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5 ways to hack a higher marketing ROI

We often talk about marketing ROI, or the return on investment in advertising, as if it is a fixed and immutable number. You may have heard the story of a marketing professional at a large consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati who famously carried a little card around with the ROI of each media channel printed on it. Whenever a media salesperson pitched a new media channel, this dog-eared reference would be consulted. The marketing pro would compare the ROI of the proposed media to those listed on the card and frequently reject it based on these fixed (and inaccurate) ROI scores. Unfortunately, this anecdote represents a common theme in marketing. Looking at ROI in this myopic way limits the overall potential of your marketing mix to drive higher returns and increased performance for your business. So how should one look at marketing ROI, and more importantly, are there ways to increase it?

Assess the return

First, let’s lay to rest the idea that a channel or marketing effort has a static ROI or an ROI independent of the entire marketing mix. When trying to assess the return on one’s marketing investment, it’s essential that the effort is measured holistically. Managing marketing channels separately and using siloed measurements fails to show any interaction effects. Marketers’ jobs might be somewhat dependent on their ability to measure what’s working, what’s not, and just as importantly, what may be helping or hindering the overall marketing effort. Leading marketers are quickly adopting Unified Measurement/Total Marketing Measurement models — a new category coined by Forrester and Gartner respectively. The concept is the evolution of measurement methods to provide one integrated, holistic view of marketing effectiveness. Most significantly, however, a unified measurement approach gives marketers new capabilities to leverage interaction effects between channels, creating a 1 + 1 = 3 effect. These integrated solutions deliver insights to marketers to better model the impact marketing and advertising are having at the person level. The approach has the dual benefit of strategic insight and tactical decision-making: integrated solutions help guide investment in different media coupled with methods to best match creative, copy and messaging across every channel — both online and offline. With a unified measurement approach, you may create — or hack — a higher ROI for your marketing investment. Hacks that can influence one’s overall return are: The message. The targeting. The reach and frequency dynamic. The cost of advertising. The media.

1. Hack the message

It may seem obvious, but the message and the creative you use to deliver it have a considerable influence on the impact of your marketing. We know that getting the right message to the right people can drive a significant increase in a channel’s effectiveness. Even more importantly, a better understanding of the interaction effects of marketing can inform the best combination of messages across a customer’s journey. For example, a consumer may see a commercial on television, search on their computer, watch a product review on a social media app, and finally, get directions to a store on their phone. Advertisers with a unified view of their marketing can optimize to deliver the right message at the right time for this specific customer’s path to purchase, driving higher overall ROI than might be possible in any single channel. An efficient way to hack the message and drive higher ROI is to develop and run multiple messages early in a campaign. Measure the impact of each quickly and optimize while the campaign is live, eliminating poor performers and shifting focus to those messages that are driving higher response.

2. Hack the targeting

A second, powerful way to realize higher returns for marketing is to hack the targeting. Specific messages work better with certain people. Even if you have the same message, switching your target audience (the people who hear the message) and the channel by which you reach them can drive a higher ROI of marketing. In other words, the ROI for one audience might be $3.00 and for another, $0.80. If you can measure the impact of your message from multiple media to different audiences, you can find those who respond positively and capitalize on this opportunity. In our experience, turning the dial on your targeting, tuning out audiences who don’t react and dialing up those that do, can typically increase marketing ROI by more than 20 percent. Marketers can strike while the iron is hot, optimizing live campaigns while they are in the market.

3. Hack the reach and frequency

Another powerful way to improve marketing results is to hack the reach and frequency of your media. A message delivers the most significant impact on an audience the first time they hear it.With each subsequent time the audience is exposed to the advertising, the impact diminishes. Overall ROI is a composite measurement of the message, the audience targeting and the frequency of exposure. Just as with message and targeting, an analysis of frequency can help marketers find opportunities to increase ROI.

4. Hack the price

At its core, ROI is the measurement of impact divided by the cost of media. If you can negotiate a lower price for advertising, you can increase your ROI, everything else being equal. With a unified measurement approach, marketers can identify the baseline investment commitment in every channel and work with publishers to negotiate a reduced cost. The best example of this is leveraging the television upfronts. By making buys early in the broadcast year, advertisers can get lower prices on their TV buys, hacking the ROI of this channel and all the other channels in the marketing plan that are impacted by television.

5. Hack the media

Despite suggestions to the contrary (by salespeople), the medium itself is not the most influential factor in a marketing effort’s ROI. Research from Daniel Yankelovich published in The New York Times suggests that consumers are exposed to more than 5,000, and perhaps as many as 10,000 paid commercial messages per day. In a world with thousands of options, in most cases, advertisers can hack the media by finding alternative lower-cost and higher-impact channels to get their message in front of their audience. The marketing pro at the beginning of this article was laser-focused on the wrong part of the equation. This strategy may unveil new options that could drive even higher marketing ROI. Gone forever are the days of three broadcast networks, a few radio stations, and a local newspaper. Today, more than ever, we have the opportunity and the tools to hack marketing efforts and access a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace. Today’s marketing professionals are better served asking: Can we deliver a 20 percent increase to ROI over our last campaign, and how can we leverage our tools to test and learn new ways to make our marketing efforts (and business) more successful? These are the questions worth exploring. Read the full article

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Don't Make These 4 Blunders When You're Trying to Build Your Audience

As startup owners, we pride ourselves in having a deep understanding of our target markets. Indeed, we would not be in business if we had not studied the market, noticed the gaps and created products and services to meet those demands. Plenty of research goes into launching a business, understanding the market for it and determining how our product meets those customers' needs. And that's just the starting point. Yet, when we actually start building a customer base for our business (online or offline), what happens next is rarely smooth sailing. Businesses may have a winning product but they often still struggle to get off the ground. So, what gives? Marketing blunders are often the culprit. These can be huge setbacks for startups. Here are some of the most common pitfalls you should watch out for.

1. Not nailing the messaging

It’s not enough to create the right product or service. The relevance and usefulness of your product needs to be conveyed to potential users on a large scale. (It pains me to see fantastic products receive no love online because their owners underestimated the importance and power of brand messaging.). How does a business nail this? Through content. Everything is content -- the text on the website, the blog posts, the videos, the social media updates. And content speaks to potential customers. It is therefore imperative to get the message right across those multiple platforms. A visit to your website should leave a customer with no confusion as to what you do. He or she should not have to read the introductory text more than once to understand the business. The tag line should emphasise the essence as well as the uniqueness of the business in a short punchy manner. (It’s OK to be clever, but not so clever that you begin to sound vague.) Every subsequent page should further drive this point home. What do you stand for? What services do you offer? What makes you unique? How exactly can you help? Which geographical locations do you serve? Clear and concise messaging will attract the right kind of people to the business and increase conversions.

2. Not capturing visitor details

So, you've created a website you're proud of and invested in content creation and SEO to generate healthy organic traffic to the website. What happens next? The answer: Don’t let these visits go to waste. Capture those leads! Give visitors a reason to share their contact information. Offering newsletters and downloadable resources has traditionally been the preferred way to build email databases, which in turn helps nurture leads. (You’ll need a newsletter-making tool like Campaign Monitor or MailChimp to improve the email experience for your subscribers.) Not every visit you get will be from a customer-in-waiting, however. How then will you know who is or isn’t a potential lead? What if it were possible to capture this all-important information without even getting people to sign up? Leadfeeder provides businesses with actionable data regarding anonymous visitors, how they found you and which pages on your site they visited -- data that can be capitalized upon to conduct outreach or to make sales calls. Placing social plugins at strategic points makes it easy for those interested to follow you online. Before they follow a brand, people are more likely to share the blog content. That means plenty of winning posts (potentially) and the opportunity to earn new followers!

3. Settling for poor-quality content (or not creating enough content)

Content is how you interact with an audience, and basically how people know you online. Therefore, when your posts and the videos are lackluster, or your updates erratic, you may be giving out the impression that you're not professional; that will reflect poorly on the business. Quantity and quality are both important here. But startups are often strapped for resources. In that case, I’d suggest choosing quality over quantity, but even then, not letting the number of updates slip below a point. If once a week is all you can realistically manage, stick with that. You should know how often you can post when you create the content calendar. There are some helpful editorial calendar tools available, such as CoSchedule, but if you are short on cash, Google Docs is a free and useful option for creating collaborative content calendars.

4. Creating quality content but not marketing it

Who will care about that beautiful blog of yours that lives out its days in obscurity? New entrepreneurs are often so focused on getting their product/service right that they forget that marketing it is an equally important part of the job. Also, new business owners often struggle with self-promotion. Many seem to have an inherent dislike of talking about themselves. I notice this more in those with tech backgrounds, but anyone can suffer from self-consciousness when promoting a business online. This, unfortunately, may compromise or dilute the message of the business. After all, social media is driven by personality, and your life story is your "street cred," so you'll probably want to capitalize on that. Would it help to rethink self-promotion? If you absolutely cannot do this, hire an experienced marketer (it will be worth the investment). In its initial stages, a business needs all the attention it can get. This is not the time to play coy.

Businesses don’t speak for themselves.

How we wish businesses could speak for us, but that just isn’t the case, at least not initially, and not unless you get Mark Cuban to endorse you. Even then, you’d have to do a hard sell just to get him on board. There’s a reason successful companies, too, continue to invest big money in marketing: It is the only way to get noticed. For startups on a budget, clever strategies and quality content creation, aided by the right tools, can tip the scales in those startups' favor, and garner the visibility and engagement they absolutely need online. Read the full article

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Your B2B Customers Deserve Engaging Content, Too! So, Why Not Give It to Them?

Companies today are spending a fortune on content to attract new customers. Businesses that sell primarily to consumers (B2C) in particular are creating dazzling ads and rich media communications. But some companies that sell to other businesses (B2B) are also creating videos to post on YouTube, as well interactive content on their company site. Some of these B2B companies are launching engaging, personalized email campaigns to make a sale and maintain a robust social media presence, to promote their brand. However, once a prospect becomes a customer, and the responsibility for communication shifts from marketing to customer support, the focus on creating content that wows the audience evaporates. This is especially true for B2B companies, which tend to adopt a businesslike tone when communicating with people at other companies. And the truth is, that tone is often dry and impersonal. Dull, lifeless content isn’t painful only for the B2B customers who consume it -- it can hurt your bottom line. Failure to keep up with your customers’ content preferences can be a serious problem. On the B2C side, as the Salesforce blog has described, consumers expect personalization, but it’s important to realize that people who work at B2B companies are consumers in the workplace, too. They deserve interesting, personalized content. So, why not give it to them?

What engaging B2B support content looks like.

If you lead an organization that provides B2B support, then retaining customers, driving product adoption and successfully handling customer training issues are tasks on your to-do list. One of the best ways to accomplish these goals is to take a page from the B2C marketer's’playbook and incorporate visual elements like images and video into your support communications. Cisco research has estimated that video will account for 82 percent of online traffic by 2021, but many B2B support organizations still haven't incorporated video into their support communications. A predictive content technique, like suggesting applicable content based on self-service site-usage patterns, can be valuable to increase satisfaction and retain customers. In addition, customer support software helps liven things up, with video, and achieves a greater degree of personalization and interactivity so you can hit your customer retention goals. For instance, you can create content around a new product version, hosting a video tutorial in your knowledge base (technology used to store complex information) that walks customers through new features. Hewlett-Packard’s humorous “Propel” demo video is an example of funny, engaging B2B communications that break the “boring” mold. You can, further, personalize such outreach efforts by sending the video only to companies that use that specific product, using data from the support software to identify those customers. Customer-support software that incorporates video can also help agents resolve issues faster, which keeps those customers happy. A support platform that allows customers and agents to share screen and video recordings gives both parties a way to instantly convey an accurate picture of the issue or resolution. This technology eliminates the need to laboriously describe a multi-step process via email or phone.

Keep the focus on your customers' knowledge base.

Just as you do with tutorial videos, your company knowledge base is an ideal space from which to host support videos dealing with common issues. Support videos give customers a self-service option, providing a richer media experience and a more thorough and personal training session than a simple article could do. The result can be strengthened ties between B2B companies and their customers, and increased customer retention. For example, Vidyard, a company that creates software to host and analyze video performance, includes videos in its knowledge base to walk users through the steps needed to execute more complex operations. A knowledge base connected to your support-system tagging function can also display suggested solutions based on keywords so customers can find an answer to their question before they submit a ticket. Interactive content such as calculators, templates and Q&As can be yet another valuable supplement to your support material. Intuit uses interactive content effectively to market its QuickBooks products to small business customers, providing currency converters, video tutorials and product overview content, online. These assets increase user “stickiness,” which keeps them engaged, and you can use a similar strategy to help your support agents find answers quickly. B2B support teams, moreover, can use interactive content to personalize customer outreach and make it more engaging. For example, a financial company could create an interactive calculator where accountants input problematic data and the calculator helps troubleshoot the source of the problem.

Create engaging content for all customers.

It’s important to never lose sight of the fact that the businesses you serve are made up of people. Your business customers are consumers just like you, and they aren’t immune to the trends that drive modern B2C communications. So, if keeping customers happy, upselling them on new products and quickly resolving any issues they encounter with current products are part of your agenda, consider giving B2B customers the same level of excellence in content that they receive away from the job: Make B2B content personalized to increase customer satisfaction; harness customer data to shape offers and extend assistance. Use predictive content to engage customers and resolve issues quickly, applying data (such as product information) to understand the context of the support request. Include rich media elements like video in ticket resolution and customer-training processes to humanize interactions. Offer interactive content to speed issue resolution and improve stickiness. Customers are empowered today, and they expect high-quality content ailored to their needs. This is true whether they are B2C or B2B customers. By providing engaging content for all customers, you can ensure that your company’s support interactions are more immediate and human. That’s how long-term relationships are built.   Read the full article

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Samsung Galaxy A (2019) In-Display Fingerprint Scanner

Samsung Galaxy A series of mid-range smartphones slated to launch in 2019 are now expected to sport premium features like triple cameras on the back and in-display fingerprint scanners. A fresh report from Korea suggests that the global hardware department working on other phones apart from Note and S series at Samsung, has started research on these two premium features for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A series. For now though, Samsung is gearing up for the Galaxy Note 9 Unpacked launch event on August 9 which is expected to feature a dual camera setup and a rear fingerprint scanner. A fresh report from Korean local media The Investor suggests that Samsung is looking to introduce a triple rear camera setup on the Samsung Galaxy A series next year. Triple rear cameras are also rumoured to come on the Samsung Galaxy S10, but now the company is reportedly looking to first bring them on the mid-range Galaxy A series. The report also claims that the Galaxy A series will adopt the same setup that has been rumoured for the Galaxy S10 - one lens with variable aperture, one super-wide angle lens, and one telephoto lens. Furthermore, the report also states that the Galaxy A series will also sport an in-display fingerprint scanner. While the Galaxy S10 has also been reported to integrate the same feature, but it is expected to feature an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner under the display, while the Galaxy A series is likely to adopt the less advanced optical in-display fingerprint scanning technique. The report asserts that the company is pushing more features on to its premium mid-range series of phones because of lukewarm sales figures of its flagship devices. The company is also expected to use more China-made parts for price benefits. There's not much else to report on the upcoming new Galaxy A series phones, but we expect to hear more as launch date nears. Read the full article

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8 ways to use content to skyrocket user engagement

Much like commercials on TV, users are bombarded with content at every turn as they surf.  It’s overwhelming and as such, marketers are struggling to find ways to capture their attention and stand out. As marketers, not only do we need to conduct extensive research so we can make great content, we also need our content and web pages to be promoted, discovered and engaged with. To help with all facets of content development, user engagement, or “user signals,” should be actively tracked in Google Analytics as part of your content marketing campaign. This is important since it’s long been speculated that user experience is a ranking factor. Understanding who engages with your content will help with future content campaigns and business decisions. When users engage with your content and you actively track their actions, you can benefit by: An increase in leads and conversions. Increasing the chances of a return visit. Indirectly influencing search engine rankings for relevant keyword terms. Cultivating brand loyalty. Establishing your presence and visibility on the web. Increased conversations and “chatter” about your brand. Providing engaging content is especially important from a branding aspect. You need to be different to stand out. With so many choices available, one of the best ways for your business to shine is through creating and promoting unique and insightful content. Let’s take a look at how user engagement impacts your search engine rankings and eight steps you can take to make your content more engaging.

User engagement metrics

The most common set of user engagement metrics that correlate to content relevance and quality is: Click-through rate. Pages per session. Average website visit duration. Customer acquisitions. Conversion rate (subscribing, click-to-call and so on). Bounce rate. The number of sessions per user. Social signals. There are also more obvious signals, such as a user leaving a comment in the comments section or rating your content. Google Analytics, Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools provide in-depth analytics of page-level metrics that can be used to audit and evaluate the relevance and quality of content from a user perspective. For example, the chart below from Google Analytics provides important user data on page views (monthly traffic), the average time a user spends on each page, bounce rate and many other important signals that are segmented page by page. Page-level metrics, or how a user interacts with a page, will provide insight into how well your content is meeting user intent.

Rankings impact

While Google remains reluctant to share anything regarding its ranking signals, it has publicly said that “searching users are often the best judges of relevance.” Even if user and social signals are not direct signals, they do seem to heavily influence search results. From a theoretical perspective, Google wants to deliver users the best experience possible. By tracking click data, Google can make broad determinations about which content is best serving customers for specific keyword queries. With that said, the influence of some behavioral data is harder to determine than others. For example, click-through rates (CTRs) can be influenced by a multitude of factors, including: Brand bias. Keyword position. The inclusion of answer boxes, advertisements and local results in the search engine results pages (SERPs). It stands to reason that pages ranking higher in the SERPs are more likely to get clicks. While we are not entirely sure how Google factors CTR into its search results as an isolated signal, it definitely provides a small, implicit influence. That amount of influence can only be determined by Google’s active learning system and how well it’s able to process relevance, intent and more. Remember, search engines also include a multitude of factors including keyword intent, the day of the week, links, repeat visits and much more when determining where a page ranks. But it seems fairly obvious to me that if a page in position eight is receiving more clicks than position one and enjoys longer session durations, then Google would probably move it to a higher-ranking position eventually. It makes sense to think that pages with higher CTR and greater engagement would signal to Google that searchers find certain results more relevant and useful to their browsing experience than other URLs.  Why not use that data to help determine where a webpage should rank? I’d argue that user signals will perhaps be its number one ranking signal in the future, once the capabilities to track behavioral data more efficiently are available. Increasing user engagement should be a major priority for content marketers and SEOs alike. Here are eight steps to help make this happen.

1. Research and audit

The first step to increasing user engagement is the most important, in my opinion, and that is to understand your users. Evaluate your current SEO methods by setting up Google Search Console and Analytics to examine the behavioral data of users when they land on specific pages. Here you can uncover strategies to increase user engagement, such as: Updating metadata to increase click-through rates. Scaling out content length and depth to increase visit duration. Adding related links to the side of content to entice clicks and increase pages per session. When filtering by URL, you can get side-by-side key performance indicators (KPIs) on the performance of each piece of content and discover opportunities for easy wins. Here, you’ll need to optimize existing pages by their importance in your information hierarchy, the amount of traffic they currently pull in and their overall importance to your sales funnel. Then you can expand to ancillary pages. Leverage competitive analysis to discover what pages are driving the most traffic, and keep an eye on your competitors. Conduct keyword gap analysis to discover opportunities where you feel you can outrank competitors, and gather ideas for content that can separate you from the competition. The key here is to uncover specific pain points that competitors or other results are under-serving or where content can be improved upon.

2. Pique interest

If you’ve been successful in moving your web page rankings forward, the next step is to focus on harvesting clicks. This is where optimizing your metadata will become crucial. Use Google Search Console to look at the CTR of your pages and which pages are driving the most clicks from organic results. The idea here is to optimize your title tag and meta description for more clickability. Put yourself in the searcher’s shoes for a second. When you conduct a search, do you notice the phrase you searched on has been bolded in the meta description of a web page listing? The bold search phrase lets you know the search result is a page you’re looking for. As a refresher, here are some best practice tips for title tag and meta description optimization: Insert target keywords into the title tag and meta description. Meet user intent (offer benefits for commercial, useful information for research). Speak directly to users. Provide enough information to pique interest. Be short and concise. Unfortunately, Google recently cut its meta description character count, although most non-branded searches now include dynamic meta descriptions pulled directly from content. Even so, by optimizing this title and metadata, you can lead users down the initial stages of your funnel and at the very least, pique interest. Once you get that click, you need to nurture user interest with a striking page title. Again, page titles should contain the focus keyword, satisfy user intent and meet character count requirements. Headlines offer an opportunity for creativity. The use of numbers, “how-to” phrases and strong adjectives in a headline will have a stronger call to action than a simple explanatory headline. For example, “The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing” sounds more powerful than “Learning Content Marketing.” The use of these terms will also dictate the structure of your article (listicle or long form), how it’s written (tips, tutorial, advertorial) and its focus (keyword focus term). Even one tiny tweak like adding the word “top” to a page title or an ampersand can significantly increase clicks.

3. Optimize for speed and responsiveness

Not even the most eloquent headline and page copy can save your bounce rate if your site is slow and unresponsive. The statistics back it up: 53 percent of users will abandon a site that takes more than three seconds to load.

4. Design for ease of use

Give your content a helping hand by giving users an easy pathway to find it. Create a natural information architecture that focuses on top-level service pages with broad keyword concepts and slowly expands outward (or downward) with informational posts about sub-topics related to your business that include long-tail variants. Streamline your user experience (UX) by offering simple navigation that leads users down a desired pathway to conversions and meets their initial intent. The more pathways you provide to relevant content, the more likely you can offer users value, familiarize them with your site and increase their engagement.

5. Focus on aesthetics

Perhaps the most overlooked element in online media is the presentation of page copy. Page copy should be optimized for SEO value, as well as scannability. Content overload isn’t just the amount of content present over the web, it’s the number of words and white space on your own page copy. From UX designers to newspaper editors, each one will stress the importance of visuals in content, as well as white space, to make content appear more appealing and easier to consume. When designing a web page layout, consider these tips to increase user engagement: Optimize page focal points according to the rule of thirds. Make use of images every two or three paragraphs so your eyes don’t bleed. Use visually striking images or graphs that add context (ditch the stock photos). Ensure images are compressed and optimized for size, speed, and also SEO value (optimize the alt attribute). Ensure content is optimized and responsive for different devices.

6. Find your medium

No matter what methodology you use to craft content, the key is creating something better than the competition. Delivery influences your content’s impact. Some content deserves to be visual, while some deserves to be written. For example, interior design blogs are more likely to feature images of their work, rather than use long paragraphs of text to describe furnishings or the services they provide. Use alternative mediums such as infographics, video and data charts to present content in a new and unique format. They can even be used to repurpose or accent existing content to encourage greater engagement.

7. Be the authority

This step is pretty self-explanatory, but it must be reiterated: Present value to your visitors. Focus on quality over quantity, offering unique perspectives and going more in-depth than the competition. Content length has long been suspected to be a ranking factor, although it certainly influences visit durations and your ability to rank for rich snippets. Above all, the key is to present your own unique voice. From a branding perspective, developing thought leadership encourages repeat visits and also positions your company as an authority over all others in your respective industry. It’s also instrumental in cultivating brand loyalty.

8. Engage users

Finally, to increase user engagement, you also need to engage users. One of the best ways to do this is through personalized content, whether it’s served over an ad platform or in an email. Consult your analytics, and conduct A/B testing to optimize content for greater interaction and engagement. Here are some other ideas and opportunities to engage customers: Respond to user comments on your website and social media. Employ a chatbot on your website. Retarget users with relevant content. Collecting email and contact information to retarget users with paid promotions and newsletters is a great way to keep your brand top of mind and extend your customer lifetime value to cultivate greater brand loyalty.

Conclusion

User engagement is crucial from a user experience perspective and will greatly impact your conversion rates. I also suspect user signals play a crucial part in Google’s ranking algorithms, especially for hypercompetitive first- and second-page search terms. Follow these steps to make your content more appealing and engaging, and watch your user signals and traffic flows skyrocket. Read the full article

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How to Handle a Salary Counteroffer

For some professionals, asking for more money is a touchy topic. Most professionals feel validated when they get a job offer. Others are simply proud the interview went well and a company has extended a job offer. When you don’t look at yourself as just an employee, but also a brand, you will always know your career worth. The best way to define your career worth is through getting the salary and benefits you feel you deserve. When I interviewed for information technology roles, I viewed myself much like an all-star athlete, a Grammy-award-winning music artist or an Emmy-award-winning actress. I worked hard to earn my college degree and certifications, and also to become an industry expert through challenging career experiences. Salary counteroffers were normal in my professional world. They’re almost like a bidding war -- music artists, actors and athletes negotiate for more money when they sign contracts, and career professionals should do the same. When I was a teenager, I listened to a rap group called the Lox, and they had a song with Lil' Kim called “Money, Power and Respect.” To this day, I think the song really describes how these are the keys to climbing the corporate ladder. If you want to earn a higher salary, you need to understand how to command the money, power and respect you deserve -- it’s time to stop letting companies lowball you with low salaries, lackluster benefits and poor work-life balance. “Money, power, and respect. Help you sleep at night. You’ll see the light. It’s the key to life.” -- The Lox, Lil' Kim and DMX

Money: Know your worth

Think of yourself as a rock star professional right from the beginning of the hiring process. Look at your interviews as shows or performances. When you perform well in a job interview by displaying your expertise and positive energy, requesting the salary you deserve will be a little easier.  I always strive to make sure I leave a lasting impression on the interview panel. Interviews are like auditions -- you have to display your worth. Then, when you actually get an offer letter, compare the salary to the low, median and high salaries you find on Glassdoor -- I enter my city, state and job title to see what other companies are paying professionals in similar roles. I also evaluate the company’s offerings: paid time off (PTO), healthcare, work-life balance incentives and training benefits.

Power: Career control

Some professionals may have multiple job offers on the table; this is a powerful advantage when conducting a salary counteroffer. The best way to get the pay you deserve is to let the company you really want to work for know that you have received another offer with a better salary and benefits. At this point, because you have options, the power is in your hands. The real power is when you can leverage for extra incentives in addition to what’s found in your salary counteroffer. I once interviewed for a well-known consulting company, as well as their competitor. These two Fortune 500 consulting companies are the Nike and Adidas of consulting firms, and they were always looking to bring in senior consultants like myself at the time. That kind of career control is power -- it empowers you to ask for what you want in a job offer. As an IT expert, I expressed high interest in both companies by negotiating not only my salary, but asking for more PTO and a greater annual training budget.

Respect: Career brand

You win respect by building a solid career that displays your professional worth. Just as actors, athletes and music artists gain respect when they negotiate contracts by providing their performance metrics and awards, career respect is validated through a salary counteroffer when you have a solid LinkedIn profile, professional certifications, college education and extensive professional experience. In the last 14 years, I have mastered the art of career branding by winning IT industry awards and through features on CNN, Yahoo, CNBC and in The Washington Post. Since I look at myself as a brand, my career experiences and accomplishments have helped my resume and LinkedIn profile stand out. When I counteroffer a salary offer of $106,000 with $140,000 for a technical IT lead role, I express my value as a certified scrum master and former holder of a high-level security clearance. They loved my interview and expertise, so convincing them to respect my career brand was a piece of cake. If you want to get the pay you deserve, build a respectable career brand that stands out from all the other professionals with whom you’re competing. Read the full article

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How Small Businesses Can Survive in the Age of GDPR

The EU considers small and medium-sized businesses to be the backbone of its economy. According to its most recent annual report on European business, just 0.2 percent of companies in the non-financial business sector didn't fall into this category. These companies employed an incredible 93 million people, and 93 percent of them had fewer than 10 people. There's no doubt that small businesses are essential for Europe's development. However, despite their relevance, one could argue smaller businesses have been left to fend for themselves in the rush for GDPR compliance. Compared to large corporations, small businesses need to put a lot more effort into following the rules -- their budgets and resources just don't measure up. This leaves many companies facing an ultimatum: Do they comply and base their entire operation on compliance? Or put themselves at risk for a crippling fine now that the May 25 deadline has passed? It's not a great position to be in. But, a significant amount might be opting for the latter. According to an IDC survey released April 3, one-third of European small businesses and more than one half of non-European small businesses had no plans to comply. Here's how this situation can be improved, and what needs to be done for small businesses to survive in the age of GDPR:

Be as transparent as possible.

At its core, GDPR is all about transparency -- and well, giving EU citizens control of their data. So if a small business doesn't already have transparency etched into its DNA, it's time for it to resequence its genes. Now, all companies need to clearly display exactly why they're collecting personally identifiable information (PII), and all the ways this data is being used. This needs to be in the most accessible language possible -- that is, no lawyer gibberish allowed. This is full disclosure. What data is collected? How is this done? How is it used? Is it provided to any third party? This information should to be laid out neatly on the company website, but also be provided during the onboarding process in an application, or as each new piece of information is collected. And if a small business��is collecting information, it's also necessary to give users the chance to opt in, or out. This GDPR website writes: "Consent must be clear and distinguishable from other matters and provided in an intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language. It must be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it."

The EU needs to provide a clear guideline on compliance.

Keeping in mind that as of April, a large majority of EU small businesses had no plans to comply with GDPR, the EU should take it upon itself to help them. After all, the economy depends on it. According to the same EU report above, almost every member state recorded small-business employment growth in 2016 -- something that's expected to continue through 2018. In my opinion, this growth is at risk of being stunted if the EU doesn't help small businesses to be GDPR compliant.

Small businesses should learn from the big corporations.

It can be hard for small businesses to work through the GDPR alone. However, they have the opportunity to look at how big corporations or larger industry players are complying -- and then try to follow suit. Large corporations boast teams of lawyers that work to address the GDPR, and have the time and resources to invest in compliance. small businesses can piggyback off this, and try to copy what they've done. The first step is to read users agreements closely to understand how these big companies collect data, so small businesses can see if they work similarly. It's also important to look into a larger corporations's user experience design to understand how exactly they're getting users to comply or "opt in" to data collection. Is it during the onboarding process -- or more likely, as each new data point is collected? Additionally, it's prudent to keep up with how each organization is laying out its GDPR compliance methods -- this way, small businesses can copy this data disclosure format. Facebook did so in a blog post in April, for example, in which it said it would start asking users to agree to the updated terms of service and data policy, ask users if they wanted Facebook to use data from partners, and start allowing facial recognition technology if users agree, among other things. The company provides more information on its website. Google and LinkedIn have similarly published their methods. However, it shouldn't end there. Small businesses need to pay attention to how larger corporations are performing with GDPR compliance, too. If for some reason they've been found non-compliant for a certain action, it's a trigger for small businesses to look internally and ensure they're not doing the same. So, yes: GDPR compliance poses some difficulties for small businesses. However, actions can be taken to make the burden a little lighter -- including the EU Commission providing clear, small business-centric guidelines and companies themselves working to be transparent and learning from bigger players. With this, small businesses will have an easier time surviving the age. Read the full article

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Why Building Relationships Is the Marketing Secret No One's Talking About

I love technology. I mean, in today’s world, who doesn’t? It makes our jobs easier, it connects us to more people than ever before and it continues to make new things possible. But there’s also a big downside to technology: It’s impersonal. Sure, we can send mass messages to thousands of contacts at once, but is that what people really want? On her website, professional speaker Patricia Fripp says, “Technology does not run an enterprise. Relationships do.” And I agree. If you want to build a successful business, you need to focus on building relationships with three key audiences: your customers, influencers and your competitors. Here’s why building relationships with these audiences will benefit your business.

Your customers will love you.

You may be saying to yourself, “That’s obvious. Of course I build relationships with my customers.” But it’s easier said than done. Out of all your relationships, your relationship with your customers may be the most important -- and the most difficult. That’s because customers know when you’re being inauthentic. They’ve been hounded for years by brands looking for a quick sale. But customers want more than just a one-time purchase. They want to build a long-lasting relationship with a brand. So, how do you do it? Your strategy should be two-prong: Listen to and understand your customers, and then give them what they want. Before I begin any marketing program or campaign -- or something as simple as an article like this one -- I research my audience. Whom am I marketing to? What do those people want? Asking these simple questions allows me to better understand my customers and their needs, and how my business can meet those needs. It’s also important to make sure your customers feel special and appreciated. You can do this by personalizing your emails, sending special gifts to key clients and reaching out personally to unhappy customers. You want your customers to know you and your company better. Once they know you, they will trust you.

Influencers will align with you.

Every industry has its movers and shakers, the ones who are pushing the envelope and moving the needle. And aligning your brand with these influencers can result in major benefits. Having a relationship directly with your customers is important, but it’s not the only way to get through to them. Sometimes a third party can be a valuable partner in building relationships with your customers. But first, you must build a relationship with that person. Over the last couple of years, I’ve made a point of connecting with marketers and practitioners in my field. I’ve connected through email and Slack and built relationships with these people. But I didn’t initially go out and say, “Hey, please help me with this.” Instead, I started by asking what I could help them with. Relationships with influencers need to be mutually beneficial. How can you help each other? Today, I’m friends with the influencers in my industry, and we’re constantly chatting via a Slack group, sharing content and information. And, guess what? Because we all write a lot of content, we end up referencing one other, naturally. And those references? Your customers notice them. Influencers already have a respected reputation in the industry, so your customers trust their opinion. If influencers are out there recommending your brand, you can bet your customers are going to listen to them.

Competitors will become friends.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Why would you ever want to be friends with your competition? But bear with me here. Instead of thinking of your competition as something that needs to be destroyed, think of your competitors as a valuable resource. You’re both going after the same audience, so by regularly exchanging information, you can learn more about what’s best for your business. For example, I learned from the CEO of Growbots that advertising is a poor channel for both of us because the cost per acquisition is way too high. Plus, when you’re not bad-mouthing your competition, you show that your business has integrity. Companies that focus so much on putting their competitors down take the spotlight off the benefits that they offer. Customers don’t want to hear how awful your competitors are. They want to hear how good you are. If you focus on what your customers want, they’ll trust you more. And, when they trust you more, you’ll be able to build the relationships that matter most. Read the full article

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Facebook reminds developers deadline for app reviews is less than a month away

Facebook is reminding developers that in order to keep access to a number of APIs, the app review deadline is August 1. Developers wanting to retain their access to any of the following APIs for existing apps will need to submit their apps for review and “re-request” permission to use the APIs: Facebook Login outside of email and default (any apps or websites that allow users to sign in using their Facebook account). Pages API. Groups API. Events API. Messenger API. Instagram API. Business Manager API. After the Cambridge Analytica news story broke — when Facebook revealed it had suspended the analytics company for improperly employing user data gathered with an app — Facebook temporarily shut down its app review process to perform an extensive audit of all the apps on the platform. The company has since suspended 200 more apps and reopened the review process, but is now enforcing stricter guidelines around the amount of data — and APIs — apps have access to. As part of Facebook’s new review process, existing apps must now “re-request” access to the listed APIs so that Facebook can evaluate whether or not the app will get to retain its access to the functionality and data available via the API. In addition to the coming August 1 deadline, developers wanting to keep their access to the Marketing API and Lead Ads Retrieval API have another seven months to submit their app for review. “If you are using our Marketing API or Lead Ads Retrieval API, you have until February 1, 2019, to re-request permission to use them and any related permissions,” writes Facebook in the developer blog post. Facebook announced just yesterday that apps would have to pass a review process to keep access to its Marketing and Lead Ads Retrieval API. (Apps will also need to be reviewed for permission to continue using the Live video API, but no deadline has been given for it yet.) Facebook says it is working to reduce the review process wait time. According to the blog post, Messenger bot reviews now take three business days, but app reviews for Facebook Login, the Pages API and Groups API are taking much longer, averaging about seven weeks before app developers know whether or not access to these APIs will be revoked. Read the full article

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As Your Company Grows, You Need to Stop Constantly Dealing With Day-to-Day Fires

In today's workforce, attention to detail is the key to any successful business. From managing the minutiae of customer engagement to dealing with business logistics, there's no doubt that focusing on the little things plays a key role in providing an excellent customer experience. Certainly, attention to detail is a skill to hire for -- but what role does it play in the entrepreneurial tool belt? "Leadership determines the survival, success and legacy of organizations." Leadership is about vision. It's about thinking big picture. An organization without a vision can't grow. That's why, as a business grows, it's important to take a step back and refocus on the road ahead.

1. Focus on high-value tasks.

How do you measure your productivity as an entrepreneur? Think about it. When your business is a startup and you're the only pair of hands on deck, your work is less about the value and more about necessity. If the floors need to be mopped, it's pretty easy to know who needs to do the mopping.

2. Delegate nonessential responsibilities.

This is something small-business CEOs often struggle with, particularly if they've built a business from the ground up. As your business begins to grow, it's essential to liberate yourself from tasks which don't require your immediate attention and oversight so that you can focus on the big picture.

3. Automate all non-customer interactions.

Beyond delegation, you should automate all of your non-customer interactions. Modern technology provides innumerable opportunities for your business to save money and time by automating its workflow.

4. Create a standardized, internal process.

Have you ever noticed that the major fast-food chains are essentially identical to one another? There's a reason for that: Creating a strong and standardized procedure allows your employees to perform consistently from customer to customer. From the employee hiring process to sales scripts and return policies, there's almost no limit to what processes can be systemized. While building out this framework, consider this: You can increase the value of your business by doing very little work once you have a standardized process in place.

5. Promote employee empowerment.

One of your most valuable assets should be your workforce, and employee empowerment is one of the best ways to grow your business in unique and powerful ways. Employees who feel valued and are given the freedom to try new and exciting things provide new ideas and insights to help your business grow. I like my employees to solve problems as quickly as possible. One way I've empowered them to do this is by giving them the authority to incur a company loss of $500 in order to resolve a service issue. If a customer is upset, an employee can offer a refund of $500 or less without even asking me. In addition to removing myself from every service situation, the employee has some room to navigate a customer problem and satisfy them. Everybody wins. Read the full article

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What Entrepreneurs Can Expect From the Trade War With China

On July 10, the Trump Administration slapped a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. This is on top of the 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports it announced in June. Trump has said the tariffs are in response to a long-term, concerted effort on the part of Chinese authorities: namely forcing U.S. firms to transfer tech secrets to China's joint venture partners, as well as a multitude of other hostile commercial activities.

What really is technology transfer?

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) defines technology transfers as providing a trade partner, subsidiary or joint venture with "intellectual property (IP) protections ... production processes, management techniques, expertise and the knowledge of personnel." Basically, in order to manufacture products or inputs at more competitive costs in China, U.S. corporations from Nike to Apple must share their know-how with Chinese manufacturers. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, because tech transfer promotes efficiencies in manufacturing and distribution.

So, what's the problem with technology transfers to China?

China offers U.S. corporations one of, if not the, most lucrative consumer markets in the world. In order to reach this consumer market, however, U.S. companies seeking to set up shop are allegedly often forced into joint ventures that they wouldn't seek otherwise. According to U.S. authorities, it has long been the case that U.S. corporations are sometimes forced to share trade secrets with their joint-venture partners in order to receive necessary commercial licenses. Although it's hard to pinpoint how many corporations have been subject to forced transfers of their IP, an American Chamber of Commerce in China survey conducted in 2013 found that 35 percent of corporate executives feared tech transfer requirements.

Discriminatory licensing and forced IP submission

Once a U.S. corporation receives the permit to initiate investment in China, a number of opaque licensing procedures are often required depending on the given industry. The requirements can involve everything from site regulations to anti-monopoly assurances and national security clearances. U.S. corporations have complained that at each stage of the process officials connected to obscure licensing agencies frequently ask in-person that specific trade secrets or IP transfers be handed over; this exchange is a requirement to receive the license at hand.

Outbound investments and business acquisitions

Another aspect of China's trade practices involves government-led initiatives to acquire U.S. corporations in strategic industries. The goal is to acquire IP assets. While the U.S. would normally accept acquisitions by foreign corporations, the USTR concludes that a major cross-section of these deals are directed entirely by the state authorities versus private players. For instance, a 2016 study by the Rhodium Groupfound that the flurry of Chinese acquisition offers in the semiconductor industry beginning in 2014 stemmed chiefly from governmental strategic initiatives.

Cyber hacking and IP theft

When acquisition or tech transfers will not do the trick, according to U.S. authorities, China has since 2008 focused heavily on using cyber warfare tactics and hacking to steal IP and trade secrets from U.S. corporations. While China denies any state involvement in this activity, the U.S. cyber security firm Mandiant released a report in 2013 that directly linked industrial espionage to a unit inside the People's Liberation Army.

Trump to the rescue?

Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 gives President Trump the ability to retaliate for a perceived discriminatory trade practice or trade barrier by a foreign country. Similar measures against China were taken in 1991 and 2010. A Section 301 investigation report in March by trade representative Robert Lighthizer found substantial evidence of forced technology transfer. As a result, the Trump administration has focused most of its tariffs on high-end, tech-focused goods, such as airplane parts, flat screen televisions, electric vehicles and industrial lathes. With Trump's current tariffs already going into effect, and China responding on July 6 with more than $34 billion in tariffs on primarily U.S. agricultural products like pork bellies and soybeans, there is no telling how the issue of IP theft will get solved in the near future..

Effects on U.S. small businesses, and your remedies and opportunities

What is the real impact on your business? Let's begin with the obvious: Tariffs on goods imported from China are sparking retaliatory dollar-for-dollar Chinese tariffs on goods exported there. So, if you engage in manufacturing or exporting directly to China, you will be directly and adversely impacted. China recently announced 25 percent tariffs on 659 U.S. goods worth some $50 billion, many of them agricultural. Ouch! However, what if you are not the exporter, nor the U.S. farmer who produces beef, pork or soybeans for Chinese export? In a complex world economy, it is not only consumers as end users who pay higher prices, but also businesses upstream in the supply chain. Without exaggeration, all small-business owners are also consumers of raw materials, goods or services from vendors downstream in their supply chain -- inputs they process and deliver to their own upstream customers. The tariff increases costs not only for the direct exporters, but everyone in their supply chain. So, once again the impact on you would be adverse. What if everyone in your supply chain is domestic, and 100 percent of sales are exclusively in the U.S.? Well, you are still likely to be adversely impacted by the trade war. That's because similar products from China affect the price of U.S.-manufactured or sourced products. When tariffs raise pricing of Chinese products for the sector, rival U.S. firms, downstream in your supply chain, will face less competition and are incentivized to raise their prices to you. The mechanism accordingly decreases your profits. Are there any remedies or benefits? First, aside from dialing your representative, collective action by lobbying firms and special interest groups in your sector may be advisable. Second, it is universally understood that tariffs can benefit a small number of domestic industries. Consider the case where your business is in a traditional industry, like steel or furniture manufacturing, facing higher domestic wages and Chinese dumping. There is also a case to be made for protecting your business if you are in a nascent industry until the economies of scale in your market are balanced. For most businesses though, the foregoing impacts on the supply chain are far more injurious. There is, however, a silver lining: disruption. As an entrepreneur, I suspect you have survived and even thrived because where others saw problems, you saw opportunities. If you are a new entrant to an industry or barely established, an upset to the supply chain and higher pricing could gain you tremendous market share if exploited with ingenuity. Industry leaders, entrenched competitors -- the ones you are looking to disrupt -- over the course of many years have fine-tuned their channels, projected their outcomes and are probably resting on their laurels where their supply chains and customers alike are concerned. You now have an opportunity to supplant the dazed old guard through new channels, relationship building with domestic and non-Chinese foreign suppliers, undercutting their recently tariff-hiked pricing and promoting your own advanced delivery technologies. Read the full article

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Google Free Wi-Fi Hotspot Network Launched in Nigeria

Google launched a network of free Wi-Fi hotspots in Nigeria on Thursday, part of its effort to increase its presence in Africa's most populous nation. The US technology firm owned by Alphabet Inc has partnered with Nigerian fibre cable network provider 21st Century to provide its public Wi-Fi service, Google Station, in six places in the commercial capital Lagos, including the city's airport. Internet penetration is relatively low in Nigeria. Some 25.7 percent of the population made use of the internet in 2016, according to World Bank Data. The poor internet infrastructure is a major challenge for businesses operating in the country, which is Africa's largest oil producer. Broadband services are either unreliable or unaffordable to many of Nigeria's 190 million inhabitants. "We are rolling out the service in Lagos today but the plan is to quickly expand to other locations," Anjali Joshi, Google's vice president for product management, told Reuters in Lagos. The company said it aimed to collaborate with internet service providers to reach millions of Nigerians in 200 public spaces, across five cities by the end of 2019. It said it would generate cash from the service in Nigeria by placing Google adverts in the login portal. Google did not disclose the amount invested in the new Nigeria service. The technology firm said it planned to share revenues with its partners to help them maintain and deploy the Wi-Fi service but did not disclose the expected advertising revenue split. Africa's rapid population growth, falling data costs and heavy adoption of mobile phones has made it an attractive investment prospect for technology companies. Nigeria is the fifth country to launch Google Station. Similar services have been launched in India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand. The service is aimed at countries with rapidly expanding populations. The United Nations estimates Nigeria will be the world's third most populous nation, after China and India, by 2050. "A lot of people who found data to be too expensive for them to use, are using it," said Joshi. "In India, we have tens of millions of users, and close to a million in Mexico." However, many do not disclose how profitable the continent's markets are, or if they make the companies money at all. Last year, Google announced plans to train 10 million Africans in online skills within five years. It also said it aimed to provide $3 million (roughly Rs. 20.6 crores) in equity-free support to African startups. Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited Google's Silicon Valley headquarters this month to meet the company's chief executive, Sundar Pichai. Read the full article

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LinkedIn overhauls Campaign Manager for marketers managing high-volume accounts

LinkedIn has overhauled its Campaign Manager, giving it a redesigned interface and building out its back end to load data faster. The refreshed tool, announced Thursday, is designed to offer a more intuitive experience for marketers running multiple campaigns on the platform, with one-click breakdowns of campaign data and personalization options around what reports they see. High-level changes include a new navigation structure that allows users to switch between accounts and campaigns and drill down into ads with two clicks. The search feature has also been updated so that ad managers running multiple campaigns can quickly locate data for a specific campaign by querying the campaign name, campaign ID or ad format. With the new Campaign Manager, marketers will be able to personalize their dashboard to display the metrics they most often review. There is also a new one-click feature to quickly access sets of metrics from their LinkedIn campaigns, including conversion events or LinkedIn Audience Networkplacements — and make adjustments to optimize campaign performance. Founder of LinkedIn ads agency B2Linked.com AJ Wilcox had access to the new Campaign Manager as a beta user and says the new interface will feel reminiscent to marketers familiar with Facebook Ads. “Noticeably absent is the performance graph at the top, which is unfortunate because it was very useful in gauging performance and predicting spend and will be severely missed. The new experience is expected to help do things better in bulk, which would be a welcome change for advertisers managing more than a few campaigns,” says Wilcox. Wilcox also compared the new design to the Google Ads manager accounts dashboard, noting that now ad managers can easily access ad-level metrics. “The MCC-like accounts page is more helpful showing spend, budget, and number of campaigns. The ability to drill immediately down to the ad level (a-la Google Ads) is a nice touch, and saves advertisers from having to click down into individual campaigns to view creative.” Wilcox says that he knows the back end has been built to be more robust and speedier, but he has not noticed this with his accounts. “I hope as it rolls into production that we see a significant performance increase.” The updated Campaign Manager will be rolling out in the next week. LinkedIn says marketers should expect to see ongoing improvements. “Today’s release is just the first foundational step in a longer plan,” the company writes in Thursday’s announcement. Read the full article

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6 Tips for Managing Presentation Butterflies

If you are like most people, then public speaking or presenting is one of your major fears. But take a second to think about this: Unless you are talking only to yourself, you are doing what is known as public speaking. You may not have to speak to hundreds at one time, but in your everyday life, some form of public speaking is a common occurrence. With this in mind, you owe it to yourself to develop the strategies and techniques to manage your nerves so you can concentrate on delivering an effective and engaging presentation. To tackle your nervousness and bring it under control, remember these six key tips. These tips are all designed to help you focus on your audience and their needs rather than on yourself and your fears.

1. Analyze your audience.

Define what makes your audience unique by identifying their concerns, biases and questions. Find people who are representative of your anticipated audience and ask what they would expect from the presentation. In addition, greet audience members at the door and do a quick survey of why they are there and what their expectations are.

2. Know your material.

Nothing is worse for nerves than trying to give a presentation on an unfamiliar topic. Making sure you've properly understood your audience and their needs will help ensure your material is on-target. Also remember that you can't possibly cover everything you know in one presentation. Select the most pertinent points from your subject base and supplement them with other material if time allows.

3. Organize your presentation.

Organize your presentation so that you give yourself reminders about upcoming material. Have a set of key phrases and refer to these phrases to trigger your memory as to what is coming up next. If you're using slides, use these key phrases in your transitions. Take the necessary steps to plan and develop your message so that you follow my 3G Rule: Grab the audience’s attention, Guide them through your message, and Get them to take action!

4. Practice, practice, practice.

Familiarity builds confidence, and practice helps you to deliver your words naturally. This means your words will be coming more from your heart and mind, rather than from a piece of paper. Learn the organization and order of your presentation. Record yourself to listen to how you speak, your tone and your speed, and adjust appropriately. My recommendation is to practice your entire presentation, including any visuals, at least six times.

5. Prepare, prepare, prepare.

Once you know what you are going to say, you need to prepare yourself for the actual delivery. Anticipate problems and have backups and contingencies in place in case of equipment failure. If possible, give everything one last run-through in the actual environment. Remember to prepare responses to anticipated questions.

6. Calm yourself from within.

Nervousness causes physiological reactions which are mostly attributed to the increase of adrenaline in your system. You can counteract these effects with a few simple techniques: Practice deep breathing: Deep breathing is one of the easiest and fastest relaxation techniques. Drink water: Have a glass of water handy. Take sips occasionally, especially when you want to emphasize a point. Smile: This is a natural relaxant that sends positive chemicals through your body. Use visualization techniques: Imagine that you are delivering your presentation to an audience that is interested, enthused, smiling and reacting positively. Positive visualization is powerful! Just before you start talking: Pause, make eye contact, and smile. This last moment of peace is relaxing and gives you time to adjust to being the center of attention. Speak more slowly than you would in a conversation: Also, leave longer pauses between sentences. This slower pace will calm you down, and it will also make you easier to hear, especially at the back of a large room. Move around during your presentation: This will expend some of your nervous energy. Stop Thinking About Yourself (S.T.A.Y.): Remember that the audience is there for information and it is your job to get it across to them. Read the full article

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Twitter tightens access to API platform & restricts number of daily actions an app can perform

Twitter is following through on its commitment to improve the health of its platform. Tuesday, the company announced that all new requests to access the company’s API platform will be required to apply for a developer account. It is also restricting the default number of apps registered to a single account to 10 and limiting app-level rate limits for Tweets, Likes, Follows and Direct Messages. What does this mean for app developers? Starting today, any developer wanting new account access to Twitter’s API platform — standard or premium — will have to apply to go through a new developer account application process. Access will be decided based on use-case reviews and policy compliance checks and may need further reviews if an app is used for purposes other than its original intent. The company says that eventually, developers with current API access will also need to go through the new application process. “Following application approval, you may be required to undergo additional, more rigorous policy reviews if you change your app’s use of Twitter’s APIs or request access to additional products or features, including the ability to post content to Twitter frequently or at high volumes,” writes Twitter’s head of policy, Yoel Roth, and its senior director of product management, Rob Johnson, on Twitter’s blog. Any app developers who want to register more than 10 apps will have to request special permission via Twitter’s API Policy support form, as the platform is limiting the default number of apps a single developer account can have registered. While existing apps can still be managed on the apps.Twitter.com platform, developers with existing access to Twitter APIs will eventually be required to complete a developer account application to maintain their apps. Twitter says it will give these developers at least a 90-day notice to complete the review process. Twitter is also instituting restrictions around the number of Tweets and Retweets, Likes, Follows and Direct Tweets and Retweets (combined): 300 per three hours Likes: 1,000 per 24 hours Follows: 1,000 per 24 hours Direct messages: 15,000 per 24 hours “To make this change minimally disruptive, we are proactively conducting policy reviews of potentially impacted apps and will contact eligible developers with instructions about how to request elevated access so that their apps are not affected on September 10th,” Roth and Johnson write. App developers will be able to submit a request to have the limitations removed. As it previously noted last week when Twitter announced the verification process was being put on hold to focus on the app’s integrity, Twitter says it is accelerating these policy changes, “… because protecting our platform and people using Twitter from abuse and manipulation is our highest priority.” Since the 2016 US presidential election, when Twitter was plagued with malicious content in the form of exorbitant spam and bot activity, the company has made numerous updates to curb the number of bad actors on the platform and improve the way conversations happen within the app. Earlier this month, Twitter removed locked accounts from follower numbers. It also launched its Ad Transparency Center that lists all ads on the platform during the previous seven-day period. Read the full article

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Samsung Seen to Delay Android Oreo Updates for Some Galaxy A, Galaxy C, Galaxy J Models Till December

Samsung appears to be planning on releasing the Android Oreo update for some Galaxy A, Galaxy C, and Galaxy J models only in December. Specifically, the Galaxy A9 Pro, Galaxy C7 Pro, Galaxy C9 Pro, Galaxy J7 (2017), and Galaxy J7 Neo as well as the Galaxy On5 (2016), Galaxy On7 (2016), and Galaxy On7 (2018) models will see this delay. The company earlier this month did seed the Oreo update to Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018). However, it was earlier this month found that it pushed back the latest Android rollout timeline for the Galaxy J3 (2017), Galaxy J5 Pro, and Galaxy J7 Pro. These smartphones were originally expected to receive the Oreo update this month. As SamMobile reports, the Samsung Member app in India has shown the latest Oreo update schedule. The notice on the app includes a list of devices that are in the pipeline to receive Android Oreo. The list features models such as the Galaxy Tab S3, Galaxy Tab A (2017), and Galaxy J7 Max that are supposed to receive the new Android update sometime before December. However, the same list has the Galaxy A9 Pro (2016), Galaxy C7 Pro, Galaxy C9 Pro, Galaxy J7 (2017), Galaxy J7 Neo, Galaxy On5 (2016), Galaxy On7 (2016), and Galaxy On7 (2018) that are scheduled to receive the new software version in December. Having said that, Samsung notes that the update schedule can be changed based on the "development and approval processes" and may vary from region to region. If Samsung will move according to the present schedule, the Android Oreo update will hit sometime post the public release of Android P that may take place in September. The next big Android update is currently available in the form of developer previews. Historically, Samsung has faced trouble with Android Oreo updates. While the delay in its release is at one front, the company has also had to halt the Oreo update for multiple devices in the recent past, including the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, thanks to issues. The company uses the Samsung Experience UX on top of the core Android Oreo that requires deep customisations. This is presumably one of the key reasons behind the delay in releasing software updates. Read the full article

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How Massively Successful Companies Have Made Creativity Their Engine for Growth

Coworking spaces are nothing new, but it took WeWork’s emphasis on design to make shared office spaces cool and disrupt the entire commercial real estate model. And not just design in terms of office decor, architecture and furniture, but design in its true sense. WeWork purposefully designed its spaces to foster a sense of community and shared entrepreneurial zeal. These spaces are where you want to work, rather than just come to work -- and it shows. Just eight years after opening its first space in New York, WeWork is now Manhattan’s second-largest private office tenant. And in 2018, the company is set to grow even faster, opening more than 750,000 square feet of office space in the city -- a move that could help the startup overtake JPMorgan Chase as the biggest private office tenant in the borough. But this pace of growth isn’t isolated to New York alone. Bloomberg reports that WeWork has nearly doubled its reach, expanding from 40 to 73 cities in 2018. Its occupancy rate is also up, going from 73 percent to 82 percent over the course of a year. The same can be said for its memberships, which have reached 220,000. It’s no wonder the company is now touting $342 million in revenue this past quarter.

Thinking by design

Of course, the current emphasis on design didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was at least partially a response to the consumer’s reliance on technology. Smartphones, for one, took the importance of user experience to another level, and savvy companies realized that design-oriented thinking could be applied to businesses as a whole, not simply websites or digital applications. Every customer touchpoint was ripe for design-driven disruption. Soon new startups used design to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, and they did it in entirely new ways. Airbnb, Netflix and Uber are all design-driven companies. So too are more established brands like Apple, BMW and Walt Disney. And what all these companies have in common is an understanding of storytelling. They recognize that stories -- the deepest, most enduring ones -- are those told through design, not just marketing. And at the heart of the best designs is a powerful creative idea that creates a deep emotional bond between business and customer. This, then, leads us to the question of the hour: How do you tap into the creativity of design-oriented thinking to grow a startup and compete in the marketplace? Start with the following:

1. Bring agencies in-house.

For many companies, creative challenges are seen as something to outsource to creative agencies. That’s no way to learn. Instead, co-create with these partners by working through the strategies together, prototyping potential solutions and embedding design-oriented thinking as a regular part of your processes. Craig Dubitsky, founder and CEO of hello, built his $20 million toothpaste brand on a simple idea: Transform an everyday commodity into something desirable. Sure, the toothpaste is more natural than most leading brands; it doesn’t contain dyes, artificial flavors, etc. But in some ways, that’s not the point. What Dubitsky got right was brand image. He humanized a category that’s long been clinical and unappealing, disrupting the $40 billion oral care industry by giving a personality to something as mundane as toothpaste. You need only look at the packaging to see why hello has become one of the fastest-growing toothpaste brands in the U.S.

2. See design as an input rather than an outcome.

When sitting down with creatives, it isn’t uncommon for executives to come to the table with the challenges they feel need a creative fix. This is shortsighted, and a better option would be to share all your challenges. This provides the opportunity to apply formal design processes to non-design initiatives. You move beyond just improving the customer experience and start to reshape business models and develop provocative solutions through these creative collaborations. It’s one of the reasons more and more companies are now offering designers and other creative types seats in the boardroom. In fact, Adobe and Forrester Consulting found that market-leading companies are 1.5 times more likely to be those with a consciously creative focus. Creativity also seems to improve the work environment, with many creative firms being recognized as some of the best places to work in the U.S. In other words, design can have a holistic impact on business.

3. Showcase creativity regularly.

It’s incredible how many organizations talk about creativity but only in the abstract. When your business immerses itself in design inspiration, your horizons expand, your curiosity grows and you begin to hunger for a creative outlet -- so much so that you innovate and disrupt all on your own. Invite disruptors into your business, and ask them to walk you through the experiences they’ve created. Take a field trip to see firsthand how consumers interact with products and brands. Read design trades, listen to design-focused podcasts and make a habit of spending 30 minutes each week watching creative case studies online. WeWork hosts the annual Creator Awards, a competition of sorts where entrepreneurs, startups and nonprofits have a chance to win funding. Byte Back, an organization that offers computer training and career preparation to low-income adults, took home the top prize of $360,000 last year. It was among 25 winners whose prizes totaled $1.5 million. When you embrace design and make it part of your organization, you develop a methodology for problem-solving across all areas of the business -- a methodology that’s repeatable again and again. Read the full article