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The Weekly Wrap: How to Go Off Script AND Stay in Compliance

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And that’s a wrap of the week ending Sept. 13, 2019

Even though it’s Friday the 13th, I’m feeling lucky because this week – and every week – offers us a chance to go off script, disrupting some tired old patterns and pursuing a new path to success. As proof, I offer a fresh take on a publisher that broke the mold and achieved remarkable growth by focusing on its core business function. Next, I talk with best-selling author, attorney, and intellectual property authority Ruth Carter about the practicalities of maintaining compliance with data privacy regulations, and I point you to an article that will help you mitigate your brand’s risk when sharing content on social media.

Listen to the Weekly Wrap

I hope you’re enjoying the new format and length. Leave a comment below or tweet us with the hashtag #WeeklyWrap. Let’s wrap it up:

  • One deep thought (3:19): There’s no shortage of guidance on how to do content marketing better. But blindly following the industry’s prescribed best practices can keep your content mired in mediocrity rather than illuminate a path to meaningful progress. It’s easy to blame the simple economics of efficiency when we choose to fall back on reliable patterns and scripts. But as I see it, when we encounter objections to our ideas for change and simply comply without asking why, we are doing a disservice to our content, our customers, and our business.
Blindly following best practices keeps your #content mired in mediocrity, says @Robert_Rose. #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

  • A fresh take on the news (9:13): This week I discovered a living, breathing testament to the brand-building benefits of going off script and “reprogramming the simulation.” There’s a lot to love about this Folio article, Sandow’s Success Is Anything But Traditional. It profiles the journey CEO and Chairman Adam Sandow took building a media business that prioritizes valuable functionality over meaningless formality. In the discussion, I highlight a few key components of the CEO’s disruptive vision of the publishing business model and how it enabled him to expand his company’s portfolio in remarkably groundbreaking – and highly profitable – ways.
A disruptive vision enabled a publishing business expansion in profitable ways, says @Robert_Rose. #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet
  • This week’s person making a difference in content (12:55): Known for daring antics and an outgoing personality (and, I might add, skateboarding prowess), Ruth Carter is an Arizona attorney and an authority on intellectual property, business law, and internet law. Ruth has written three best-selling books on guerrilla marketing and social media law and has spoken at over 100 events, including Content Marketing World and South by Southwest. Ruth has also been featured by The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and NPR.

You never know what to expect in a conversation with Ruth, and our latest discussion is no exception. We cover a lot of ground (and scorch a bit of earth in the process) – the increasing complexity of data privacy compliance, how marketers’ most diligent policy intentions can be a discord with their day-to-day practices, and where we are losing sight of our audiences’ humanity.

To learn more about Ruth:

  • One content marketing idea you can use (30:50): And now that we’ve explored rule following and breaking, I offer guidance for answering an increasingly common question: Is Your Brand Breaking the Law on Social Media? If your brand doesn’t rely solely on commissioned or in-house content, you could have potential legal exposure from the images and other creative assets in your social media efforts. Author Allen Murabayashi explains why you might want to rethink or at least review your social media content policies to keep your brand out of harm’s way.
Know your legal exposure from images and other creative assets in your #socialmedia. @Robert_Rose #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

Love for this week’s sponsor: CMI University

We all want to make a difference in the content industry. But rather than waiting for someone else to advance your career, take ownership of your future by boosting your knowledge, skills, and technical proficiency at CMI University. Our newest class offerings home in on the process considerations for a successful content marketing framework, but we also offer a wide range of online courses that can help you increase your efficiency and effectiveness in all aspects of content marketing – from strategy to creative to measurement and beyond. Enrollment for this semester closes Sept. 30. Register for your seat now at ContentMarketingUniversity.com.

The wrap-up

Tune in next week for another deep thought, a fresh take on the news, an interview with one brilliant person making a difference in content, and a great content marketing idea you can use. And it’s all delivered in a little less time than it takes to mark up a weather forecast map.

If you like this weekly play on words, we’d sure love for you to review it and share it. Hashtag us up on Twitter: #WeeklyWrap.

It’s your story. Tell it well.

To listen to past Weekly Wrap shows, go to the main Weekly Wrap page.  

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute