I’ve been watching Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight show since it started airing (which is great, by the way) and three weeks in, there’s an interesting trend emerging. He rarely has a guest on without doing something “highlight reel worthy” with them. Last night, for instance, Billy Joel’s on. On other shows (Leno, Letterman, etc.), they’d do an interview, then after the break he’d perform. Jimmy Fallon does both of these things too, but then he took out his iPad, fired up an app, and he and Billy Joel record a 4 part harmony doo-wop version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” on the spot. It was awesome – and I’m sure I’ll google it when I get to the office and share it with the rest of the Captains. (type in jimmy fallon billy joel and see what happens.) So why is that so special? Because Jimmy Fallon nearly always does something with the guest that is worth saving, and more important, sharing. Why just do another interview when you can dig deeper, get creative, and make something highlight worthy?

I would ask the same question every time you make a piece of content. What is going into this that is “highlight worthy”, that will be saved, shared, remembered? Too often, content marketers that wouldn’t be caught dead making a sign for the local dry cleaner’s window are creating content that is just about as creatively inspired and memorable. It doesn’t matter if it’s a video with high production values or a white paper for industry insiders, dig deeper. Make sure it’s highlight worthy for your audience, whoever it is. If you don’t, it’s just noise. And will be about as memorable as just another couch interview with some actor on some late night show that no one will remember next week.