Inbound

I had the incredible opportunity to attend Hubspot’s Inbound 2017 event last September and was truly blown away. This event was attended by 21,000 people and included roughly 300 sessions relating to marketing, sales, leadership, business development, and so much more. There really was something for everyone. Upon return, I told my supervisor that we easily could’ve sent five people to the conference and each person would have come back inspired and equipped with different tools and strategies to better themselves and the company.

Not only are the session topics versatile, but so is the Inbound experience. There are lots of opportunities for networking and entertainment, but you can also strictly attend classes if that’s what you want.

Before Inbound, I found myself stuck in a bit of a marketing rut. After attending, I left inspired and ready to take our social media marketing to the next level. I’ve attended social media marketing sessions at various conferences in the past but often left feeling like I hadn’t really learned much.  That was not the case at Inbound.

Do Better, Not More

My personal favorite session was by Scott Meyer of 9Clouds. For me, this session alone was worth the cost of my ticket. The main theme of Scott’s session was, “do better, not more.”

Around 2015, 9Clouds decided to “stop doing everything for everyone.” They found their niche, digital marketing for the automotive industry. Once they found the niche, they worked at mastering the industry. The two ways they found most effective were through discovery and translation. Their chosen method of discovery was to conduct a large-scale research report, relative to their chosen niche. To 9Clouds, translation meant sharing their findings through a video course.

Through finding their niche, conducting a research report, and creating video course, 9Clouds was able to reduce the number of blog posts and other content they create, reduce the number of clients they managed (because of niching), all while significantly increasing annual revenue.

Slide taken from Scott’s 2017 Inbound presentation

I’m excited to work pieces of 9Clouds strategy into our own marketing strategy here at ANS.

Conclusion

If you work in marketing, sales, or hold a leadership position, Inbound is definitely worthy of your consideration whether you are a Hubspot customer or not. For a taste of what it’s like to attend an actual session, check out the Inbound content library.

All-Access tickets to the 2018 event are on sale now.

Updated 4/24/2018