You may have noticed I haven’t been posting The Friday 5 every Friday. It’s partly because I don’t always have five links I REALLY want to share with you so it’s now the always occasional Friday 5. Do let me know what you think!
Content is a critical part of many marketing programs now – and it’s not going away anytime soon. Particularly in the B2B space, content places a big role in establishing you as a thought leader, providing credibility and a sense of who you are as a company. In the spirit of ‘show, don’t tell’ you don’t want to advertise that you’re a thought leader. You want people to come to that conclusion themselves. So thinking like a journalist and a media outlet is important. Courtesy of Ann Handley at MarketingProfs, here are 11 traits you should look for in hiring your Chief Content Officer.
Inc magazine has curated 10 videos for Entrepreneurs. From Seth Godin’s Why ideas win to Steve Jobs 2005 commencement address at Stanford there’s a lot of inspiration to kickstart your weekend and set the tone for the next week. While billed for Enterpreneurs, I believe strongly that any manager within a company can benefit from such thinking. In fact, I think it would greatly improve the productivity and innovation of many businesses if they did. It’s never a bad thing to open and stretch your mind. Also included is Daniel Pink on motivation which I’ve written about before.
Bruce Mao has certainly established his place in the design world. His manifesto is still so relevant today and this logo shows what’s possible when you re-imagine its use. And shows the power of context. This logo for OCAD University in Toronto becomes a gallery for student work. Certainly designing for an art school is a heady affair, but this is one of the most elegant solutions I’ve seen. Think about this the next time you embark on a brand refresh and look for ways you can infuse what you do into your identity. Makes for a powerful connection in a sea of sameness.
Four social strategies outlined by Geoff Livingston applied to Facebook. This is for those unsure about how a tool like Facebook can work for their business. A snapshot of what I think we can expect in his new book The Fifth Estate, he shows you examples of four strategies in action: participation, serving with content, top down influence and empowering your community. What I like and respect about Geoff is his sound thinking on social media based on what’s going to work versus what’s cool or popular. He’s one of the few who provides the actionable substance you need to make social work.
It’s probably no secret that I like photos and my iPhone has turned into my daily photo journal. So perhaps I was naturally drawn to this film on fashion photo blogger, The Sartorialist. But what I really want to highlight is how Intel is using a visual medium to engage with their audience. Rather than talking about them, they are celebrating great art and inspiring you to do the same. What they get in return is an emotional connection with their brand and show how their products can help you create and share your visual life. They don’t stop with just this one video but have others to inspire on their site.
Intel is doing some pretty cool stuff these days and shows how you can push the technical data aside and inspire instead. And the technical is always there to provide proof and validation for the rational side of your mind.