Business

Lunchtime Links: Extend Your Reach With Fresh Content

How Seth Godin’s approach to fresh content creation could work for your organization. Also: Lessons in leadership from the CEO of General Motors.

How do you ensure conference attendees continue learning after your event? Supply them with fresh, thought-provoking content every day.

That, and more, in today’s Lunchtime Links:

Memorable content: With 17 marketing books and more than 5,000 blog posts to his credit, online marketing and content strategy expert Seth Godin never misses an opportunity to share new knowledge with his followers. Donna Kastner, director of education and engagement at Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, is a big fan of Godin’s work—and says associations looking to extend the conference experience for members can benefit from his approach. “Invest time to build a smart platform and chunk down content from the conference that can be dripped out regularly for weeks (maybe even months),” she writes on the blog Event Planning. “Embrace your role as performance coach, reminding your audience to keep perfecting what they learned at your conference. Master this role and next time you host that conference ‘big learning & networking’ bonanza, they’ll beat a path to your door.” How does your association keep the conversation going?

Moving on: When Dan Akersen took over as CEO of General Motors in 2010, the company had fallen from its position as the world’s top-selling car manufacturer for the first time in 77 years. Why would he agree to step in at such a difficult time in the company’s history? Ingar Grev, CEO of the The Grev Group, writes about an encounter he had with Akersen in Washington Business Journal. The longtime GM board member said he couldn’t stand by and watch the car maker be swept “into the dustbin of history.” “Combined with the fact that the auto industry accounts for about 3 percent of the U.S. GDP, you can understand my passion in turning around this great company,” Akersen said. Under his leadership, GM emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 16 months and went on to file the largest initial public offering in history.

Read the fine print: How often do you overlook the fine print on social media and web contracts? Many  users check the box agreeing to these “Terms and Conditions” without a second thought. But did you know that these contracts often give private companies access to your personal data? Each network and site has its own set of security policies. According to Console & Hollawell Attorneys, users should pay attention to these terms, as companies such as Facebook often make changes that could affect how they use and share personal information. Want to know how to keep your data safe? You can view a  copy of their full report on social networks and their security settings on SocialFish. How does your association ensure the security of sensitive personal information?

What’s on your reading list today? Let us know in the comment section.

(iStockphoto/Thinkstock)

Anita Ferrer

By Anita Ferrer

Anita Ferrer is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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