If social media served only one purpose, it would be to drive people back to your website.
Social media is simply an extension of your core platform. Indeed, it is a great place to share your ideas and let them spread across the internet. But your website should always be your core platform.
I wrote a quick post on an idea called digital sharecropping, which is placing all of your content on a platform owned by a third-party, such as Facebook or Tumblr.
For example, if Facebook changed the rules, you would no longer have control over how your content gets used, displayed and found.
That is why it is crucial to make your website your hub, and to own the platform outright.
It’s another reason I like building on self-hosted WordPress websites, instead of using sites like Squarespace. WordPress is an open-source platform. Nobody can tell you how to use it, or what rules to play by.
You can back it up, install it anywhere and own it forever. You host it on your own servers, you own the content, you own the rules.
Social media is a tool that let’s you drive people back to your website.
Social media should not be your core platform (your podium from which to spread your message), since one day it may disappear, become irrelevant or change the rules on you entirely.
Social media is a great place to share your content, just make sure all paths lead to Rome… which is your website.