First of all, let me say that anyone not well-versed in coding, website design, and SEO should definitely have their website or blog professionally built and maintained if they have the resources to do so. Especially if the site is going to be monetized or represent an already-established brand.

Now that I’ve gotten that disclaimer out of the way, you should also know that I fully understand that many small businesses and individuals making their online debuts have more time than money, and are going to take the DIY route. At least when it comes to updating your site with fresh copy.

If you happen to be one of these folks, I have some excellent news for you. With a little guidance, it is easier than ever to add new content to your blog or website using a content management system (CMS) such as Wordpress. In the old days, it was necessary to be skilled in HTML at the minimum in order to update a website. However, any individual with the time, motivation, and patience to learn their way around a CMS can now update their blog using a built-in WYSIWYG editing program. Similar to a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” editing program lets you add new content to your blog or website without having to know any type of code such as HTML, CSS or PHP. You can add new text, photos, and sometimes even video and audio clips to your site within a WYSIWYG editor using formatting toolbars. Some CMS platforms even let users optimize their blog posts and pages for search engine optimization (SEO) without touching their code.

For those of you who who are going to also set up your own sites (or do so with minimal professional assistance), I recommend creating free accounts with two or three different hosted blog or website communities. Spend some time experimenting with each one before marketing one of them, or even slapping your custom domain name on it. The time to do this will come when you know for sure which one best meets your needs and you know you will be able to stick with it. Three of the most popular hosted blog/website platform communities are currently Blogger, Wordpress, and Weebly. And for good reason. Each one comes with free hosting for your website or blog, an intuitive CMS, a supportive community, and the ability to export your site should you choose to migrate it to a self-hosted blog or website in the future. And did I say all three options are free?!

Wordpress, unlike Blogger or Weebly, comes with built-in stats. Blogger and Weebly, however, make it pretty easy to track your site in analytics programs like Sitemeter or Google Analytics. In my opinion, Wordpress comes with the most beautiful themes, or “skins.” However, Blogger and Weebly have some nice ones, too, and allow you to use third-party themes or even create your own if you are inclined to do so. I should also note that when I am talking about Wordpress, I mean the hosted blogging platform at wordpress.com. The community for those who run the free Wordpress software on their self-hosted blogs exists at wordpress.org.

When it comes to Facebook Community Pages, what you don’t know can hurt your business or nonprofit organization. Facebook purportedly gave users the option to create Community Pages as a way to create an “unofficial” page on a topic, cause or experience — not a brand. And anyone who creates a Facebook Page has to authenticate that they are an official representative of that group or business. This change followed the explosion in popularity of regular Pages being built around informal themes with titles like “Can This Facebook Page Get More Fans Than Nickelback?” In theory, I think Facebook requiring Pages to be authenticated is great news for businesses and organizations because it should (in theory) help them protect their brands.

The problem is that anyone can create a Community Page, including a business or nonprofit organization, but Facebook is not exactly advertising this fact. Nor are they, in my opinion, doing a good job of letting users know that once they create a Community Page (or convert a regular Page to a Community Page), they will lose control over the content of that page. This is because Community Pages operate like wikis, allowing all community members to edit content. Facebook has made it so that Community Pages automatically pull in information from Wikipedia and other sources outside of Facebook. But the biggest danger that Community Pages pose to brands is that some admins are converting the successful Facebook Pages they have invested a lot of resources building up into Community Pages unaware that they are giving up control of their branding. I don’t think business representatives who are doing this are realizing that as soon as they switch over, they lose their publishing privileges until they actually make the switch. And then it is too late.

That’s right, Community Pages don’t generate stories in user news feeds. Nor do they appear in regular Facebook searches.

To add to the confusion there are reports of some Facebooks Page  admins being prompted to authenticate their pages with as few as 50 Likes (formerly known as Fans). By not authenticating, these users are running the risk of having their Facebook Facebook Pages automatically converted to Community Pages. If you created a Fan Page (now simply called a Facebook Page) and have not yet been asked to authenticate your Facebook Page, I advise doing so immediately on your own initiative.

Do you have a Facebook page with a custom URL? If so, then you are eligible to start promoting it right now using Facebook’s new “text to like” feature. Here’s how:

Ask your customers to send a text to 32665, Facebook’s mobile messaging number, with the words “like YourFacebookPageName.” For instance, if you were promoting Denver Channel 9 Weather News’ Facebook page, you would ask people to send a text to 32665 with the words “like 9weather” since http://facebook.com/9weather/ is the custom URL of their Facebook page.

Be creative – ask people to “text to like” your page via emails, your main website, a blog post, and other social networking sites such as Twitter. If you have a public storefront, make signs and post them in prominent places such as the cash register and in the front window. Add a “text to like” message to your business cards. The options for leveraging this new feature are limitless.

You should also know that in order to use the “text to like” feature, a Facebook user must have already activated Facebook Mobile Texts in the account settings for their Facebook account and have confirmed their mobile number. This can be done by clicking on the “mobile” tab in the account settings area of a Facebook user profile.

Any customers who “text to like” your Facebook page will receive text updates on their phone from your Facebook page. What’s more, their public profile will tell the world that they “like” your business. This is a free, simple way to expose your brand to as many Facebook users as possible. Members of virtually every business’ target market are using Facebook, and the social networking site just keeps getting more and more popular. In 2009, the number of people who use Facebook grew by a staggering 145% — from 42 million to 103 million users.

So, what are you waiting for? Leverage this feature while it’s still fresh! And if you need help, please do not hesitate to contact us. We here at Honey Tree Media would be happy to help you optimize your existing Facebook marketing campaign, or help you create a customized one from scratch.

Editor’s Note: Facebook has strict terms of service (TOS) regarding the terminology, logos and icons that may used to promote Facebook pages. Honey Tree Media LLC recommends that you study these pages thoroughly before designing anything for the purpose of promoting your Facebook page. Honey Tree Media LLC is not responsible for anyone who violates Facebook’s TOS.

Hi there, fellow Internet user. My name is Christy and I am the founder of Honey Tree Media LLC. If you need help building your online “buzz” on the web, then you have come to the right place. We offer a variety of Internet marketing services that we can custom-tailor to meet your needs. And if you are a small business or non-profit organization, don’t worry. We can work within your budget. In fact, we prefer to work with small businesses and individuals. Do you need any of these services?

Don’t know what these services are? No problem. We will explain.

But that’s enough about us. We are interesting in getting to know you. Contact us with your Internet marketing questions, connect with us in social media, or leave your questions on this blog (in the comments section).

We look forward to getting to know you!