Savvy professionals use LinkedIn for networking, business development, competitive intelligence and other strategic B2B purposes. As we adjust to the new set-up, here are my top take-aways to know and do now.

For the busy professional, marketing and business development may be the most daunting aspect of your work life. The trick is to discover your passion.

‘Twas the night before 2017 and all through the month, clients have been stirring in an end-of-year scrunch. Their stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes marketing miracles soon would be there.

Whether you meet on the golf course or ball game, at the beach or on the water, or drinking and dining al fresco at one of Rhode Island’s wealth of outdoor venues, summer can certainly be ripe for business development.

These ten tips -- gleaned from one of my past presentations to young professionals -- are still a good reminder of a business-building approach to social media, ... no matter your age or experience.

A recent onslaught of clever Internet villains have certainly got my attention. I have heard of and seen websites hacked in a number of painful ways including the addition of blatant ads for body-part-enhancing drugs, the transformation of all text into Chinese, and the not-so-subtle placement of flashing pictures of naked women on the (aka my) blog page.

Companies often seek to build awareness about years-in-business milestones, expansion and moves, and other newsworthy accolades via business events. These business-centric gatherings allow organizations to connect with clients, customers, prospects and other centers-of-influence for face-time; events are a nice change of pace from the world of e-mail communication and phone conferences that often dominate our time-stressed interactions.

Mobile-geddon is here. Basically, as I explain to my clients, Google’s new algorithm will favor sites for ranking purposes that are mobile optimized. While this functionality has been built into most new websites in the last few years – we knew mobile-geddon was coming – companies that use their websites as no-frills, online brochures may not have adopted responsive technology.

From holiday video greetings to shiny new website launches to major milestone events, communicating with clients via e-mail “campaigns” is an integral and strategic element of today’s marketing approach. When combined with tactics to leverage basic social media and drive traffic to your website, it becomes a vital component to generate ROI of marketing dollars for business professionals.

Looking back at the diverse array of marketing projects from 2014, my top picks are those that provide outstanding return-on-investment of time and energy for my clients, ... and go beyond the ho-hum to convey creative business savvy and strategy. It’s not about the most complicated or costly, but more about fulfilling your marketing objectives and connecting with target audiences.