We enjoy hearing, reading or watching interesting, inspiring, unexpected, supportive, quirky, helpful, and remarkable stories. Stories that we can connect with and stories that connect us to other people.

That’s exactly what I love about my job. In the end, it’s people communicating with people. Not products with prospective buyers, or brands with consumers.

Pure, raw entertainment

Once in a while an engaging idea and a remarkable story are presented in perfect harmony – and we’re rewarded with an extraordinary piece of pure, raw entertainment.

That is the case with Markus F. Adrian’s “After the Violence”, a fascinating and honest documentary about some artists from Los Angeles who’ve been able to realize their visions despite a difficult path experiencing violence, gang brutality and poverty.

In their documentary, Adrian and his wife Anna-Maria Hora take a critical look at the mechanisms of the city of Los Angeles and present us with a plea for the transformative power of art.

“After the Violence” and the power of authenticity

„After The Violence“ tells the story of survival in American society today by allowing us to learn from other people’s experiences, their struggles and breakthroughs. As a viewer, you immediately connect with the men and women that Adrian and Hora interview because the two German filmmakers were able to make room for the raw, unrehearsed, and authentic voices of the featured artists.

A people-focused approach

Successful marketing campaigns follow the same formula. Take a compelling message and pick the best vehicle to present it. Be authentic.

Now, that may sound over-simplified (and admittedly, there are other essential elements to a marketing campaign) but a people-focused approach should be at the core of any communications activity. And a lot of times, we seem to forget that.

Because how can you build genuine relationships with your audience (people!) without trying to evoke an emotional connection between you (your brand) and them (the consumer). And how to best evoke an emotional response? Well, take an engaging idea and a remarkable story, present it in perfect harmony and you’ll get pure, raw, and emotionally charged entertainment.

In your opinion, how does the power of entertainment connect you with people’s stories or experiences? Does the element of entertainment play a role in brand connection? I look forward to reading your comments!

What I used to associate with the word “fierce” was all negative or rather destructive. I would think of a fierce battle or fierce competition or fierce resistance. Fierce to me tasted of evil and rancorous and unswerving.

Fierce = Passionate, Sincere, and Ardent

Well, turns out “fierce” taught me a lesson. After attending the Fierce Leadership Summit 2012 in Los Angeles – organized by the wonderfully fierce Nailah Blades – I learned that fierce also stands for passionate and sincere and ardent. And fierceness can be infectious and utterly fearless and absolutely sexy.

Fierce women are deep and enthusiastic and beautiful.

FLS2012 attracted brilliantly zealous women. The concentrated female power at USC’s Davidson Conference Center made the walls shake. And here I was among them all, celebrating the fire that’s roaring within me, within all of us. Feeling fierce, baby!

10 Fierce Women Speakers – 1 Powerful Message

Thanks to all speakers, attendees and most of all Nailah Blades for showing us what “fierce” is really about:

Nailah Blades: “A fierce leader creates community. Being a leader doesn’t mean you have to be the loudest person in the room; leadership starts from within.”

Brittney Castro, I didn’t know financial planning can be so much fun!

Erin Haslag, thanks for reminding us to make ourselves a priority when it comes to our health and wellness choices.

Danielle Dowling: “Take responsibility for what you want in a relationship.”

Samantha Bennett: “Your ideas need a right-sized home.” (I’ve been experimenting with your suggestion to spend 15 minutes in the morning on the project that you love.  And I realized it’s 15 minutes a day that’s the solution for me – not necessarily in the morning – but definitely 15 minutes. Yeah!)

Alaia Williams: Your branding tool kit is awesome! Thanks for sharing these helpful ideas.

Danielle Leslie: “Know that you’re ready before you realize it.”

Melanie Mills: “Work it. Own it. Live it.”

Dyana Valentine: “I’m not sorry.” That’s all I have to remember to keep me going forward proudly and confidently.

Jodi Womack: “Build your own personal CRM.” I’m on it!

What has “fierce” taught you? Would you like to share any lessons or insights that demonstrate how we can conquer anything when we embrace our own fierce selves? I can’t wait to read your comments!

As a side note, if you haven’t switched to Facebook Timeline yet and you’re concerned about privacy issues, check out this helpful article and this overview on pcmag.com that get into more detail about the changes that you will see and how you can change your privacy settings so that your content is protected from unwanted spectators.

40 Terrific Examples

But back to the awesome cover photo that’s your place to get your creative juices flowing! I stumbled upon this blog post by Alvaris Falcon on Hongkiat.com that presents us with 40 terrific examples of how creative you can get when it comes to designing your Timeline cover photo.

Most people play with combining the cover photo and the smaller profile photo in a clever way. In his blog post, Alvaris even provides you with a Photoshop template to make it easier for you to play around with your own creative design. How cool is that!?

Visualize Your Brand

But you don’t have to go so far as to wrack your brain over a slick design. You can simply find a way to visualize your personality or brand in a big, fat cover photo. Here’s an example of a Facebook Timeline cover photo that I created for Emperor’s College, the Santa Monica acupuncture school.

Are you ready to give your own Facebook Timeline cover photo a try? Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Put together 3 photos that represent your personality or your brand best and add some meaningful keywords to each photo as in the example above.
• Choose 2 images and create a “before and after” design.
• Pick a beautiful landscape photo that invites the viewer to linger.
• Create a pretty graphic design or choose a landscape photo and add your favorite quote.
• Put together a collage of your favorite spots to visit or your favorite things to do.

What other creative ideas for a Facebook Timeline cover photo can you think of? Do you have any examples of other great Facebook Timeline cover photos? Share your ideas in the comments below!