Auld Lang Syne & Happy New Year!

The time has come to say goodbye to 2014. Before we watch the ball drop to kick off 2015, let’s take a quick look back at the year that was. My helper monkeys, Mojo and Penelope, have prepared an end-of-year report for the CCC blog. Thanks to you, what a year it’s been! Consider this:  A NewContinue reading “Auld Lang Syne & Happy New Year!”

3 Ways to Encourage More Referrals (From Santa or The Grinch)

What’s on your list for Santa this year? A new computer? Fancy office digs? Or new business? Let’s go with the latter. Referrals. We all want them, but how do you encourage your clients and supporters to provide them? Gift Cards – It’s no coincidence that gift cards are the top gift year after year.Continue reading “3 Ways to Encourage More Referrals (From Santa or The Grinch)”

Saved: Facebook Scrolls Into the News Game

Let’s face it. Facebook desperately wants to be the center of your online activities: your home page, your entertainment hub, your news source. Especially your news source. The social media giant may have finally arrived in this last sector. The recently introduced Save feature finally allows you to store interesting news stories and posts away for laterContinue reading “Saved: Facebook Scrolls Into the News Game”

Get Visual With Content Marketing: 5 Tools To Help

We’ve all heard that ‘a picture’s worth a thousand words,’ but the proof is more personal. When you flip through a magazine, browse online or read a blog post, where do your eyes go? To the pictures. So it should be no surprise that images are the number one most important factor in optimal social media content.Continue reading “Get Visual With Content Marketing: 5 Tools To Help”

Warning: Appropriate Hashtag Usage on Instagram Will Result in Major Traffic Increase

Hashtags: you either love them or hate them. This blog has pondered hashtag usage before and received a mixed response from readers on their effectiveness and aesthetic appeal. But more than a year after that discussion, one thing is clear. Hashtag usage should be defined more than ever by social platform. Social Platform Hashtag Usage Twitter?Continue reading “Warning: Appropriate Hashtag Usage on Instagram Will Result in Major Traffic Increase”

Should You Slim Down (on Social Media)?

One of the first things I always discuss with clients (or even prospects) is that you can’t be everything to everyone — even on social media. We all know that, but as small business owners or business professionals, it can be difficult to weed out any ‘potential’ customers. Do what I say, not what I do.Continue reading “Should You Slim Down (on Social Media)?”

LinkedIn: Are You Connected?

All of your colleagues and fellow business professionals keep telling you to get on LinkedIn, but you’re not looking for a job. So what’s the point, right? Wrong. LinkedIn is the Rolodex of the 21st century and so much more: an organized way to store your professional contacts, an easy way to follow up withContinue reading “LinkedIn: Are You Connected?”

An Omnipresent View? The Life of a Small Business Owner

As I sit here and watch the conclusion of the Nets-Heat game, my thoughts keep drifting back to my business. It’s not for lack of excitement: this game, and especially the 4th quarter, has been a back-and-forth affair. In fact, I’m loving the view on TNT Overtime: Wouldn’t it be great if you had thisContinue reading “An Omnipresent View? The Life of a Small Business Owner”

You Don’t Know Jack About Brandjacking

In the mid-nineties, there was a trivia game called You Don’t Know Jack. As a trivia buff, I loved the game and even had it on CD-ROM (remember those?). OK, I also loved telling people, “You don’t know jack” when they answered incorrectly. Which brings me too… Brandjacking. What is it? When someone hijacks your brand,Continue reading “You Don’t Know Jack About Brandjacking”