17 Tabs Open, 4 Non-responsive, and I don't Know Where the Music is coming from...

In my infinite wisdom, I decided that I should venture into doing something other than Facebook and Instagram media learning. Upon looking for ideas, I came upon an old friend - HTML and CSS. They have been a staple language I can figure out quickly enough to coincide with the digital marketing media that's needed.

Story book design

So, why HTML and CSS? I'm already fairly proficient in HTML 4, and CSS 2, as I've used them since the dawn of time whilst running various websites (I used to have a military aircraft website back in the day), and so the natural progression of this knowledge is to brush up my skills with the latest versions, HTML5 and CSS3. 

Now, here's where it becomes interesting. I know that I can, in theory, use all three of these as a beginning block to showcase my knowledge and skills, but implementing them is another matter. I'd like to be at the point where I can run a website, have this blog moved across to it, run Facebook and Instagram campaigns to advertise it well, and use SEO from Google or another source to optimise my website.

All good in theory. Website. Yes. Advertising. Yes. Blog. Yes. Background processes. Yes. It's the getting to that point that can be frustrating at times. I'm now a month into my independent studies, and although I've made quick (and good) progress, I do feel I'm either making things happen too fast, or that I'm over-studying. To my point of the title, I feel rather like a web browser. With 17 tabs open, 4 that are non-responsive, and music is coming from somewhere, but I don't know where.

With that being said, I'm loving learning again, and realise now that, at almost 37 years old, I could have and should have done something like this a long time ago. But, it's not good to dwell on the past. And I don't. I'm having a positive year this year.

What Time of Day?

As we all know, Social Media works 24/7, but for a business, you have a demographic, and that demographic works at certain times of the day. So, you need to make sure that demographic sees your posts and presence at the right. But what time is the right time?

Let's take an example. A window cleaning company. Simple thing, you might think. Post at any time and you should see a variety of people that may want their windows cleaned. True, but not accurate enough. If you run a test on your business Page for Facebook, and post several times during a day or two, you will get insights on those posts.

Insights on Facebook

Said insights should show you how many people have seen the posts, what the demographic is, and any interactions you get from it (likes, comments or shares). Now, my Facebook Page is just a test bed for me to see how things work, so I don't expect any interaction, but I can still see that on the whole, some of you have seen my posts.

Back to the Window Cleaning. So, you've spent the last couple of days researching when best to post on your page, and you find that evenings and weekends seem to be the best spot to place posts. It is ideal to post daily on your page (just for relevance), but these are your prime spots. You can then set up a series of scheduled posts (assuming you will be busy at the weekend with work), or make an ad campaign to advertise your business on Social Media during the weekends or evenings.

With this is mind, my next objective on this business page is to kind of open it up to more than just my friends list (you've all been great just so you know), and advertise on Facebook and Instagram.

Now, I'm a bit dubious of doing this. There are a few reasons why:

1. I don't actually own a business.
2. The Page I run is purely test bed material.
3. I'm not that keen on letting the world know it exists just yet.
4. I'm not in it for any gain, other than experience of running a campaign.

So, my dilemma is this, do I run ads on the Page, and make a conscious effort to make sure people know it's just a test, thus not gaining the experience of running an ad, or go ahead, run the ad, make people aware, and make sure I know how to run it all properly?

I'm still yet to decide.

A Little About Me.

A Little About Me.

Hello there!

My name is Barry Lee.

So, this is my first proper go at a Blog.

For some reason, I’ve always wanted to do one, but never fully got around to it. I always thought it would be super time consuming, and not worth the bother. But, in recent times, I have found it easy to set up, and also with this being my first post, I have some material that I can pull up and use for a few posts.

What I’m trying to do is learn how the background of the Blog works. For me, this is important, as it should provide the skills I need for a new job. You see, I’m about 15 years out of practice with computers, and for me that’s not a good thing, as I want to go into the IT sector for work. That doesn’t mean that I cannot do a thing with them. I mean, I’m still proficient with Microsoft Windows (having used every version of home computing Windows since 2000/XP, and a few Server editions too), and use it on a daily basis in my current role at a school for children with conditions on the Autism spectrum.

But, having said that, the industry, and computers in general, have changed significantly with the introduction of Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites. These have all come along since I learnt my BTEC back in 2003-2005. We’ve had the inclusion of iOS and Android, being two new operating systems that are run by Apple and Google, respectively. Touch screens, smart devices, consoles even have an operating system since I did that course. So, it’s no wonder I feel a little out of touch with the modern world.

So, it is my aim, that along with this Blog, and a new Facebook page that I created (to which there is a link somewhere here), I re-learn the ways of the source [code], gather the magic and find new ways of doing things. My plan is to learn how to do Social Media stuff, how to integrate it into modern life, how to run things properly through online courses, and to hopefully find another job as a result. This is what 2020 is all about for me.