There was a time in which an Internet user’s experience was a passive one.
Beyond e-mail, most Web pages provided content that users would read, and then move on. Not much was required of the individual; at the most, they’d be impressed enough with a page or article to forward it to friends. But at the end of the day, the user was simply a passive entity. Social media, of course, has changed all that.
With the ability to instantly share information on Facebook or Twitter, Web sites can become a far more aggressive marketing channel than ever before. It’s an important lesson to keep in mind from a Web design perspective, particularly from a search engine optimization standpoint, as maximal sharing inevitably improves your site’s search results.
Ultimately, Web sites have to encourage readers to take action, be it sharing the link on Facebook or using tools like Digg or Stumbleupon. And this is where the confluence of Web Design and Web copy come into the plan: designers must make the interface “sharing-friendly,” replete with the needed buttons, while the copy must excite readers and compel them to share.
