Reminded & Inspired: The 5 Most Valuable Takeaways from #INBOUND15

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So it’s been a solid two weeks since we left Boston after attending the annual HubSpot marketing conference, “INBOUND.” We are still coming down from our excitement and balancing our normal routine with the injection of SO many new ideas and strategies learned during the show. Seeing some of our favorite marketing legends speak (uh, can you say Seth Godin, Daniel Pink, Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah!!!) gave us the opportunity to ferociously inhale a crazy amount of knowledge and inspiration. And you don’t come down easy from that kind of experience!

For four, long days, we shuffled through the maze that was the Boston Convention & Exhibiton Center, hopping from room to room, speech to speech and an occasional (or maybe not so occasional) beer to beer. Oh, and not to mention, I was joined by an army of over 14,000 other marketers and sales professionals. Talk about an inbound movement! Everything I experienced was super exciting and informative as always, and what I walked away with could only be categorized as an endless mountain of notes. A mountain I am still climbing to sort through today.

The grandeur and power of the INBOUND was intensified by the opportunity to share the week in Boston with seven of my Stratus teammates and now that we’re back, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite moments and takeaways that we’d like to share. If you were in Boston with us, I’m sure you’ll relate to so many of these and if you weren’t able to make it this year, start planning for 2016! Next year the show is a bit later, November 8-11, and is already shaping up to be the most intense INBOUND conference ever seen!

Some INBOUND favorites:

Stop being lazy!

Best selling author and marketing maven, Seth Godin, kicked off the conference with a keynote challenging the audience to stop being lazy a*sholes and start owning up to their own work. Ok, so maybe those weren’t his actual words, but Seth gracefully explained that in today’s day and age, people need to stop seeking approval and clinging to authority and start taking responsibility.

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block. Rather your lizard brain doesn’t want you to take responsibility,” says Seth. He goes on to explain that most of us refrain from taking on a task because it’s not in our job descriptions or we might not be allowed to do it. His point is notably valid and one that everyone should acknowledge, “Waiting around for direction and not accepting the fact that you might fail will get you nowhere.”

Stratus takeaway:
Enough with the chicken-shit mentality. Speak up in meetings, take on more responsibility, attempt a task that seems impossible, put yourself out there for Pete’s sake. The worst that can happen is failure. Big deal. And stop looking for constant reassurance. The less reassurance you get, the more important the work probably is.

Explore the power of vulnerability

Brene Brown, American scholar, author and public speaker, conducted a brilliant keynote (one of our personal favorites) exploring the power of vulnerability. “Vulnerability is the willingness to show up and be seen when you have no control over the outcome,” claimed Brene. She later mentioned that vulnerability is the only path to your dreams.

Brene spoke at length about the relationship between confidence and being vulnerable. We are all emotional and that is nothing to be ashamed of. For example, your favorite coworker blows you off and thoughts immediately swarm in your head, “I knew it, I knew she didn’t really like me.” In reality, that coworker probably just has a lot going on right now, and her blowing you off probably had absolutely nothing to do with you. It’s in our nature to fill in the blanks with insecurities. So, check your emotions before they overtake you!

Stratus takeaway:

If you live a brave life, you will get hurt every now and then, but dare greatly, especially when it feels the least comfortable (and that’s often in your professional role!) Be honest about what failure really feels like, build relationships with people who empower you to be transparent, and leverage vulnerability to turn success AND failures into lessons learned.

Inbound is rapidly growing

Remember when I mentioned that there were over 14,000 marketing and sales professionals in attendance a few paragraphs ago? What I didn’t mention was that this number was up a whopping 40% from last year’s attendance. More and more companies are enthusiastically adopting the inbound methodology and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the growth of this inspirational community of like-minded marketers!

Stratus tip:
If you aren’t incorporating inbound marketing in your approach to attract new prospects and convert new customers and close the loop between marketing and sales, you’re falling behind a sea of companies who are. Don’t be that guy.

Social is the best way to get content out, but are you worth it?

I must say, we were pretty big fans of writer/marketer, Sonia Simone’s speech, where she boldly asserts that, “social is THE best way to get word out about your content.” She later goes on to discuss that social has undeniably become a preferred channel for promoting content, even overtaking search as the main way that people find your brand. However, she makes a good point when she suggests that in order for you to promote your brand and expect to see results, your content needs to be worth it. The amount of information that can be found on the Internet is simply overwhelming. There’s really no other way to put it. No one has the time, or attention span to read it, nor do they owe it to your brand.

Stratus tip:
Follow industry leaders on social media that produce “worthy” content, share that content on your platforms, respond to prospects and ask how you can help them. Write content that answers the pains of your buyer personas and share it often to gain their attention and trust. Most importantly, promote and sell a relationship, not a product to a potential buyer.

Don’t underestimate the value of well crafted content

As a writer, I spend a lot of time creating content for Stratus’ clients. At #INBOUND15, a few speakers acknowledged that many people in this industry often don’t admit content creation can be difficult, exhausting and frustrating.There is a ton of truth to this perspective, so it was super encouraging to hear so many speakers stress the importance of creating high quality, valuable content when it comes to marketing a business successfully. Jason Falls, SVP of Elasticity, put it perfectly when he said, “Without content, you do not exist.” In order to reach prospects successfully, businesses don’t just need content that will connect with the targeted audience effectively,ultimately, they may eventually become extinct without it.

Stratus tip:
Even though content marketing can be immensely challenging, time consuming, and a never ending imperative, the importance of engaging with consumers by creating valuable content cannot be overstated, overlooked, or overshadowed by other priorities. And for all of us in the trenches of content creation….march on my friends! This is fight worth fighting.

Oh yeah, and one more thing- never stop having fun!!!!

If ever there was a company who values fun, laughter and camaraderie as much as we do at Stratus Interactive, it's HubSpot! No seriously, it's really kind of impossible to be around the HubSpot crew without having a blast. For Pete's sake, they had Amy Schumer as the headlining entertainment act at INBOUND this year. Like, pee in your pants, can't catch your breath, oh my God no she freaking didn't even just say that Amy Schumer. Yep, talk about a good time had by all! Or what about HubSpot placing a super sick DJ smack in the center of the exhibit floor blasting insanely head-boppy tunes from morning til nite every single day- it wasn't hard to catch people head-bobbing and singing to themselves as they walked from booth to booth. INBOUND = FUN people!!! Oh, and I can't forget to mention the VIP Partner Party at Legal Harborside. The HubSpot team treated a generous handful of Partner agencies (including us!!) to a succulent spread of seafood delicacies, silly photo booth fun and nonstop smiles all night long. My key takeaway from that night......??? Brian Halligan is a Master photobooth choreographer- his uncanny ability to expertly direct a 3 second photo shoot is slightly scary but oh so impressive. Bravo Brian- thanks for the memories!

And there you have it! Of course, I could probably write a book with the amount of valuable information we all took home from INBOUND, but hopefully these 5 takeaways and leave you feeling inspired to join us at INBOUND 2016!

HubSpot’s INBOUND always seems to bring a breath of fresh air to my outlook on the industry and also my role in the growing inbound marketing ecosystem, and this year was no different. Marketers can’t help but leave feeling so totally stoked to go home and create even more remarkable marketing. I can personally say it’s hard not to walk away without a pep in my step and a fire to be a better marketer.

Have questions? Want to learn more about #INBOUND15? Drop a line!