What I Learned at INBOUND 2016

Justin P Lambert 11/15/16

Or… How to finally hear the words, “content”, “strategy”, and “HubSpot” so much even we’re sick of them.

Overview1.Conversion Optimization2.HubSpot

Announcements3.Public Speaking4.Inbound Sales

Conversion Optimization

Takeaways:

Impact Branding and DesignDiamond HS Partner. Fantastic home page flow. Daily blog that actually gets results. Who we want to be.

Talk based on 18-month testThey A/B tested the hell out of their blog and the results were in the talk (131% more conversions, doubled traffic) and the subsequent service they now offer.

Takeaways:

Blog optimization / Ramp-up campaignWorked or them and now they offer it as a loss-leader to bring on new clients: guaranteed results w/out even writing a single piece of content.

We could do the same:Continual iterative improvement

New service offering

Improve/extend client onboarding

HubSpot Announcements

Takeaways:

Video is a requirementUsed to be a “nice to have” now it’s required to get and keep attention.

Paid Social/Discovery/DistributionOn mobile, it’s the only thing you first see in search results.

Messaging AppsMore members, more time spent on Slack, Messenger, What’sApp than social.

Takeaways:

Search is changingGoogle SEO rank is still important, but not nearly as much of a guarantee as it was a few years ago:

How we search (mobile, voice); Where we search (Google for generic, Facebook for people, Amazon for products, etc.); When we search (demanding instant gratification all day every day)

Create content for mass consumptionText, audio, video, snippets fit for various platforms/formats

Takeaways:We should consider:

Creating a SPROUT podcast - everyone records themselves reading their blog posts; interviews and

Q&A sessions; longer “specials” based around our lead gen downloads.

Expanding the SPROUT YouTube channel - all the same as above.

Learn about, experiment with paid - discovery, ads, and other creative content distribution options for us,

then offer to clients.

Brainstorm on how to integrate messaging apps into our/clients’ marketing plans. ????

Public Speaking

Takeaways:

Digital content is impossible very tough to differentiateEveryone’s doing it, everyone’s getting better at it…

Speaking/Live events are the last frontierConsistently listed among “most effective” and “least utilized” content marketing tactics, so relatively low competition and high impact.

Takeaways:

“Selling from the stage” is a big no-no...Any time your audience feels like they’re getting a sales presentation, they tune out, hurts your reputation.

but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.Requires strategic planning and presentation of the material.

Recommended reading

Inbound Sales

Takeaways:

The “Buy Button”Everyone has one. It resides deep in the brain, right next to the “fight or flight” toggle switch.

Prospects need to feel safeThat’s the basis of the KNOW-LIKE-TRUST mantra. Your content is the only thing you can control in trying to offer safety.

Takeaways:

Prospects also need to feel acute painYou can’t/shouldn’t cause it, but you need to anticipate it, understand it, and offer all the info they need to relieve it. And it helps to make them aware of it, name it. Content is the only cure available until they feel safe.

Map the sales processThis is the only way to successfully hit their “buy button”. Must map the sales process (every one if there’s more than one) and map effective content to every step, no matter how many, how confusing.

Action Items

TESTING

Follow Impact’s plan to optimize/test our own blog.

OPTIMIZING

Make improvements to our own content based on testing.

EXPLORE

Get out of our comfort zone: video, podcasting, paid options...

SALES

All of us work more closely with Chris on mapping and filling the sales process w/content.

EXPAND

Take all we learn and translate for clients: expand services. Add more value.

Other Cool Stuff

1.Video - brief, mobile phone quality, packing value

2.Paid Distribution - most effective, least utilized (survey from today)

Influencer - We’re ahead of the curve and that’s awesome.