Insights From #Inbound15 We Brought Back From Boston – Part 1
Tyler and I went to Boston to learn more about inbound marketing from the creator, HubSpot, at their premiere event: #Inbound15.
It was fun. See above.
But it wasn’t all fun and games (Red Sox won), rooftop parties (there were several), and free food and drinks (Harpoon IPA’s and meat kabobs).
Hey #HumansofINBOUND, let’s send some love toward @oliverlopez and @emsve: they’re ENGAGED! #INBOUND15
I mean, there was a marriage proposal there!
HubSpot is not joking around when they say that “It’s not a conference. It’s a movement.”
The attendance certainly suggests that, but the fact is that inbound marketing is a fundamental shift in way that marketing companies are doing business. If you’re new to the concept, be sure to check out this SlideShare, which is probably the best and most succinct explanation.
If the point of the conference is to get better at inbound marketing, how do you go about that? By attending sessions and keynotes, of course!
I have handpicked two of my favorites each and provided links to the decks and some personalized notes. If you’re interested in seeing the entire list of decks, check out the Inbound 2015 group over at Inbound.org or inbound.com for the current list.
And now, for the insights!
Technical Marketing is the Price of Admission
Outstanding talk from Michael King of iPullRank on the growing need for marketers to adopt technology, namely JavaScript.
Just like the stock market in 2010, when computers took over trading, and if you had a faster computer you could buy a stock right when someone showed intent and then sell it back to him for more money, digital marketing is succumbing to the creative minds of technologists.
But if you don’t understand the tech behind the scenes, how are you supposed to come up with creative solutions?
Here’s the quote of the day:
“If you’re a marketer who’s not willing to learn technology (code), another marketer is going to eat your lunch.”
Excellent presentation—the perfect combination of practical takeaways and inspiration.
Hat’s off to you, Mike King. Here’s the link to the slides of Technical Marketing is the Price of Admission.
Design for Action – A Blueprint for Content Marketing at #Inbound15
While the slides for this presentation have not been uploaded yet, it’s worth a mention because of the actionable takeaways for content marketers.
We’ve all done it—you produce a piece of content, it looks great and sounds great, but something is off. It doesn’t punch you in the balls and cause you to say “Ouch!” Instead, your audience reads it, say’s “Meh,” and clicks on the next thing on the Internet.
Bummer, especially if you’re in the business of driving action, whether clicks, ecommerce, Likes, etc.
So what is similar about content that DOES get people to act?
Well, it’s presented to the reader in a context and flow that inspires, reassures, and then crescendos into an action.
Tamsen Webster from Oratium calls this KNOW -> BELIEVE -> DO.
This Ted Talk about hand drying is a perfect example.
Why is it perfect? It was designed to inspire an action, (using just a single paper towel to dry your hands) and I stumbled across this video two years ago and have been washing my hands this was ever since!
As Marshawn Lynch would say, “I’m ‘bout that action, Boss.”
Learn the formula, use the formula. Worried about your writing sounding formulaic? Take Webster’s example: We all have skeletons, right? They’re all structured pretty much the same way, right? Have you ever met a person and said, “Wow, that guy looks formulaic.”
Didn’t think so.
Check out Tamsen’s slides from Design for Action – A Blueprint for Content Marketing at #Inbound15.
The #Inbound15 Hangover
Well, it’s back to real life. Client projects to be started, reports to be discussed, meetings to attend. But maybe we do it all with an extra pep in our step due to the knowledge and inspiration from #Inbound15.