For companies battling through tough economic times, effective internal communications may not sound like a top priority. But clear and effective communication within a company, no matter what size, is a big deal. Get it wrong and you’ll soon have a workforce that is unsure, inefficient and struggling with motivation.

Since a good event takes time to pull off, the time to start planning is now. If you’ve not done an event before, it does take some planning, but the rewards – new customers, customer loyalty and great new contacts – can definitely be worth the man hours.

Fail faster; succeed sooner, as they say in Silicon Valley. Learning from those who hit the hard times so you can avoid expensive mistakes before they happen is also a good idea when it comes to succeeding in business. Here are four examples of businesses that made it through hardship and came back stronger than ever.

In our increasingly digital world, social media is an important business tool. The far-reaching power of sites such a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, allows brands to interact with their customers, attract new ones and increase their exposure. However, as much as these sites have the power to build and make a brand, if not used properly, they also have the potential to break a brand. That’s why we’ve created our new infographic, which explores the dos and don’ts of using social media for business.

During the hiring process, recruiters or hiring managers come across all kinds of résumés: the good, the bad and the ugly, as we discovered when decoding résumé jargon . While you hope that there will be more in the good section than the others, the rise of common clichés appearing on résumés often puts paid to that. It seems that in a bid to stand out from the crowd, many job-hunters use language and clichés that don’t translate as well to prospective employees as they’d hope, instead making them stand out for less appealing reasons.

Social Media: forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).

Instagram is a global phenomenon that can be surprisingly great for small businesses. Here’s how to make it work for you.

Team building activities are a great way to bring employees together, boost morale and potentially learn new skills. In order to retain employees’ interests, it’s important to keep these events new and fresh, allowing individuals to try something different and in some cases, somewhere different.

In theory, all you need to start a business is an idea, a computer and a bit of free time. It’s never been easier, but can you launch a business inside a month?

If you’re reading this, you’re probably in the same boat as every other business in your state, if not the country. We all want more customers, but how do you get them?