Taking advantage of free marketing ought to be a given. Social media is proving to be a lasting trend that not only reaches far beyond the regular scope of a simple marketing campaign but is also constant, versatile and universally accessible.

Bolster your campaign with your companies best perceived strengths – use this opportunity to give your brand a signature that marks you as different from your competition. Hone in to specifics creating a distinctive message.

We have got special tools and resources that can help you with this winning technique. Be your own marketing analyst. With some simple research techniques you can determine what is best for your business, even more important when funds are scarce.

Re-evaluate your target or niche markets. Utilize simple strategies that help to distinguish where you need to be spending your marketing dollars.

“Focus on quality rather than quantity when it comes to marketing.”

Once you have identified your key audience and defined your message the next focus is on representation. Employ both direct (more costly) and indirect (less costly) measures to deploy your message. Consider offering seminars or teach courses that mutually benefit sales for your industry, sponsor events or promos that may engage your target audiences or consider a partnership with a non-profit organization that may highlight and be a benefit to both of you.

Business cards and stationary are a classic but solid method. These days printing costs are very low and this method is one of the easiest ways to gain exposure. Leave your card wherever is appropriate, asking friends, local business owners and colleagues to help you pass them on.

Your team members may well interact with your target market at times that you don’t expect. For this reason it can be a very effective investment, and good for morale, to equip them with their own business cards as well.

Join local community groups and clubs. As well as making a contribution to your community you may well find opportunities that would not otherwise be available to you. The cost is negligible and the potential for exposure is at a constant high. Offer free consultations, trial periods or sample products or even consider putting on a contest that will get your service, product or name out there.

Asking for referrals should be a normal part of your business so make sure you involve friends, loyal customers and family. Not all marketing has to come at a hefty cost. Stay afloat and gain exposure in the tightest of times with some simple tactics that merely require your implementation in order to work.

Let’s examine your house of worship. It’s possible for members to deduct evangelism travel expenses, even if the charity (a church in this example) never initiated, controlled, supervised, or assisted with the trips. The church fostered missionary work in general. Before the trip, the church provided the taxpayers with letters of commendation serving as introductions to other interfaith groups during the trip. And after the trip, the charity publicized the member’s efforts to the other congregations. This allowed the taxpayers to deduct mileage at the prescribed IRS rate, air fare, lodging, and meals while on their missionary trip.

Consider the potential deductions for those taxpayers involved as board members to a charity, or simply significantly involved. In a recent decision, the Tax Court noted “control” by the charity is only one of the factors to be considered. You don’t have to necessarily be controlled or directed by the charity to make your deductions stand up. But there should be a strong affiliation with the charity, and the taxpayer must be accountable to the charity.

There are recordkeeping requirements. Noncash contributions greater than $250 must be acknowledged by the charity. The taxpayer will likely have to request this from the charity with a simple form, one which the charity will be happy to complete in order to secure your deduction and advance the mission of the charity.

What factors could make your company a better place to work? Here are four keys.

Respect. Show employees that they matter by providing them with necessary training, acknowledging outstanding work, and creating a healthy and upbeat workplace.

Fairness. Treat employees equitably. This applies, of course, to hiring and promotion decisions, but might also include sharing the firm’s success through a structured bonus plan.

A sense of pride. Most people enjoy working with a team that accomplishes something significant. Create this type of work environment and you’ll foster company loyalty. Strive to make everything you do - and everyone you employ - an integral part of the firm’s mission.

Opportunities. No one looks forward to a dead-end job. Give your workers an adventure to anticipate. Find ways to expand their horizons. For example, you might provide cross-training to develop new skills or encourage innovation.

Even if you can’t offer the best compensation package on the planet, satisfied workers can help propel your company forward. And they’ll let their talented friends know that your company is a great place to work.

Someone once said “An Inbox is as personal a space as an underwear drawer — we all have one and are all embarrassed by both its organization and contents.” Start 2012 off by applying some simple and effective methods to maintaining an organized and less overwhelming (or embarrassing!) Inbox.

A clean and well-sorted Inbox can save you valuable time and is less overwhelming and stressful. Email guru Debbie Mayo-Smith compares the Inbox to a filing cabinet; folders placed haphazardly in the cabinet defeat the purpose. Utilize the organizational structure provided by your email service and start by sorting your emails into Folders and reduce the pile-up.

Set up a time, preferably twice a day, dedicated to email sorting and organization. Take this time to focus solely on filtering your emails into Folders and assigning them levels of urgency. Utilise this opportunity to reply to your most time-sensitive emails.

Allow this time to go uninterrupted. Even consider turning off the New Email notification (if you use one) to limit distraction. 

Continue to scan emails throughout the day so as not to miss last minute or urgent messages but resist the temptation to deal with routine emails on the fly. 

“Employ the use of auto-replies to do some of the response work for you.”

One organizer suggested using the “Four D’s” when processing emails. Start at the top and assess each message according to the following:

1. Delete it

2. Do it

3. Delegate it

4. Defer it

This will give you a much needed start on what can seem to be an otherwise overwhelming task.

They suggest that sometimes as much as 50% of daily emails can be deleted, 30% delegated or completed in minutes and 20% deferred to be completed later.  

Utilize your email system to its fullest abilities. Take a few hours out of your day to explore your carriers’ options and really get to know its capabilities. Most email systems offer add-in programs designed to simplify and manage email organization.

Filtering emails is one of the easiest ways to promote and maintain sorting and upkeep. Filter however it works best for your needs; based on contacts, categories or subject lines and as messages come in they can be automatically relegated to their designated filter Folder.

Emptying your Trash Folder daily, creating To-Do and Follow-Up Folders and archiving important messages can save you mountains of time.

With a small amount of time each day you can take back control of your Inbox and improve your response time, reduce your stress levels and keep up with due dates and important notifications.

Identify your tax opportunities for 2012.  There are many credits and deductions available to you in such areas as retirement, education, home ownership, and child care. Identify those that will reduce your taxes, and make sure to qualify for all of the deductions and credits that are available to you.

Plan your portfolio for 2012.  Take the lower tax rates on both dividends and long-term capital gains into account as you review your portfolio for 2012 changes.

Rid yourself of “stuff” you don’t use.  Are you paying for a cell phone you rarely use? A magazine you never read? A mail-order video service you forgot about? An extra cable box for that basement TV you never watch? A membership to a gym you rarely attend? If so, now is the time to dump those wasted services and pocket the cash.

Plan for your retirement.   Are you putting aside enough money for your retirement? Most of the available retirement programs allow you to put this money away while reducing your current taxes. Does your employer match some of your 401(k) contributions? Then consider making at least that much of a contribution in order to maximize the benefit of your 401(k) plan.

Get a grip on your debt.   Take a look at your current debt, especially your credit card debt. Consider transferring a balance on a high interest card to a lower interest credit card. Remember that personal interest isn’t deductible (such as credit card interest and auto loan interest), so you might want to consider paying off that debt with a lower-rate deductible home-equity loan.

Get that new filing system started now.  Purge your 2011 files. Destroy documents that you don’t need. Create new files for your 2012 documents. Keep a tax and financial calendar that shows all deadlines for making payments and filing returns. And if you don’t have a filing system, create one in order to organize and locate your tax and financial records. 

We can help.  These are only a few of the many things that you can do to get your financial house in order. If you need help on any of these, or would like additional suggestions, give us a call. We’re here to help you make the best financial choices and tax decisions.

The new law extends the 4.2% social security tax on wages through February 29, 2012. Without this extension, the employee tax rate would have gone to 6.2% on the first $110,100 of wages earned in 2012.

The law also extends benefits for the long-term unemployed for two months and prevents a scheduled cut in fees paid to Medicare providers from taking effect January 1, 2012.

These extensions will be paid for by an increase in fees charged by government-backed mortgage companies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) for new home loans.

Included in the agreement is a requirement that President Obama make a decision within 60 days on the construction of the 1,700 mile Keystone oil pipeline.

Finally, the agreement calls for a House-Senate conference committee to negotiate an extension of the payroll tax cut through the end of 2012, as well as a longer-term extension of unemployment benefits and the Medicare reimbursement to doctors.

Companies that don’t want to keep track of the actual costs of using a vehicle for business purposes may use this standard mileage rate instead. An annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile is used to determine what the standard mileage rate will be for a given year.

In addition to the mileage rate, a separate deduction may be claimed for parking fees, tolls, interest relating to the purchase of the automobile, and state and local personal property taxes.

The standard business mileage rate can’t be used for automobiles used for hire (e.g., taxicabs) or for fleets of automobiles used simultaneously by the taxpayer. Nor can the standard rate be used if the vehicle was previously depreciated by other than the straight-line method, including using bonus depreciation or the Section 179 deduction.

When the business mileage rate is used, depreciation will be considered to have been allowed at a rate of 23 cents a mile. This depreciation reduces the taxpayer’s cost basis in the vehicle.

The cost-of-living adjustments to social security benefits began in the 1970s and since then have averaged 4.2% annually. Monthly social security payments average $1,082 or $13,000 a year. According to the Social Security Administration, most retirees rely on social security for a majority of their income, and many depend on it for 90% of their income.