With the growth of social network's number, the tricks which people use to attract more and more followers are modified and perfected. Among the most common ones (which surely everyone has faced) is the locking of content. Let's move on to the definition of content-lockers, their types and practice by Aparg SmartSocial plugin.

Lockers: advantages and disadvantages.

Locking of the content mainly used to "force" visitors to do some actions. For example, you have a goal to get some number of followers on your social pages. And your WordPress blog provides really useful and interesting articles. However, you are not sure that after the reading each visitor will use social buttons and follow your page on social media. Exactly, for this kind of cases, the content locking was coined and still does not lose its popularity.

As for the more specific and "local" aims, the content lockers may be helpful to gain information, new followers or money (why not?!). Like - before the unlocking users can fill the survey and you will get more information about your target audience. Or by getting their emails you may send them the announcements of readable articles and always be in touch with your audience. Some owners display advertisement instead of lockers and others require a monthly subscription or payment. For the social contact-lockers, you have to enter the group, like the page or subscribe to their news on social networks.

It seems that this method is easy and beneficial, but it is not really. It also has its opposite side. Sometimes, the need of doing more actions for unlocking looks weird and not secure for users (especially, when it is required to give personal information or money transfers). And this is normal, that many avoid it. As for social networks, the problems may be related to the theme that you cover on your page. For instance, if the field of your company or WordPress blog is dedicated to diseases or any type of problems, the probability that people do not want to follow it publicly is high.

Content locking types

Now, you are interested how to do it. Well, let's see the example of Aparg SmartSocial plugin. With this WordPress tool, you may create some social button form (applying offered templates) and include it in a campaign. Where in the Option's bar you will select the type of lock - hard or soft. What is the difference? When you completely lock your content and just unlock it after registration or subscription via payment, usually you use a hard type of locking. Unfortunately, in this case, searching engines do not see your content and do not issue as a result. The reverse case is soft locking when your content is still locked for users but it is visible in search's results.

So, after the choosing of preferred type, you have to copy the shortcode. Due to this shortcode (among General options you will see it) the process of insertion is highly simplified. The shortcode is necessary to place in that part of the text which you want to be covered. Here comes next division - partial and overall locking. Partial locking is very spread among news or book/journal provided sites and blogs. It is familiar when you start to read and in the most interesting part of article or text see some locked part. By Aparg SmartSocial the campaign will partly cover the text and it will be possible to unlock after using social buttons.

As for overall locking, it is much easier. WordPress website's content will be available in one small condition - click the button and get the "pass".

Now, it's time to try all in practice!