Grab a cold beverage and crank the A/C, dear readers. It’s about to be real hot in Michigan.

Lucky for us, we get to enjoy the particularly warm weather from the comfort of our air-conditioned office today. And tomorrow? That might just call for lounging by the pool, a trip to the beach, or eating an entire box of popsicles (no judgement).

Whatever your weekend has in store – popsicles or not – we hope you’ll take a few minutes to check out Our Favorite Headlines this week. Today’s roundup is all about giving you ideas to help make your marketing better: from focusing on loyalty vs. relevance to how to make social media work for a boring brand and beyond.

Happy reading!

The Takeaway: This article is a bit provocative, but for good reason. Marketing is a field that is ever-evolving, particularly as the way that consumers interact with brands changes. We’re not sharing this to say you should change your entire marketing plan next week; instead, we encourage you to start thinking about how you can incorporate the new “4 Ps” in your strategy and messaging. How can you connect with customers in a relevant and timely way?

The Takeaway: To put it simply, some products or services just aren’t sexy. Despite this, even the least sexy brands have the opportunity to connect with and educate their audiences on social media. Of course, the key here is to make sure that social media is really a viable channel for reaching your target audience. If not, it probably doesn’t make sense to invest as much time building your presence.

This article is a great resource for any business whose brand or product isn’t necessarily exciting on the surface, but has an audience who uses social media to learn and engage. Does that sound like you? Check it out and think about how you can tackle each one of these tips.

The Takeaway: As you read this headline, just go ahead and replace the phrase “a new designer” with “marketing professionals” – because these typography principles are important for anyone in a communications role. Even if you aren’t designing your own work (and if you are, we can help with that), it’s important to understand that the way you format your text in any document can have a serious impact on how people read and understand your message. So whether you’re building a proposal, preparing a report, or creating a Facebook post, keep these typography best practices in mind.

The Takeaway: Speech is an important part of almost any job, whether you’re giving presentations in front of thousands, sharing the results of your latest campaign with your leadership team, or interacting with customers. How you speak can play a key role in how people feel about listening or talking to you, and can ultimately distract from the message you want to get across. So how do you break a habit you might not even be aware of? Here are seven tips to help you refine your speech and sound more professional.