A blog is not a blog when it is a WordPress static site or Content Management System (CMS).

Helloooo!! WordPress is NOT just for blogs, you silly! It is a powerful Content Management System (CMS) , and thousands of companies are switching to WordPress to manage their own sites right now as we speak!

(Get a free evaluation of your current site and how it could benefit from converting to WordPress –
Be sure to include your URL; Girl Friday will  email you an evaluation within 48 hours!)

Take wine and restaurant websites, for example. These sites often have designs using Flash, music and layout elements that make for a visually beautiful page, but that actually prevent search engines from finding the site. Now just how sensible is that, I ask you? Why have a beautiful site that no one will see? Why, that’s like being all dressed up with nowhere to go to show off your pretty dress!

Be a smart cookie and convert your static site to a dynamic site on WordPress, and suddenly you have a platform that is beautiful AND search engine friendly (WP has built-in search engine-friendly stuff). Want the bells and the whistles, too? OK, honey you got it; with WordPress you can have a shopping cart, video, revolving images, Facebook, Twitter, etc. (and without a blog if you don’t want one)!

So, here’s the 411 again: you can have a beautifully designed site with revolving photos, video and other elements that would typically degrade your site’s visibility, AND you can have great Search Engine Optimization…all with a WordPress site.

Here are some samples of companies with beautiful websites built with WordPress that are NOT used primarily as blogs:

http://www.herout-caves.com/
(I know, the site is in French. But just look at the design…it’s a great example of a beautiful, simple, and very SEO and social media friendly site.)

http://fernwoodcoffee.com/
This site is very content heavy, which makes for great Search Engine friendliness. Their main focus is their STORY, which WordPress does beautifully!

http://theprobar.com/
This uses a very colorful background and images to great effect.

Girl Friday just loves WordPress sites and can build one for you, too or convert your current site to WordPress! It’s your party, so you get to decide how you want to work it honey!

Email for more info: info@e-girlfriday.com

HELLOOOOOOO?? Is this the party to which I am speaking?

You’ve probably figured out by now that If your website is a static HTML site, it’s expensive and time-consuming to program the site in order to connect it to your social media like Facebook and Twitter. You probably have to get on the phone to your site designer, or whomever did your site, and ask them to program it for Social Media. Oh Jiminy Criminy Grits, what a pain in the you-know-what!! Easier to take control of your own website, Girl Friday always says. But HOW??

Consider converting your HTML site to a WordPress site/content management system, Bonky!! That way, you can add Social Media, video, a blog, a portfolio, music, event calendars and so much more quite easily. And you can do all that fun Social Media stuff yourself. Or have your Girl Friday (or Boy Friday) do it for you. It’s easy! (Do you know Microsoft Word? Well, the WordPress content editor looks a lot like Word – so simple to use!) (Ask me how:  info@e-girlfriday.com)

When you log-in to your WordPress administration panel, YOU are able to control, edit and add content, pages, photos and more (once it is set up for you). (READ this forum posting for discussion among real users regarding static (HTML) site vs. WordPress).

WordPress is a content management system…and Social Media is also built on content. Visitors, customers, or clients interact with your WordPress site’s content by making comments, asking questions, purchasing product or downloading information you’ve provided. The same process occurs within your Facebook and Twitter profiles.

And so, it makes sense to have a content-managed WordPress site that connects to your social media and even your email blast software (like Vertical Response). The WordPress site becomes your marketing hub, the center of your content exchange with site visitors, and the site around which your social media revolves.

Think about it, then contact Girl Friday!! Now get back to work, dear. You’ve procrastinated long enough.

Are you spending lots of time on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn but not really sure why??  Or, perhaps you know you should be on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn or some combination thereof, but you aren’t really clear on how exactly they all work??  You are not alone!!  But it’s not really your job, is it, to figure it all out and then do something about it? Well, yes, so sorry. It is your job. But you don’t have to slog and slosh your way through it by yourself, sweetie. Girl Friday is here to make it all right. There now…feel better?

Here’s the truth: you need to figure out which social media tool works best for you, for your business, and for the staff and resources you have on hand to manage that social media. Not all businesses need a Facebook account, nor should certain businesses even have a presence on Facebook…and certainly not everyone should Twitter. And LinkedIn has its own special purpose that may not fit in with your business model or way of working.

It’s to your advantage to look at the different social media tools available and then ask yourself a few questions:

1. Is my target audience even ON Facebook or Twitter?? If you are a financial planner whose clients are all retired, chances are they are not on Twitter – they don’t even know what that is!  If you are trying to gather a younger clientele for your business, however, you may want to be on Facebook and reach the adult children of your older clients. They may be on Facebook for social reasons, and can get to know you in that online community. Let’s say you are a new restaurant – you’ll want to reach people in the surrounding neighborhood who are on Facebook, where they and their friends talk about or suggest places to go out to eat…by all means, gather as many of those Friends as you can! ON the other hand, if you are a business coach offering services to corporate clients. LinkedIn may make better sense as a social/business networking tool for you. You become a resource on LinkedIn, where other businesses search for your unique skills or services. If you believe your target market is heavily involved in a particular social media, you’ll want to be utilizing that social media tool, and it’s community, to keep your online presence fresh and engaged.
2. Do I have the time, or the staff, to consistently engage in the social media conversation? If you can’t devote time on a consistent basis, whether daily, weekly, bi-weekly, etc.  – honey, you are just a wastin’ time and who has time to waste? Not Girl Friday!! and I’m sure you don’t either!  So I’m going to save you a ton o’ time and tell you that you need to make sure you can consistently maintain whichever social medial tool you choose to participate in. If you start and then allow your Profile or Twitter account to remain outdated, it looks to visitors as though you don’t even visit your own sites…so why should they?  Social media is of the moment; be present, be there now, be a part of the conversation that is happening today. So stay up to date, cupcake!
3. Should I perhaps just choose ONE social media tool, stick with it, be consistent, and give that a try?? Well, um…in a word:  yes!!  See if you can manage just one social media tool, OR, a blog if you have one. Be very consistent…if Twitter is all you can manage time-wise, then do Twitter. But do it well. If you feel really comfortable in Facebook, and you can manage your Profile or Fan Page in a way that promotes you and your business in a personable yet professional way…then go for it. Better to do just one social media tool, and do it well, than try to manage three or four different accounts where nothing of value or relevance is posted, or it is inconsistent.  You can always add on more social media once you master one.

Don’t feel guilty that you’ve neglected your poor Tweets, have not responded to all those Facebook emails, or updated your contacts at LinkedIn. Take a deep breath. None of this stuff is going away. Conserve your energy…plan carefully….then do it!!

And if you’d like some great information you can use, take our “Navigating the Maze of Online Marketing” workshops….workshop III is this Thursday, November 19, 10 a.m. in Petaluma, CA. Go to this link to reserve your spot:  http://onlinemarketingmedia.eventbrite.com/ or….send me an email to: info@e-girlfriday.com.