Top Takeaways and Lessons from Inbound15
As an #Inbound15 newbie, I had no idea what I was in for. But the conference, that went from September 8-11th this year in Boston, was both exhausting and exhilarating. HubSpot’s annual conference drew in over 14,000 marketers who gathered to network and attend educational sessions in the hopes of furthering their career and inbound marketing knowledge. Keynote speakers ranged from Seth Godin and Brene Brown to Aziz Ansari and Marc Maron. Amy Schumer was the main event at Inbound Rocks and nailed it (of course).
There were definitely some overarching themes at this year’s Inbound conference. Some expected, some not. Women’s empowerment and personal growth was a welcome theme for most attending the conference. While the latest and greatest in inbound marketing was also highly sought after. After or in between sessions, marketers could network and connect with other professionals while sipping on Dunkin Donuts or grabbing a cocktail at Club Inbound. Various Vendors sprinkled the main floor of Club Inbound and free goodies were up for grabs everywhere. The opportunities that this conference brings to the table are endless.
The AdVision crew got together, once we returned to reality, and put together our top takeaways and greatest memories from #Inbound 2015.
1. Be Human
People can see right through your sales tactics. Speak to them like you would a friend or acquaintance and you will see leads and customers roll in. People want to be treated like people and are getting smarter about avoiding annoying sales pitches. Follow the golden rule here, “Market to others as you would like to be marketed to”.
2. Grow professionally, but don’t ignore personal growth
Striving to grow in your career is an extremely admirable trait. But don’t neglect your personal growth. At the end of the day, you only have one life and a work and personal life go hand in hand. Grow in one area and you are bound to grow in the other. Brene Brown’s talk on vulnerability and the stories we tell ourselves was a great way to take a step back and reflect on how we interact with people in our daily lives. Learning to better understand people always leads to better business.
3. Never settle for “good enough”
Whether it be content, design or any other aspect of your work, good enough will never cut it. Clients expect more, your employer expects more and you should expect more from yourself. No one ever did anything great by doing the bare minimum. At AdVision we are always striving to do things better and continually learning new tricks of the trade. To us this ties in perfectly with one of our core values, “Be ahead of the curve”.
4. Take Risks and Have Fun
Not only is it great getting to know thousands of marketers from around the world, but great getting to know your own team better as well. Spending all day and night together let’s you get a deeper insight to who your co-workers are as people and therefore leads to a deeper team bond. This goes a long way in the workplace. From respect to having greater compassion and understanding of the people around you comes better ideas and better campaigns. This leads into taking risks as well. Is there a standard in your industry that you think just isn’t cutting it anymore? Be the one to change that. Innovation is key to being successful in the future.
5. Networking is still one of the best things for your career & your business
The Inbound community is unlike any other. The movement is still very new and there is a sense that we are all in this together. The highs and lows are all worth it as we all try to navigate this new and daring field and forward way of thinking. We all want to change marketing and the world for the better. Meeting like minded people only strengthens the purpose that each of us carry with us daily.
