted advertising. While this is still likely happening, it is now integrated into Oracle s data cloud.

AddThis Revenue Generation (As Part of Oracle):

AddThis revenue contributes to Oracle s overall revenue from its cloud services division. The data collected by AddThis could be used to better target and serve ads via Oracle s advertising and data cloud products.

Alternatives to AddThis:

Several platforms offer similar social sharing functionality. Here are some notable alternatives:

• ShareThis: A direct competitor offering similar share buttons, analytics, and other features. Known for its wide range of integrations
• AddToAny: A free and open-source option with a variety of sharing buttons and customization settings, focuses on speed and ease of use
• Sumo: Offers a wider suite of tools beyond just social sharing, including email capture and pop-up widgets. More of a marketing toolkit overall.
• Social Warfare: A WordPress plugin that offers a more robust and feature-rich social sharing system, especially focused on WordPress sites
• Jetpack (WordPress): A WordPress plugin that includes social sharing as one feature of a broader set of tools. If you use WordPress already it is worth a look.
• Simple Share Buttons Adder (WordPress Plugin): A free lightweight WordPress sharing button plugin
• Ultimately Social Plugin (WordPress Plugin): A more customized and robust WordPress sharing plugin
• Custom Development: For those who prefer complete control, building your own social sharing buttons is always an option. This can be achieved using social media platform APIs.

Pricing:

• AddThis is Now Free: As of the acquisition by Oracle and integration with the Oracle Marketing Cloud, AddThis is available for free. However, you are required to have an Oracle account.
• Oracle Ecosystem: While AddThis itself is free to use, Oracle may try to upsell you to other cloud services and products, should you find AddThis to be useful to you

Customer Care:

• Support Center: AddThis (now through Oracle) offers a knowledge base with FAQs and documentation.
• Email Support: You may need to submit a ticket for technical support.
• Limited Community Support: Because it s no longer a standalone product, AddThis doesn t have as much active community discussion compared to alternatives.
• Reliance on Oracle Support: Your customer support experience is now often integrated into the broader Oracle support system. Oracle s customer support is typically enterprise-level.

Key Takeaways:

• AddThis was once an independent social sharing platform but is now part of Oracle s marketing ecosystem.
• It s primarily focused on offering free social sharing buttons and basic analytics.
• While free, it comes with the caveat that data is part of the Oracle Data Cloud ecosystem and you may get upsold to other Oracle products.
• Several alternatives exist if you prefer a different business model, more features, or more flexibility.

If you have a website and are looking for an easy way to add share buttons, AddThis is still a viable option, especially since it s free. However, make sure to be aware of its Oracle connection. Carefully consider your specific needs and weigh them against the available alternatives before choosing a platform.