In this episode of Content Marketing Commute’, I reflect on my recent discussion with Ines de Campos Pinto about managing expectations in marketing roles. Filmed in the scenic Saint Rémy de Provence, I emphasize the importance of saying no, under-promising and over-delivering, and having a clear plan as key strategies for managing expectations effectively in a content marketing role.
00:00 Welcome to Content Marketing Commute!
00:36 Recapping Last Week’s Episode with Ines de Campos Pinto
01:35 Exploring the Beauty of Saint Rémy de Provence
02:14 Diving Deep into Managing Expectations as a Content Marketer
03:28 The Art of Saying No and Setting Realistic Goals
07:34 Under Promise, Over Deliver: A Key to Success
11:05 Having a Plan: The Ultimate Strategy
13:08 Wrapping Up and How to Connect
hello welcome to S me welcome to another episode of content marketing commu if we haven’t met my name is Joe fantastic to be here with you today on a uh Beautiful May Day here in uh S I got my shorts on look at that pins out and excited to have you here for this episode we call this one about last week so about last week on the on the podcast content marketing commute if you don’t know is where we focus on one specific thing that we talked about last week in our guest episode and last week we spoke with inise deos Pinto in Rotterdam last week I was in Rotterdam this week I’m in s provance how do I do it nobody knows wow but yes we spoke about a lot of things and so the way I do the podcast is one week I talk to an expert the next week because there’s so much great Insight I go over something we talked about by myself as I’m walking or cycling or driving or something always on the Move that’s that’s really the common thread the Red Thread you might say on the podcast and always have to note that if you are just listening and on the podcast apps please do come on over to the link in description the YouTube link and you’ll be able to see the sites of wonderful s provance in the bushon region of Southern France you’ll absolutely love it you won’t regret it come on over it’s just beautiful okay so what are we going to speak about today I’m just going to cross the road and hopefully not get hit there you go so today we’re going to talk about managing expectations as a marketer and as a Content marketer you know last week you might have heard the podcast episode if you haven’t go and check it out with ance de Campos Pinto she is head of content marketing at one team in Rotterdam she talked about having in place a plann for your first 30 60 90 days as a hit of content and it was honestly I have to say it was one of my favorite episodes on the podcast so far no offense to all the other you know guests I’ve had but she was absolutely fantastic and I really appreciated talking to her but it got me thinking about managing EXP ations in your role as a as a head of content as a Content marketer even as a marketer and a lot of times you know this is probably relevant to a lot of different roles it’s really important to be managing expectations and so I got three quick thoughts this is going to be a short episode and that’s generally what we do on these about last week episodes we keep him short I’m just crossing the road again oh my gosh so my first thought around this in terms of managing expectations in your role whether you’ve just started or whether you have been around for a while is don’t be afraid to say no okay guys and I am speaking to myself here as much as I’m speaking to you because I’m pretty terrible at saying no to things and maybe it’s maybe it’s the creative in me I always want to do more and I want to give things a crack but at the end of the day you’re human and you can only do so much and a big part of managing expectations is saying no and I think specifically when it comes to marketing and content marketing which can sometimes be seen as a bit of a you know bit a bit of a magical thing L people don’t understand the reality behind the results you’re going to see and whether that’s SEO or social media or whatever there’s sometimes this kind of magical approach to like hey we’ll just get you in you start publishing stuff and then we’re going to take over the world and just managing expectations around that being able to say no to things that don’t make sense and then might get thrown on your plate is really really important so I’ve always found in my roles when I’ve first joined as I’ve continued into them a lot of people have ideas on what you should be doing and welcome to marketing if you’ve been in marketing any link to time it’s one of those jobs where you are constantly given feedback by people who are not marketers and feedback is great don’t get me wrong I probably need to get better at taking it and being more receptive to it at times but why does everyone feel like they know how to do marketing I don’t go around pretending I know how to do Finance or know how to build a product hey that’s a whole another story am I salty on that maybe a little bit I’m working through it okay guys being vulnerable here today on the podcast but marketing tends to be one of those one of those roles where everyone feels like they know how to do it it seems simple enough but is it really so you’ll have a lot of ideas coming coming your way and being able to say no is so important but say no and manage expectations in a smart way right open a discussion ask questions back you know someone has an idea says hey we should be doing this we should be doing this ask them hey why do you think we should be doing that what’s that going to drive what’s that going to bring Etc open a discussion and hopefully your know will make a lot more sense when you finally need to deliver us so number one managing expectations I think is so important is saying no and being able to say no maybe there’s some fantastic ideas but it just comes down to time and what you can actually deliver in the time that you have I’ve just walked up some little stairs onto a sort of looks like a patonk area SL statue you’ve got here a beautiful Olive Tree you see these all over the place and if we continued up that hill you would be going into What’s called the Alp which is these unbelievably beautiful Hills that I’ve often cycled in and we van or Van van as our Dutch friends would say and we should all probably be saying it that way because he was Dutch painted a bunch of his paintings and actually also checked himself into a mental Asylum just up the hill there that’s for free I’m going to have a quick seat here and just sit here and uh talk you through the next Point around managing expectations and that is to under promise and overd deliver okay you heard this a lot I’m sure you’ve heard it but practically I think it’s really really important and again something I’ve struggled with because you get into a new job or you know you’ve done a year and you want to go to a new level and you want to be pushing yourself and so my content plans and my marketing plans that I usually create tend to be one thing incredibly ambitious I’ll be honest there and you need those people in your life you need those managers you need those colleagues you need those friends who will say hey mate this is a bit over the top you don’t need to actually be trying to do all this stuff and you in reality won’t be able to do all this stuff and you know that’s a tough thing to hear a lot of times I I don’t like to hear that I want to give everything AG go but being realistic about that and managing expectations is is really really important so practically under promise overd deliver what if I for example switched my natural motor operandi on its head and were to say hey here’s the three four five things we’re going to do this year I’m going to do them really well and surprise maybe at the end of the year I will have done 678 and overd deliver on your promise rather than pushing yourself from the very beginning to deliver on all these things and doing them probably not to the best of your ability and actually maybe not quite reaching the mark you set out and you communicate on from the start and what I’ve often found in this you know when you think about this is the fact that actually your company your uplines your managers the CEO may not EXP expect you to do quite as much as you want to be doing and that’s actually a fantastic kind of pressure valve you can release you don’t actually have have to a lot of times be doing quite as much as you think you need to be doing and other people don’t potentially expect quite as much of you as you do of yourself that’s definitely true of myself and my personality you may have a slightly different personality but I think just clear Communication in that is so important because you might think this is what they expect but actually you can you know you can just bring it down a little bit and then overd deliver on what on what they were actually expecting so maybe just ask them hey what do you expect in my first year my first six months my first quarter and then actually work from there okay and the third Point Let’s Get on the walk again to cover the third Point going to head back down into s r i didn’t mention earlier but I’ve actually got an office now in s I’m as you know I’m a freelancer but it’s really nice to get out of the house and I work at a very small office space here in s above the cafe which we love and it’s just been awesome love this town if you haven’t visited it I do encourage you it comes to life at this time of year there’s so many more tourists and it’s just a fantastic place to be my third point on this about last week episode it’s a short one hope it’s helpful around managing expectations as a Content marketer as a marketer is have a plan and I think speaking to Anise last week she was quite new to her role as a head of content at one team in reram she had this absolutely spot on I think one of the coolest things I heard from her in that episode do check it out if you haven’t already is the sense that she came with a plan to the role she came with ideas around a 30 60 90day plan and didn’t just wait for the company or her manager to outline what might be needed sure that was a collaborative process then to kind of work through their thoughts their feedback but she came with an initial idea and I absolutely love that and I think in terms of managing expectations it’s always an easier conversation if you front foot that plan and bring something to the table because then not only do you show proactivity but you kind of run the conversation a little bit more you kind of have have the momentum in the conversation to say actually I know what I’m doing I know what my role entails I I have ideas around what we should be doing and therefore I can manage expectations from a more proactive place rather than just waiting for you to tell me what you think I should be doing I think that’s absolutely crucial and something that an stood so well so that’s really my three thoughts today around managing expectations and your role don’t be afraid to say no to stuff under promise overd deliver and have a plan and own your plan really important if you get those three right you’re managing expectations you’re keeping the uplines happy you you’re you’re working in a way that’s actually sustainable and realistic for you while being able to give yourself room to overd deliver and do a good job hope you’ve enjoyed this episode always do love to hear from you so if you have any thoughts on this content on the content of today’s episode or any questions feel free to email me I’d love I’d love to get some emails going one onone onetoone conversation my email is Joe contentmarketing commute or you can just reach out to me on LinkedIn I’m literally always on LinkedIn you’ll see the Green Dot there it’s always there so yeah would love to hear from you if you haven’t done it already do subscribe let a friend know about the podcast and yeah it’s time for me to get some lunch see you guys later bye-bye [Music] oh