The weekend is within sight, and we have to say we’re ready for it! We’ve had a great week full of client meetings, new projects, and exciting ideas. After a productive week, we’re all looking forward to decompressing for a couple days.

But first, we have some important headlines to share with you, dear readers! From why 2018 is the year of H2H marketing to the changes to your Facebook news feed and beyond, check out Our Favorite Headlines this week.

The Takeaway: We’re tempted to make the argument that marketing should have always been human-to-human, but we’ll take what we can get and happily accept that the industry is moving in the right direction in 2018. As technology has advanced, people have been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choice and information they have access to at any given moment – and it’s that overwhelm that has resurrected the need for truly personalized connections between brands and the humans who buy their products/services.

As you think about your marketing strategy, messages, and tactics, focus on the humans who make up your unique customer base. How can you connect with them on a deeper level?

The Takeaway: Speaking of connections, Facebook has announced some pretty major changes to how the platform will connect users with one another – a change which many fear will make it harder for brands to reach their audiences. We have mixed feelings about the changes to the news feed; we’re bummed to see that our reach won’t be what it used to, but we know that reach alone doesn’t mean we’re engaging well with our audience. With that in mind, we’re excited about the challenge to better connect with our own audience – and we already have a few ideas to give you a better, more worthwhile experience. More to come on that later…

The Takeaway: These days, us marketers put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be more creative than ever, and to do it in record time, too. But it may be the case that this kind of pressure is actually having negative effects on our creativity (and thus, our work). So instead of demanding creativity from your inspiration-zapped mind, here’s a brilliant idea: generate the creativity you need by playing with the stuff around you. Consider it a daily workout for your creativity.

The Takeaway: If you’re struggling to keep your New Year’s resolution of cutting back on sugar, here’s something to try: infused water. These infused water recipes are far from boring or tasteless – and these are just a few examples of combinations you can use. Get creative with the fruits, vegetables, and herbs you infuse. Even better, if you have a SodaStream, you can experiment with adding carbonation to the water an extra dimension. Is anyone else suddenly thirsty?