The Brafton team was busy this week talking content, meeting fellow marketers and gaining strategy inspiration at Hubspot’s annual Inbound conference in Boston.
Here’s just a few of our favorite lessons from Inbound.
Sales teams are part of inbound marketing
“I really enjoyed Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah’s Keynote.
Executives from Google and LinkedIn were brought on stage and discussed the evolution of marketing and the impact that strong personal and professional network has on inbound sales.
They also brought light to the very simple and powerful message that we need to ‘Market unto others as they would market unto you.'”
– Business Development Executive Sergey Pisarevskiy
Personality pays off
– Senior Social Media Executive Alex Lane
Data should drive decisions, but shouldn’t stymie progress
“If content is King, data is the Prince.”
– Social Media Promotions Manager David McKellar
Be genuine: No one wants to be sold
“I think the most interesting / coolest thing I learned was definitely from Brené Brown’s Keynote on how improve communication both personally and professionally. She gave a lot of sound advice and insights on the benefits of being vulnerable and how it’s directly linked to bravery.”
– Business Development Executive Michelle Joseph
Paid social is a pathway to brand building
– Senior Social Media Executive Alex Lane
Good storytelling is the root of success
“I found @jalicedev gave a really fun talk about how sports talk radio made her better at her job. It sounded silly at first, but it was actually really cool. The flow of conversation and the fluidity and economy of words broadcasters need to use when discussing sports is similar to crafting a good story for web content. Also, it was a good reminder on presentation for consultants: Radio stars have qualities similar to the way we hope to sound on a call. Ums are dumb and confidence is audible.”
– Social Media Promotions Manager David McKellar
Stay curious to be consistent (not redundant)
“I found one of the most common themes that kept popping up was ‘quality.’ Not just in the way content is written, but in the value that it provides for our clients and their customers.
It’s no secret that the internet is filled to the brim with content, and simply tossing more into the void is not going to connect with anyone.
We have a rare opportunity to connect, empower, and engage with people in an amazing way. We need to keep our message fresh, and to quote Marc Maron, ‘There’s a fine line between consistent and redundant.'”
– Senior Content Marketing Strategist Mark Griffith
Your site should offer good service
“The primary focus should be user value. Understand activity on your site, and this trickles into content.”
– Senior Content Marketing Strategist Colleen Grogan
Your prospects are people
“The biggest things I learned actually speak to respect and proper behavior. Don’t judge a person by 140 characters, and remember: technology has changed the way we interact, and not necessarily for the better.”
– Content Marketing Strategist Dave Behuniak
Humor is good… Maybe SMS marketing is not as good (jk)*
*91% of consumers who’ve opted in to receive SMS find brands’ texts useful.
Did we miss something you thought was an invaluable #Inbound15 insight? Share in the comments – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
