By Amanda Coward
Photo by Sara Kurfe on Unsplash
When the world wide web was new experts told everyone that it was going to be the next big thing. No one knew exactly how big it would end up being. According to Hootsuite, when they published a report in 2019, they stated that worldwide, people are spending 6 hours and 42 minutes a day online. Time on the internet could be spent streaming a movie, googling a fact, reading the news, instant messaging, sending an email, going to school, zooming a meeting, watching a YouTube lecture, on Pinterest finding a dinner recipe, streaming Spotify music, shopping on Amazon, the list goes on and on. Matthew Hughes of TNW News says it equates to more than 100 days of online time every year he also went on to say that it makes up more than 27 percent of every year.
According to W3Tech, WordPress powers 40% of all websites on the internet. WordPress has the largest selection for personal and business website templates and plugins for their users. Maddy Osman, the founder of Blogsmith, says that WooCommerce powers 22% of the top 1 million ecommerce sites in the world. WooCommerce is the part of WordPress where goods are sold. WordPress is a blogging platform where websites are hosted and created. WordPress offers templates to easily create a website for ones self and/or business. There are also many designers who create WordPress plug-ins to fit customization needs.
Website designer Derek Hammer says that having a WordPress website is a way to create search engine optimization (SEO). How this works is by creating a website and then using hyperlinks to each social media account that is created for this individual or business. This creates a spider web like feature allowing bots and consumers to easily follow the links on social media to your website. Allowing for search engines like google to have their bots crawl the website and index it into their archives. The same is true of blog article and hyperlinks that lead to prominent and trustworthy sources.
Derek Hammer also says that social media and websites work cohesively for business and/or personal use. He went on to say that if one knows how to properly market their business, goods, services, or themselves then social media will drive people to their website. Keeping your website, blog, and social media posts current will help to keep you and/or your business relevant to your consumers. This means that you will be at the forefront of consumers’ minds each time they see content coming from you. Whatever you are promoting will remain current without being forgotten if it is continually being seen.
As social media platforms have developed to the point where they have taken away the need to meet face to face. The internet has taken distance between people and made it no longer an obstacle for business or relationships. Families who live thousands of miles apart are able to instantaneously connect face to face via the internet. Something seemingly impossible just two decades ago is an everyday reality now. To introduce just a few of the big-name social media platforms and their functions:
Facebook – Is a social network of friends who you can share word posts, pictures, videos, and articles. One can interact with these posts by reacting, commenting, and/or sharing.
Instagram – A visual portfolio of pictures and videos posted to their followers. This gives one the option to like and/or comment on posted content.
Twitter – A micro-blogging platform where one can tweet out 120-character comments to other people on Twitter who follow them. These tweets can be liked, commented on, and/or retweeted.
LinkedIn – Is a business professional networking platform. This is a business portfolio where connections are made with other businesses and professionals. This is also a place where you can post business related comments and articles. Posts can be liked, commented, shared, and/or sent.
YouTube – A platform for sharing video content. A channel can post content they create. If one wants to see more content from a channel they can subscribe to that channel. These videos have no cap on length. One can like, dislike, comment, share, download, and/or save videos.
TikTok – Is a short form video platform. Videos range from 15 seconds to 60 seconds long. There is a “for you page” where new video content is seen. There is also a “following page” where followers can see content from creators they follow. One can like, comment, share, and/or download videos.
Figuring out where to start might be daunting but pick a website hosting platform that best suits your needs. Then pick the social media platforms that complement the content you will be making. Updating your content will keep your audience’s attention on you. As well as grow your following. This leads to more people seeing your content who aren’t already following you. That in turn leads to higher sales.
