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All it takes is the right idea to build positive connections. At a time when so many of us have been forced apart, industries of all sorts — from gaming to food to music as well as cannabis — have sought out ways to bring people back together and build back the connections we felt were lost.  Below, a group of Rolling Stone Culture Council members explain the ways that they and their companies have worked to bring people together during the past two years of illness, shutdowns and quarantines and how they’re continuing to focus on those relationships now.

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Grabbing your audience’s attention starts with an intentional strategy. Since the advent of platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and others like them, companies have been trying to find the secret behind some of the internet’s most viral content in order to reproduce it for themselves and garner some major attention. While at times what content sparks such engagement may seem totally random, deeper study indicates there may be similarities after all. To shed some light on the “recipe” behind most viral content, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members share 10 characteristic elements of this type of content and what businesses need to focus on if they want to “go viral” themselves.

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Running a business shouldn't always be about selling. The holiday season is all about giving, and just because a business is for-profit doesn’t mean it can’t participate in doing a little good for its community. Whether their focus is on local communities or a larger cause, businesses big and small can do their part to show their customers (and their employees) that they care. As business leaders in the culture space, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council understand how important it is for businesses to come together with their communities, especially during such a charitable time. Below, they recommend 10 ways other culture businesses can give back this holiday season and bring a little cheer to others.

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In order to engage your viewers, you have to first create something worth watching. As more and more people turn to video as their choice format for content consumption, an increasing number of businesses are jumping on the video bandwagon as well. But savvy marketers should know that it isn’t enough to simply create video content in order to gain the attention of your customers — your videos have to be truly worth watching. To share their insights into creating engaging videos, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members each detail their top tip below.

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Encouraging growth and development sets up the employee and the company for future success. In business, creativity sparks creativity, and the more employees are allowed to learn and grow in their positions, the more ideas and innovation they are able to bring to their company as a result. Continued learning, therefore, can be a powerful benefit to the company and employees within it, offering them new and exciting challenges and opportunities for promotion and leadership. To encourage this growth and development, employers can opt for a multitude of strategies. Business leaders themselves, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council each shared the way in which they and their department managers inspire their employees to pursue continued growth and learning throughout their careers.

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Letting others promote your business can often be the most effective form of marketing. Like a customer review or an influencer partnership, an affiliate marketing program relies on the willingness of others to promote your business. Without happy customers and a good reputation, it will be difficult to succeed. However, creating an affiliate program can be a relatively simple effort if approached the right way, and is often a lucrative endeavor for both you and your affiliates once properly established. To help get you started, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council shared eight essential steps you and your business will need to take in order to run a successful affiliate marketing program and boost your profits.