Wonderful World of Widgets

Do you remember that feeling of exhilaration when your circa 1962 statistics book would pose with a quandary like this?

There are two companies that sell widgets. Both companies sell the widgets to the general public for the same price. Company A offers a 25% discount on each order. Company B offers a 35% discount when blah, blah, blah…

Okay, these story problems weren’t exciting (at least not to me), and I became cold and jaded towards “widgets” since they brought me nothing but headaches and inconvenience. Times have changed, however, and I’ve warmed up to the thought of widgets. Actually, I like them for a couple of reasons. First of all, I found out that they actually exist, and secondly, they can be really cool, especially in their shiny new web 2.0 forms.

So then, what is a widget?

The widgets that I am referring to are web or desktop widgets. These widgets are little pieces of embeddable code that can be shared on one site, and embedded on another. Once embedded these widgets take the form of little programs or tools. I’m sure that you’ve seen them; Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and many more all utilize widgets. They often take the form of mini site feeds, picture albums, or programs. They also provide advantages to both the end user and the host, as they allow the end user to enhance the functionality of their site, while the host controls the content of the widget which points back to their site.

Another great aspect of widgets is they can be shared easily. If a person can perform a basic copy/paste, they possess the necessary skill set to install a widget on their website, social profile, or blog.

How do these “widgets” fit into web marketing?

Widgets can help companies to reach-out to online consumers in a cost effective manner. They provide visitors to your website or social page with a medium to promote your product on their own pages or profiles.  An interesting, engaging, and functional widget can become a viral sensation as your customer base spreads content that you designed across various social pages, blogs, and sites. As the widget’s popularity increases, the number of free inbound site links can increase as well, helping overall SEO initiatives.

Companies should use every opportunity to remind loyal users and customers to get their shiny new widget by placing it prominently on their web page, pushing it through e-mail blasts, and enabling it on social platforms.

Want to know more about widgets or need some help getting started? Reach out to a professional digital marketing company like Oneupweb, and someone will be happy to get you started.