seo

For the second straight year, Hubspot’s annual conference was virtual and…

Of course. We couldn’t miss it. 

INBOUND is a three day, in-person conference that brings together inbound marketing professionals from across the world. The conference includes informative sessions, activities, debates and HubSpot product updates. 

This year, sessions covered the full range of industry touchpoints, from content marketing, social media and email marketing to sales enablement and customer service topics designed to provide marketers with the latest, best-practices to bring back into the office and translate into even greater client success. 

And, as always, there were inspiration, provocative luminaries owning the stage and captivating our imaginations – like Afiya Addison, Spike Lee and Oprah Winfrey (Do we stan them all? Oh yeah we do!)  

As we all get set for the deep dive into 2022 planning, we want to share 10 of our most WOW takeaways from INBOUND 2021, along with some suggestions for how to turn that knowledge into action.

Presenter: Tony Verre, VP eCommerce, The Integer Group

Session: Killer SEO Strategies Through Product Design Methodology 

In his presentation, Killer SEO Strategies Through Product Design Methodology, Tony Verre, VP eCommerce, The Integer Group, highlighted the importance of focusing our content on the needs and pain points of our users – first and foremost – and not a particular word or phrase we think we need to ‘rank for’.

Today, more than ever, it’s important to provide a fast and intuitive experience to help users to accomplish their goals. Google’s latest round of algorithmic updates has further evolved the focus of SEO work from packing our content with keywords (and key-phrases) to a more holistic view of search intent, emphasizing context to provide more relevant answers to more complex queries. Therefore, the content we share must answer real questions and solve the needs and pain points of our audiences with clarity, providing expert and trustworthy information.

Google’s SEO practices and algorithms are constantly evolving. Therefore, it is extremely important to stay up-to-date with these changes and assume them strategically. Learn more about SEO practices here.

TIP: Consider your searcher’s needs. What kinds of information are your target personas searching on Google? Reveal their needs for inspiration, problem-solving information, and their ultimate goals – and you’ll have better insights to inform your SEO language. 

Presenter: Tyler Lessard, Chief Video Strategist, Vidyard

Session: How to Maximize Video in Sales

As the world goes all in on digital experiences, video content marketing is becoming increasingly popular for B2C and B2B companies.

By 2022, an estimated 82% of all online traffic will be video content.

However, there are still some barriers that limit a company’s ability to produce video content. One of the most pervasive speed bumps is the assumption that video production is expensive. Tyler Lessard, Chief Video Strategist at Vidyard, pushed back against this limiting assumption (and demystified several other, limiting ideas) in his presentation, How to Maximize Video In Sales. Filled with practical, applicable tips and resources for budding video content creators, he also made us more aware of the importance of being intentional when it comes to creating videos.

This session encouraged marketers to experiment with videos as a new way to continue evolving and connecting with customers. Here are few tactics he shared with the HubSpot audience:

• Write a storyboard that helps you organize your ideas.
• Draw attention to the most important takeaway within the first 3 seconds. 
• Address the problem and the need in the first 5 seconds.
• Design under the assumption that your video will be viewed on a mobile device.
• Use text to highlight key messages.

TIP:  Start where you are. Use what you have & never forget to close with a clear call to action.

Presenter: Chris Savage, Founder, CEO, Wistia & Colin Dinnie, Customer Happiness, Wistia

Session: Content Marketing Clash – Video v. Podcasting for Engagement

I am pretty sure we’ve all heard this, but like all great things, it bears repeating…

THINK ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE AND HOW YOU WANT TO CONNECT WITH THEM BEFORE YOU BEGIN WRITING/DESIGNING YOUR CONTENT.

With so many communication channels and the growing number of tools that each one offers, the process of choosing which platform and/or tool is the best choice for communicating your message has become more complex. There’s nothing more frustrating than spending hours creating content to “stay active” on our different platforms we use, without clear insight into whether our audience is even getting the message.

The most important goal of our online, social media experiences is creating an authentic, helpful and welcoming connection with our audiences, and to do that, we MUST be intentional about what we’re communicating and how on which channels 

TIP: Include your customer voice into your channels. You could begin creating videos that share customer experiences, and offering Frequently Asked Questions, with answers by existing clients.

Presenter: Courtney Sembler, Sr. Manager, HubSpot Academy & Steve Cornwell, Founder, CEO, Northpass

Session: Customer Education: A Must Have For Growth

Yes, you could keep writing and producing more content, but let’s be honest … it’s hard work. 

Don’t get me wrong … we need to create new content. It is the way to keep our audience informed of what is happening in the moment and create new ways of communicating your message. It’s also necessary that search engines continue to recognize your brand as authoritative and trustworthy, essential to the algorithms to serve up your content at the top of search. 

However, revisiting old content and updating it with new images, pull quotes from key partners and influencers, and updated stats, is a good way to take advantage of the value of your content. Refreshing, or evergreening, current content with updates with links to newer resources, improves the accuracy of your content, and therefore increases your SEO. You can also ask newly quoted or linked sources to share your content with their audiences – increasing your online authority and reach.

TIP: Make sure you have share buttons on the page. It’s a fact that posts with share buttons make content 7 times more shareable than content without them.

Presenter: Jay Schwedelson, Founder & CEO, SubjectLine.com, Worldata

Session: Email Myths Busted. What’s Really Working.

The global email marketing market share (say that 10x fast!) was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to increase to $17.9 billion by 2027.

A survey done by Statista in 2020 showed that for every U.S. dollar spent on email marketing, there was a return of $36 U.S. dollars. In industries like retail, ecommerce, and consumer goods sector, ROI was higher, with a $45 U.S. dollars return per dollar spent. 

While it might be considered old fashioned, email marketing is not dead. In fact, with so much changing about the social media landscape, email is enjoying a resurgence in popularity as a top tactic for digital marketers trying to make sure they’re reaching and engaging audiences. 

However, the email marketing landscape is evolving and Jay Schwedelson, Founder & CEO, SubjectLine.com, Worldata, explained it very clearly in his presentation Email Myths Busted. What’s really working. 

For instance, Jay Schwedelson believes that people are less impressed (and moved to take action) based on the word-smithing creativity in writing subject lines, and in many cases, this is not the reason why your emails are opened. Instead, the use of  characters () {} *, emojis, fake mistakes (oops, look what I did …), comparisons (podcast vs. video) and dots (I need …, I have a big question for you …) are the subject line tactics that can really increase your open rate.

Of course getting someone to open the email is the first, most important step in success with email marketing, but Schwedelson reminded the audience that the content of your email, the address from where it is sent, and the time it is sent, also matters. 

TIP: Add a theme and graphic design to your email subject line and test the change in open rates. 

Presenter: Courtney Sembler, Sr. Manager, HubSpot Academy & Steve Cornwell, Founder, CEO, Northpass

Session: Customer Education: A Must Have For Growth

While inbound marketing attracts potential customers, customer education helps to engage those who find you and are looking for good reasons to become customers.

In today’s hyper-competitive market, information is an extremely important asset. Sharing practical knowledge with current and future customers is one way to encourage better engagement with your brand and convert the curious into users of your product or service.

TIP: Think big about opportunities to educate your community – newbies and advocates alike. These can include: certifications as a way to increase product adoption, virtual webinars, live product launch training, brochures, and FAQs. Make the focus of your customer education strategy finding the best ways to make life easier and more productive.  

Presenter: Marcus Sheridan, Author, Professional Speaker, IMPACT

Session: Trusted Content: 7 Steps to Becoming the Most Trusted Voice in Your Space

Building trust. It doesn’t sound like an easy thing to do – and it shouldn’t be. 

Building trust with potential customers – and proving that trust was well earned with current customers – is a daily task, measured in both small actions and big decisions. When we ask customers or potential customers to invest with us, we should have earned their trust and they should be excited to engage with us and our products or services.

When it comes to customer trust, both the quantity and quality of our actions and interactions are important. Every action counts. Each action should feel personal  and reassure the prospect or customer that they can expect consistency and responsiveness from us at every touchpoint.

To make your audience feel comfortable is it important to:

–       Show yourself as you are

–       Show them that you are not biased in your content 

–       Be unafraid to address any negatives, if necessary

At the end of the day, there is a human looking for real connection behind every buying decision.  

TIP:  Show your audience you care about them.

Presenter: Adriano Brito, Sr. Business System Analyst, Rock Content & João Dobbin, Sr. Manager, Business Operations, Rock

Session: How Using a Full CRM Enables Teams and Drives Revenue Growth 

Many of us think ‘software program’ when we hear this acronym, which stands for Customer Relationship Management. And it’s true. CRMs are indeed software tools, but they’re so much more.  

An effective CRM depends on not just fancy coding, it’s tied to a set of strategies and processes that manage your company’s interactions with customers and prospects.

When we have a good customer relationship management strategy, we have access to information about customers, potential customers and suppliers. Therefore, we can identify weak points to improve processes, sell more and build customer loyalty with a long-lasting lifecycle.

TIP: Review your CRM strategy from time to time. Review your goals and define which methods best suit them.

Presenter: Carly Potock, Co-Founder, CEO, Canvas+Co & Charlene Tassinari, Co-Founder, CEO, Canvas+Co

Session: Creativity Thrives in Constraint: How Successful Brands Create Video Content 

Just as you read it. No tricks or magic acts. The effectiveness of any strategy depends on how we leverage creative components, including visual and audio assets. 

It is a fact that nearly 50% of any campaign’s effectiveness is driven by creative. However, spectacular creative that attracts attention in a big way won’t deliver success all by itself. Rather, leveraging this ‘wow-factor’ creative while presenting a solution to a real pain point – as part of a deeply satisfying user experience – that’s what drives real campaign success.

TIP: Look for an experience that can be improved in your product/service. Solve it creatively, and don’t forget to address your audience’s pain points.

Presenter: Shana Sumers, Head of DI&B, Community Programs, HubSpot

Session: Community Building With Customers

Modern customers want you to build a relationship. They want to feel that you are investing in their personal success and that your goals are aligned with their goals.

The task of establishing traction and growing a brand community can seem exhausting – especially on today’s crowded social media stage. However, customers are better informed than ever -and have higher expectations. Chief among these higher expectations is the idea that companies should care about more than just generating profits. 

The reality that customers see themselves reflected in a brand, and are invited into a brand-hosted space to learn and grow together –  is no longer something considered as ‘added value’ in a brand’s offer, but a must.

TIP: Provide valuable experiences. 

The bottom line: the future of digital marketing success belongs to those who strive to improve their relationship with their audiences and adapt to changes.

Companies that see change as an opportunity for innovation are the ones that will chart the way for the future of marketing. INBOUND 2021 left us with a lot of valuable information and takeaways that we are already putting into action.

Meanwhile, the ultraviolet team is here to provide you the most up-to-date marketing techniques to maximize your investment. Contact us and let’s start working on your 2022 marketing plan for growth.