C.E.L. News

October 2011 | C.E.L. Founder Cindy Leines Featured in Plymouth Magazine, read more

C.E.L. Founder Cindy Leines Featured in Plymouth Magazine

C.E.L. Founder and Strategist Cindy Leines is featured in the October issue of Plymouth Magazine. Reporter Bethany Christo interviewed Cindy on becoming the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year.

Within the article Christo highlighted Cindy’s business success and her company mission of being passionately committed to the betterment of business, family and the community. She said, “Leines started C.E.L. in the basement of her home in 1988 as a mother of two after noticing how professionals in health and education fields often struggle to market their services.” Leines added, “We continue that mission today.”

Leines attributes her success to her roots in North Dakota where she got “experience on the farm watching her hardworking parents succeed and thrive in their community.”

Cindy Leines and C.E.L. scored the highest among nominated companies that have established and maintained a successful business of $100 million or less in annual revenue for five or more years. Leines looks forward to continuing to work with clients to bring their message to the marketplace in a creative, effective and lasting way.

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May 2011 | C.E.L. Founder Named 2011 TwinWest Entrepreneur of the Year, read more

C.E.L. Founder Named 2011 TwinWest Entrepreneur of the Year

Cindy Leines, C.E.L.’s president & CEO has been named the 2011 TwinWest Chamber Entrepreneur of the Year.

The announcement was made at the Chamber’s Small Business Awards Luncheon on May 24^that the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park. Leines and C.E.L. scored the highest among nominated companies that have established and maintained a successful business of $100 million or less in annual revenue for five or more years.

Cindy Leines founded C.E.L. more than 20 years ago with a commitment to the betterment of business, family and the community. Today, she continues to live that mission and help service businesses excel with the help of business partner Kari Logan and a talented team of professionals. “This award is for our entire staff and collaborators who give their best to our clients’ everyday,“ said Leines. “We are also grateful for our business advisers whose collective insight and expertise has guided and inspired us.”

Leines looks forward to continuing to work with clients to bring their message to the marketplace in a creative, effective and lasting way. "When our clients succeed, we succeed.""

Click links below to see coverage of the event:

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May 2011 | Social Media Incubator Blog Featured as a Top Source on The Social Media Informer, read more

Social Media Incubator Blog Featured as a Top Source on The Social Media Informer

The Social Media Incubator blog has been accepted by The Social Media Informer, which is a blog aggregation and distribution service. The SMI blogs will feed into this website (which gets over 9,000 visitors per month) and will also be distributed out to their daily newsletter.

This is truly called strategic social media in action!

May 2011 | C.E.L. Founder is Finalist for TwinWest Entrepreneur of the Year, read more

C.E.L. Founder is Finalist for TwinWest Entrepreneur of the Year

Cindy Leines, C.E.L. co-owner has been named as a finalist for TwinWest’s 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year. The TwinWest Chamber Entrepreneur of the Year is a member who has established and maintained a successful business of $100 million or less in annual revenue, and is five or more years old…the business, that is!

When asked to share the most rewarding thing about being an entrepreneur Leines said, “I love helping people find creative solutions and resources, and ultimately helping them succeed.”

Leines will be recognized at TwinWest’s Small Business Awards Luncheon on May 24th at the Doubletree Hotel Minneapolis Park Place. The 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year will be announced at the event.

May 2011 | C.E.L. gets the Wayzata Muni in Motion, read more

C.E.L. gets the Wayzata Muni in Motion

Our C.E.L. team decided to get serious for the Muni Move of the Wayzata Wine & Spirits and Wayzata Bar & Grill on April 28th! C.E.L. was there to help make it a smooth transition to their new location at 747 Mill Street in Wayzata.

A big “thank you” goes out to the dedicated staff of the Muni, as well as to the community of Wayzata. Cheers to all of the extensive planning and hard work that made the move a successful experience!

April 2011 | C.E.L. is featured on Minneapolis Star Tribune, read more

Social authority can boost bottom line

By Todd Nelson

Social media helped consultant Deborah Dolan, owner of Senior Life Transitions, more than double her business last year.

The key was using social media to establish herself as a credible resource -- a social authority -- on aging issues, through a blog, a new Advocate on Aging podcast and other social and search marketing efforts.

The social authority push improved her position in search engine rankings and drove more visitors to her company website. It offers business-to-business and business-to-consumer consulting and advocacy on planning and caring for aging family members.

"I was very excited to have that happen," said Dolan, who founded her company in 2002 after leaving a corporate position. "The only change that I made in my plan for 2010 was adding the social media component. Never did I think my revenue would increase so dramatically, or my visibility. Never in my wildest dreams did I think about podcasting or even know what that was."

Dolan's case exemplifies how even small and medium-sized companies can use the emerging social authority strategy to influence their search engine rankings, increase awareness and help retain existing customers and attract new customers.

Dolan developed the strategy with Cindy Leines, founder and CEO of C.E.L. Public Relations in Minneapolis, and Caroline Melberg, the firm's search engine optimization and social authority expert.

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