Have you ever taken the time to review all the LinkedIn posts you engaged in over the previous month? I know this might sound like a useless exercise, however, I decided to take a look at my recent activity, and discovered a very interesting trend. Enclosed are my Favorite 12 articles and comments - A peek inside the marke t i ng b ra in o f Sco t t MacFarland. It’s a whole lot more interesting than you might think. If you like marketing, business, social media, innovation and entrepreneurialism... You might want to read on.

What do

Your LinkedIn

Posts Reveal?

{Trends}

Scott MacFarland 10.6.2103

Article: Increasing the Value of Customers You Don't Have Credit | Source: LinkedIn Author: Don PeppersURL: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131002154132-17102372-increasing-the-value-

of-customers-you-don-t-have

“I truly believe wholeheartedly that in order to increase the value of customers we don't have means, we must close the gap between first customer touch point, and live communication with a company's representative. This gap will never go away unless you close it. By closing it, you instantly increase the value of those customers because you bring them closer to your brand and able to make an informed decision faster.”

! ! ! ! ! ! ! - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

Article: Nike: The No. 1 Most Innovative Company of 2013Credit | Source: Fast Company Author: Austin Carr

URL: http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2013/nike#!

As an Apple snob, I came to fully appreciate their mentality of being hush-hush about innovation. Now that I have read about Nike's rise to the top of the Innovation and Leadership charts, I see why they are viewed as the king of the hill -- good thing I wear Nikes :) - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

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“I went to the HubSpot Inbound conference in Boston recently - I think they rubbed-off on me :) “

! ! - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

Article: The Best Way to Raise a Young EntrepreneurCredit | Source: LinkedIn Author: Gary Vaynerchuk URL: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130930171500-10486099-the-best-way-to-

raise-a-young-entrepreneur

“I find myself thinking about entrepreneurship f i r s t , i n s t e a d o f t h i n k i n g a b o u t a corporate way to start someth in g . I just realized it the other day when a friend asked me if I thought it was

a good idea to do this project internally at the company in which we both are employed. My first thought was, wow... incredible idea, why not launch your own business and get it started as a side business? And my brain was instantly off and running. I think this must come from my dad who was, and still is an entrepreneur. I began working as a young boy in his hardware store. Little did I know that entrepreneurship would grow inside of me and help make me who I am today.”! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

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Article: Advice to Start-ups: Stack The Deck Credit | Source: Inc. Magazine Author: Eric Paley

URL: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201310/eric-paley/writing-advice-for-start-ups-and-entrepreneurs.html-#!

If you have the entrepreneurial spirit like I do, and find yourself agonizing over the need to write a BP... read this article and save yourself about 6 months of time and 1000 cups of coffee. "Stack the Deck" is about as short and sweet as it gets to giving advice on writing a plan.

! ! ! ! - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

Article: How I Hire: I Don't Care Where You Went to SchoolCredit | Source: LinkedIn Author: Tom Keene URL: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130924104721-205519992-how-i-hire-i-don-t-

care-where-you-went-to-school

I believe in hiring people not only with credible, proven skills, but also with a value system that is in line with mine, and the company I represent. Sooner or later, if the values do not line-up, you will wish you had known it at the beginning. If you already have a staff person that falls into this category,

you know that managing them is tedious and draining. You probably spend more time managing them and their character challenges than on the business critical initiatives you need to spend time on. I wish I had known this years ago when I was tasked with hiring. - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

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Article: How to Choose the Most Effective Social Media Platform for Your BrandCredit | Source: Social Media Today Author: Brianna Smith

URL: http://bit.ly/180TZ9P

“If you are unaware of what social networks can be most impactful for your brand, take a look at this infographic. It provides a clear, easy to read snapshot of the characteristics of many of the top socials. Thanks to Social Media Today.” - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

Article: 14 Ways to Boost Employee Morale Credit | Source: Small Biz Trends Author: Laura Roeder

URL: http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/09/boost-employee-morale.html#!

“Number 4 in this list is absolutely brilliant. ‘Emphasize That Everything Is Experimental’ - Coming from one that truly believes in innovation and creativity, this is a great way to engage employees, get them on-board, and allow them to step outside their box and experiment. This is one of the toughest things to accomplish as a manager - awesome article! Thanks Laura.”

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

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Article: Ding, Ding, Ding! Steve Jobs Calling Credit | Source: LinkedIn Author: David Sable

URL: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130920164308-234814-ding-ding-ding-steve-jobs-calling

“I have been truly inspired by Steve Jobs, and his legacy lives on in the Apple product life cycle. Something tells me they have a few incredible things up

their sleeves, and countries like China which are heavily populated and over-commerced, need Apple's innovative brain power. When I was in Beijing, Hong Kong and western China, I saw a very different place than what I thought I would see. I saw a rather disjointed and fractured business climate that wants the appearance of having it all

together, but in actuality it does not. Maybe Apple can and will help with that.. maybe not. Regardless of what happens, someone will come along and step in if Apple does not.” - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

Article: How To Use Pinterest To Build An Ideal Customer PersonaCredit | Source: Forbes Author: Allie Siarto

URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2013/09/16/how-to-use-pinterest-to-build-an-ideal-customer-persona/#!

“Thanks Allie for your input on how to build an ideal customer persona. It's such an important mental exercise to go through before undergoing marketing and brand building. I never thought of using Pinterest in this way to help in this manner. Great idea!”

!! ! ! ! ! ! ! - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

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Article: Why Are Marketers Killing So Many Personas? Credit | Source: LinkedIn Author: Shane Atchison URL: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130918152104-224083-why-are-marketers-killing-so-many-personas

“This is a very useful article, especially for young marketers who do not dive into the "persona" world of their customers. Shane makes a very good point when he says... "Bad personas may have a tendency to get killed off early, but almost all personas are dumped before their time. The reason is that most

marketing teams use them only for the Big Project, not as an ongoing business asset. They give them to creatives, enjoy the outcome, and then forget about them. This is a mistake. In fact, the bulk of their value may actually be realized post launch." The key message here is, don't just create your personas for the "Big Project" and forget about them. Leverage them well beyond launch time. “ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! - Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

Article: Five Things Every Business Blogger Should RememberCredit | Source: LinkedIn Author: James Cann URL: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130912135556-32175171-five-things-every-business-blogger-should-remember

“As a blogger, I really like this art ic le . For those of you questioning blogging, don't buck the system, just get on board and do it. You will be so glad you did.” -Scott MacFarland, LinkedIn post

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