Mediaboss Marketing

Rome wasnt built in a day. To establish credibility and create trust, its important to communicate timelines effectively. Thats why we asked 10 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question:

Whats one rule for better managing client expectations early in a relationship?

Heres what YEC members had to say:

I was guilty early on of going way beyond the scope of my work with my clients, and I ultimately realized it was because I allowed them to take advantage of me. The solution was that I had to create boundaries by saying no when necessary or training clientson what to expect, both by overtly stating it and by modeling it. ~Darrah Brustein,Network Under 40

This goes back to technology, so pick a great CRM with job-flow charts. I stole this from Amazon you can see exactly where your package is at any moment with the click of a button. Doing this will result in far less communication because the client will know exactly where they are in the process of completion. ~Tommy Mello,A1 Garage Door Repair

Anytime you have a conversation with a client, send them an email with your understanding of what was discussed, the next steps, orthe outcomes decided. When youre both agreeing on paper to a business decision, there are usually fewer misunderstandings thanif you verballyaccept conditions or terms. And be specific and precise in wording. What one person considers important, another might not. ~Nicole Munoz,Start Ranking Now

We put together a data report for our clients that reflects what we accomplished for their accounts in each month. We solved our problems with client expectations by building a great report that covers everything they would want to know, and then started using only the metrics in those reports when telling our potential clients what we can deliver for them. ~Adam Steele,The Magistrate

Clearly define the outcome you are working toward, whether verbally or in a contract, and clearly communicate it to the client. When there is transparency in your process and you and the client are in alignment of the outcome youre trying to achieve, you mitigate scope creep and can reign them in when their vision veers from the outcome youve established. ~Kevin Yamazaki,Sidebench

Your No. 1 goal has to be managing your clients expectations.Iftheir expectations are too high or you cant get them to agreeto your timelines andprocess, youre probably wasting your valuable time. When communicating with your client and team, promise about 90 percent of what you think is achievable. Then you only have to deliver 110 percent problem solved. ~Brendon Schenecker,Travel Vegas

No matter how much planning is done up front in a project, something will inevitably come up thats outside of the original scope or goes against your prescribed process. Rather than punishing the client for this, have a built-in contingency plan that accommodates these minor changes. Allocate buffer or time to address these without having to affect the overall projects goals. ~Ross Beyeler,Growth Spark

Every client has their own idea about what they hire us for. Most clients expect exponential growth (and were careful not to oversell); however, some of their expectations may go against better practices and policies. We try to iron that out immediately by determining how much capacity we have to deliver on what is needed beforetalking about nice-to-haves. ~Cody McLain,SupportNinja

Frequently deliver clear and actionable details that will inform the client of whats being worked on and whats planned ahead. This ensures that everyones on the same page at all times. Getting buy-in from the client on a particular plan or direction ahead of time can also be helpful in properly setting expectations. ~Diego Orjuela,Cables & Sensors, LLC

If your service takes times to show results, do not under any circumstances agree to month-to-month contracts. Its critical that you spend time upfront discussing how long it will take your company to show results. For instance, one of the core services of my company is SEO. SEO takes time. Thats why I disclose that clients shouldnt expect meaningful results for at least six months or more. ~Kristopher Jones,LSEO.com

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10 Rules for Better Managing Client Expectations - Small Business Trends

SEO Training For Beginners delivers 150+ minutes of step by step, over the shoulders, online training videos to equip, educate, and empower you to succeed in SEO on your own. We also offer great SEO service for local businesses who wants to increase traffic on their site and get on the 1st page of Google.About. My name is Eric Swanigan and I'm excited to share with you what I've learned and how it can benefit you as well. I started learning about SEO in 2012, but got really serious in 2014. I created a few sites for SEO purpose and will continue, but I wanted to teach what I've learned and help others who need this service as well. So, I hope you're ready to be empowered, because I've created several videos and I'm ready to teach! What is SEO? Itstands for search engine optimization which is the process of getting a website or webpage at the top page, preferably page one, of a search engine without paying for it, i.e. Pay Per Click (PPC). The purpose is to be more visible and possibly increase the traffic to the website or webpage. It's not enough just to have a beautiful website if no customer are coming to it on a consistent bases. It needs SEO!

Let me show you one of my results of SEO:

See how to make money online using SEO and this call tracking software! You can do the exact same thing in your city for any business. Watch...

One of my partners got on the first page with heavy competition, however, he was able to do it with proper SEO training, patience, and diligence. You can do it too!

Another partner recently received her first check by helping a business with SEO. Imagine how excited she was when she got this and will continue to get it each month!

See more here:
SEO training for beginners

Photographed by Getty Images

When it comes to analytics, marketers have spent the last few years acting like kids in a candy store. The typical marketer now uses more than 100 applications in their regular routine, and yet most marketers say their technology is underperforming. Its not that they have the wrong tools, but theyre finding it hard to get a clear view of the big picture

There is an opportunity for marketing departments to get more value from their technology investments. Below are some of the ways marketing organizations can master their technology for optimal performance.

Much of the marketing software weve acquired in recent years has a specialized purpose. Think social advertising optimization or SEO backlink analytics. Even if many of these tools have a narrow purpose, it doesnt mean there arent dependencies between systems or opportunities to simplify project workflows.

The process of orchestrating APIs (application program interfaces) to create integrated solutions from component parts is one way marketing leaders are speeding up their operations. APIs allow one technology to speak to another and share data so that separate processes can be strung together. Historically, there was a choice between best-of-breed and all-in-one solutions, both of which came with tradeoffs.

APIs, on the other hand, allow you to create seamless processes with your existing solutions. Webdam customers, for example, use our API to connect their marketing assets with other applications where theyre used, such as Adobe Creative Cloud for design and Hootsuite for social media.

Selecting and implementing marketing technology is only the first step. When 600 business and IT executives were surveyed recently by software consulting firm Geneca, 75% reported that their new projects are either always or usually doomed right from the start.

Lots of technology solutions are introduced only to falter during adoption. Users get stuck during onboarding or during initial use and just give up completely. These failures are expensive and avoidable.

Training and supporting people through the learning curve is arguably as important as picking the right technology to begin with. Dont assume they will figure it out. People are often resistant to new ways of doing things. Theyll make excuses or put it off unless you give them reasons not to. So make sure marketing tools are getting used, and provide the training and incentives

necessary for your employees to discover their value.

Even with good planning and thoughtful implementation, things dont always click. But you may not know there are hurdles in your way if you havent set clear goals for success or if you simply arent measuring performance. Even if its easy to identify the problem, the technology is there to solve it.. Then track outcomes and use the cold-hearted numbers to determine if its paying off.

Marketing technology is a fact of life today -- you simply cant keep up without it. The key to success is in getting the best out of your technology so that it doesnt get the better of you.

Mike Waite is the vice president of marketing at Webdam

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How to Get the Most Out of Your Marketing Analytics Tools - Fortune

Youve spent your entire life immersed in the digital world. So youre pretty much already an expert, right? Not so fast. As it turns out, theres plenty more to learn in todays fast-moving digital space -- particularly if youre interested in becoming a change agent in your chosen field. Read on for a roundup of three reasons to pursue a masters degree with a focus on the digital, along with one program that gets it right when it comes to helping students acquire the skills they need -- not just to survive, but to truly thrive in the ever-changing digital landscape.

1. Digital skills open diverse doors.

Do a quick internet search of the words digital skills, and youll turn up countless articles on essential, must-have and top digital skills employers are looking for today. At the same time, US staffing and solutions company the Adecco Group reveals that 92 percent of employees arent prepared to navigate the contemporary business world. Claiming top four spots on the list of skills executives think workers lack? Technical and software skills.

But thats not all, insists The Guardian, It's not just the scale and pace of the digital revolution that makes it exciting; it's also the fact that it's being democratized. No longer reserved for IT departments and tech companies, digital is becoming a critical part of every industry and is opening up opportunities across sectors, whether it's top surgeons video linking into operating theatres from abroad or targeted mobile advertising based on clothes you're trying on in real time.

So whether you want to be a teacher, doctor, businessperson, lawyer, journalist, or one of a million other possible career paths, skills like SEO, coding, video editing, imaging editing, blogging and others are quickly moving from the category of nicety to necessity. The takeaway? Digital skills arent just highly sought-after in technology-related sectors; theyre also universally prized.

2. Digitalization is essential to corporate development.

According to a recent article in The Telegraph, Why Digital Skills Matter for Your Company, businesses that improve the digital skills of all their employees will become more productive, innovative, profitable and secure. For bottom-line-minded organizations, these are hard words to ignore. Just how much do businesses stand to gain by embracing all things digital? As reported by The Telegraph based on research by Oxford Economics for Virgin Media Business, the UK economy could see a boost of 92bn and more than one million jobs in the next two years alone.

Said Peter Winebloom, skills director a manufacturers organizations EEF, Britain is on the cusp of a global, technology-driven fourth industrial revolution, but the challenge comes from ensuring that we have access to the right skills in the right numbers. In other words, if the UK -- and other countries, too -- is to reach its potential, it will take workers with the right digital skills make it happen.

3. Students with digital skills are prepared to respond to future changes

Digital has fully infiltrated the contemporary consumer experience. The result? Consumers have higher expectations than ever before. Organizations looking to maintain their success with customers and profitability need to do more than satisfy what customers want now; they also need to be forward-thinking about what theyll want next. Asserts The Guardian, Businesses must invest now in digital training to empower their employees, boost productivity and fuel innovation or the UK might be left behind.

But the ability to predict, plan and ultimately maneuver the challenges of the digital evolution doesnt just benefit businesses. It also benefits workers who -- with the right combination of digital knowledge, skills and savvy -- acquire built-in defenses against obsoletion.

Introducing the Masters in Digital Business Innovation and Transformation

Now that you know why digital skills are so important, it begs the question: What masters degree can best position you for success in the business world? The part-time, English-language program offered by the IMC FH KREMS - University of Applied Sciences/Austria offers students a direct path to the skills they need to turn the obstacles of digital transformation into ongoing opportunities.

With a focus on the cultivation of practical skills within an international context, the program is also non-industry-specific -- meaning its graduates will enter the working world not just with a prestigious Master of Arts in Business and 120 ECTS credits, but also with a broad and transferable outlook which can be applied to any industry.

Digital fluency is so important in the 21st century that it is now being prioritized alongside math and literacy as essential skills in countries around the world. Do you have the digital skills you need to reach your career goals? If not, IMC Krems Masters in Digital Business Innovation and Transformation may be the perfect way to make sure youre ready -- not just for the challenges of todays digital world, but also for whatevers coming next.

Joanna worked in higher education administration for many years at a leading research institution before becoming a full-time freelance writer. She lives in the beautiful White Mountains region of New Hampshire with her family.

Read more:
Why You Need a Master's Degree that Develops Your Digital Skills - Masterstudies News (blog)

This week we learned about the genesis of the Pussyhat Project that gave the Women's March movement their most recognizable symbol; a few tips for writing better to-do lists; and the nuts and bolts of "defensive Googling" for job seekers this year.

These are the stories you loved in Leadership for the week of January 22:

To-do lists are notoriously easy to write and just as notoriously hard to complete. Among their key pitfalls, as writer Stephanie Vozza puts it, is that they "dont provide context about the tasks, they dont give you a timeline, and theyre easy to ignore." Sometimes the way around those problems is to stop yourself from adding certain items to your list in the first place.

Do you practice what digital marketing consultant and Google aficionado Tina Arnoldi calls "defensive Googling"? If not, you should consider it. Here's her game planwith step one being to Google your own nameto help job seekers optimize their personal brands so that recruiters can find them easily (and for the right reasons).

When it comes to daily productivity, it's sometimes the things you stop doing, rather than the new habits you adopt, that make all the difference. Fast Company asked employees at some of the leading tech companies to reveal which routines they're trying to weed out of their workdays in the year ahead, and why.

There's no better way to invite distraction into your workday than to say "yes" to every request thrown at you. But batting them away in real-time can be exhausting. Here are a few alternative methods of tuning out the most taxing demands on your attention so you can stay focused for longer.

The day after Donald J. Trump's inauguration, millions of women (as well as men and children) participated in the Women's March in the U.S. and globally, and many wore pink knitted caps. That moment was weeks in the making, and it began when several American women decided to turn a common craft into a symbol of organized defiance. This week they shared their process and objectives with Fast Company.

Go here to read the rest:
From Pussyhats To Boosting Your Job-Search SEO: This Week's Top Leadership Stories - Fast Company