As a communicator or marketer, one day you may be called upon to shoot a professional headshot or two. Maybe this has already happened to you and you found yourself wondering how to capture a somewhat professional photo. Well, consider your days of feeling like a fish out of water — at least for this matter — gone.

In “How to Become a Marketing Superstar,” Jeffrey J. Fox uses the analogy of the “Ka-ching” sound made by a cash register ringing up a sale. “Ka-ching” is what the business hears every time our work leads to a new manufacturing order, a donation to our non-profit organization, an energized workforce or a customer clicking on our website. Ultimately, it’s about results. In the words of Mr. Fox, “It don’t mean a thing if it don’t go Ka-ching!”

In today’s digital world, blogging is a powerful tool businesses should be leveraging to connect with their audience and showcase their extensive knowledge as a subject-matter expert. It offers endless opportunities to cultivate a loyal following, promote your services or product and disseminate news and information.

“Know your audience.” It’s our mantra as communicators and marketers. It guides us as we craft our messages, our marketing campaigns and our promotional efforts. But do we follow this guideline when writing press releases? Sure, we write using the inverted pyramid construction, employing AP Style and giving the who, what, when, where and why…

As a communications strategy consultant who works with small businesses, I get asked about how to be successful on social media a lot. Here are my nine steps for social media success.

Who should you work with on your website? What about your social media presence? Your search engine presence? How can you tell if the company or person you’re interviewing will be right for you?

When I’m meeting with organizations about their digital marketing, a lot of them are missing one specific piece of the equation necessary for effective marketing. In fact, it really impacts all forms of communication. They don’t know their audience. Knowing your audience…

One in five Americans reads at the 5th grade level or below. They can’t read the front page of a newspaper. The average American reads at the 8th or 9th grade level, but most materials are written above the 10th grade level. Do your customers or employees who speak English as a second language truly…

After 30+ years in the communications industry, I was thinking back on some of the incredibly talented people I’ve been able to hire at multiple businesses over the years. What an incredible blessing it has been to work with these communications rock stars! But then I also thought back about some of the people I didn’t hire at various companies. What did I see in one job candidate that I didn’t see in another? There are really six core reasons I generally choose not to hire someone.

As a self-proclaimed social media maven, I love learning and teaching others about the interworking of social platforms, their various features and relevant tools. Today I’d like to delve into a topic I’m asked about frequently — hashtags. While you’re most likely familiar with the #hashtag, you may not be entirely certain how to use them across the vast array of social platforms you’re on.