Flavia Barbat

Human-inclined editor-in-chief @brandingmag {· Creator of Editorial Marketing #thinkeditorial

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

Editorial marketing is both a mindset and framework that, when combined, builds a literal bridge between brand and business strategy. It’s a quality-first approach to communications that ensures you become known for exactly what you want to be known for–and stay there.

It motivates the act of creating for longevity rather than fleeting popularity. How? By bringing the tried and true elements of legacy publishing into the architecture of a content ecosystem meant to stand the tech of time.

If you want your brand to reap the advantages of editorial thinking, here are the steps I recommend starting with:

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

@thejustinwelsh If you like the way Brandingmag looks, then I can make our design team available. https://t.co/m7sk8HvWJx

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

It’s been a while since I’ve written an article for @brandingmag, but it was very quickly discovered 💜

[Communication Arts @CommArts]

.@FlaviaBarbat on the natural laws of branding. https://t.co/ih0UsUIPc1

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

@CommArts Thanks so much for sharing the article 🙏 I’m assuming that means you all enjoyed it. I’d love to hear what other people think as it’s definitely not the easiest topic on the planet to unpack.

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

@adoseofjohn Here’s a link to the full “Brand Campaigns” series on @brandingmag: https://t.co/3FN5qtSE5G

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

It's super important that every #communications leader listens to and absorbs what @SamCorcos has to say 👇 We've both witnessed very clearly the internal and external benefits an editorial mindset brings to organizations and their strategic comms.

#ThinkEditorial

[David Perell @david_perell]

What if you built a company to maximize deep work?

That's what Sam Corcos did. He hasn't regularly checked the news since 2013 and his business is worth $300 million.

12 lessons on writing from the founder and CEO of Levels:

1. The average tech worker can't go more than six minutes without checking Slack. No wonder people struggle to write.

2. Evergreen tip for getting people to actually read your work: add value to the internet.

3. Collaboration is overrated. Smart people thinking deeply about something for a long time, and recording the conclusions via writing, is underrated.

4. Sam did an experiment where he stopped reading the news for a month. He took the time he used to spend reading the news and started reading books instead — he finished eight books that month.

5. Writing solves disagreements. If you don’t pin down your thoughts on paper, you can “discuss” forever without ever reaching clarity. But the conversation becomes much more productive once the goals, methods, and main assumptions are written down.

6. Just about everybody could benefit from more intentional, deep, strategic thought. Writing is how you unlock this mode.

7. Remote work fails without a few great writers on the team. Internal company communication will spiral into a game of telephone without good communicators.

8. Specific feedback is better delivered via writing while general comments are best shared over Loom (because the recipient can feel your vibe.) Pick the right medium; the wrong one will botch your message.

9. A writing culture is protection against the tyranny of the loudest voice. It gives space for quieter people with insight to speak up.

10. You’ll never be able to reflect and write, unless you intentionally carve out the time. “Things” will always turn up. Create non-negotiable writing hours and protect them.

11. Sam does one Think Week every quarter where he disconnects from his work to write deep strategy memos.

12. You need to detach from the hive mind before creative ideas turn up (and it is often via writing that the flimsy premises of the hive mind become obvious.)

I've shared the full conversation with @SamCorcos below. This one's a little different from most How I Write episodes because we went so deep on a single topic: business writing.

If you'd rather listen on Apple or Spotify, check out the reply tweets.

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

Woke up to the following comment tag: "Flavia, you and @brandingmag are my greatest sources of inspiration and knowledge. I am very grateful for everything I learn from you!"

It's a good day to keep pursuing ☀️

#ThinkEditorial

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

@adoseofjohn Or “depleted talent”

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

Just go away, really.

#LinkedIn #GenAI

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

You sure you can teach me how to do ALL THAT in 3-5 minutes? Take my business to $100k in 10? Be serious.

You'd think this was only coming from the outright "scammers", but it's not. It's coming from some of the highest profile "educators" on the Internet.

Listen, I’m not interested in quippy. I’m interested in thorough. And I think it's high time we all adopted some very strict guidelines for who we follow and who we don't.

There's nothing wrong with going against the grain, against the wave, against the current. Be picky, and think twice.

#contentmarketing #thoughtleadership #onlinebusiness

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

@anj_lusuan “Like” is a strong word in this case. “A bit annoyed by” might be better 😅

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

Another platform makes the move. @LinkedIn, what’s your plan?

#contentmarketing #thoughtleadership

[Guardian Tech @guardiantech]

Facebook and Instagram to label digitally altered content ‘made with AI’ https://t.co/3hBegq216q

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

As of March 2024, Romanian is the cheapest language to learn online—in case you want to broaden your mind while adding another tongue to your skill list 👩‍💻

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

How about instead of trying to “make your posts look more authentic”, you just BE more authentic? Revolutionary, I know.

#contentcreators #socialmedia #thoughtleadership

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

Those that heard my call for more transparency around #AI-generated content at #SXSW2024 last week know I'm happy @YouTube has decided to label "altered or synthetic content" on its platform 👏 https://t.co/EriKwQGT1K

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

@CVMogensen @theChrisDo Thank you so much for joining us!

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

@BlueFusionCDM @brandingmag Thank you so much for sharing 🙏

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

Shoutout to @beehiiv for making a truly usable mobile #UX. Really wanted to share my thoughts with the world today, and now my next newsletter is launching in less than an hour. If you want to learn how to think editorial, now’s your chance: https://t.co/rEyf73QXgR

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

I miss a well-written f**king paragraph. The kind of paragraph that overflows with good words strung together—a melodic tune of subtle enchantment—where you reach the end only to find that not only was it pleasant, but it also made sense.

I
No
Longer
Want
Spaced
Out
Broetry
In
My
Inbox
On
My
Feed
Nada.

You think you're helping by giving me a broken down structure that is more "skimmable" or "comprehensible", but all you're doing is interrupting my train of thought every 5 seconds. And if you insist on treating me like a goldfish, then I'll unfollow you, unsubscribe—whatever I need to do to get out of this rampant content hell.

Should you choose to strive for greatness, however, you'll guide me on my journey. Be a memorable narrator. Use interesting adjectives. You won't just throw around punctuation...you'll value it.

#writersoftwitter #contentcreators #communications

P.S. Imagine if this would have been a thread. How ironic.

[Flavia Barbat @FlaviaBarbat]

@davegerhardt @omoziku_ I agree. If you don't take control of your brand narrative from the beginning, then it will be written for you.

I actually spoke about this not too long ago: https://t.co/mB4NYNNu6z