INBOUND 2021: Top Takeaways and Sessions to Revisit
Stratagon’s INBOUND 2021 Experience
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Now picture this with us:
It’s fall of 2021. Screens all around our offices are streaming one single site. It’s so quiet you can hear a pin drop if you aren’t wearing your AirPods (or headphones of choice). The only sound is the click-clack of keyboards as everyone types notes at record speed while topic discussions zoom through the air between the High Point and Charlotte offices.
‘Tis the season of HubSpot’s INBOUND conference, and the Stratagon team is all in.
Honestly, we geeked out over last month’s INBOUND conference, and since we’re OG INBOUND-goers (and we’ve got blogs dating back to 2014 to prove it), we’re INBOUND and HubSpot superfans, and we don’t care who knows it.
Our team loves HubSpot’s INBOUND conference and counts down the days every year. Even though this year was virtual, it didn’t disappoint! We love to notice the topics that get the most discussion – there’s so much golden information packed into three days, leaving us talking about those stand-out sessions for weeks to come.
Although we’re still a little bummed that we haven’t been able to make the trek to Boston for the past two years, INBOUND always finds a way to bring marketers together from around the world.
Here’s hoping for in-person adventures sometime in the future! 🥂
From the personalized avatars with headshots to the interactive sessions and opportunities to connect with other professionals, we loved the attention to detail that the INBOUND team brought for this virtual experience.
Here’s what it was like for our teams based in High Point and Charlotte, NC:
Hot Topics at INBOUND 2021
Some topics were more prevalent than others at INBOUND, and it’s worth noting those as a reflection of the trends and landscape of marketing in the current year. We’re here to give you the highlights of those hot topics for 2021 so that you can get a head start on strategies for 2022!
Topics to Watch:
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
ABM is one of the hottest marketing trends this year. Although it’s been around for a while, it’s gaining momentum due to its effectiveness in the B2B space. INBOUND sessions walked us through the tactics and strategies of account-based marketing, how to drive growth using ABM, and how HubSpot data fuels those campaigns.
Check out our ABM resource guide if you’re interested in learning more.
- Email Marketing
There were two notable debates at INBOUND in the world of email marketing: the debate of whether the word “free” in subject lines gets emails marked as spam, and the debate over which is more important – subject lines or content.
Email tactics are ever evolving, so it stays relevant in the minds of marketers – make sure you stay on top of what’s effective!
- Search Engine Optimization
Multiple sessions addressed SEO this year, ranging from the best strategies for purpose-driven SEO to a debate involving the topic of content creation for SEO.
If you want to become more familiar with this topic, check out HubSpot’s 2021 SEO guide.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
As companies are becoming more aware of the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion, there’s a lot of conversation around it. INBOUND hosted multiple discussions led by speakers from underrepresented communities to share what it really means to be inclusive to all.
We loved Cynt Marshall’s insight: “Lead by intent, insight, inclusion, and inspiration.”
Our Top 5 INBOUND Session Recommendations to Watch On-Demand
While there were many valuable sessions this year, we’ve compiled a list of our top 5 that you don’t want to miss! (Catch them on demand; it’s not too late!)
- “No More Cookie Cutter Marketing” with Alex Moore
This first recommendation is a shameless plug, but not a biased one. HubSpot kicked off the conference right with our very own senior partner, Alex Moore. He addressed the changes coming to the world of cookies in 2022 and offered guidance in navigating the changing landscape like a pro.
His biggest tip? Don’t wait - start preparing now by building first-party data and investing in the right tools to propel you forward.
- “Email Myths Busted! What’s REALLY Working Now!” with Jay Schwedelson
Can we just talk about how much we love Jay for a minute? He has the best energy. This year, he dove into the ins and outs of email marketing with useful tips to craft subject lines for higher open rates, specific to what’s working THIS year. Spoiler alert – he’s team “‘free’ in the subject line does not get marked as spam”!
Think you have all the tricks up your sleeve? Check out what Jay had to say and be ready to get your myths busted.
- “The Work You Don’t See: How Operations Professionals Fight the Fires, Clean the Data, and Work to Keep Things Running” with Lindsay Rothlisberger
This session from Zapier is a great listen for your whole team. Lindsay walked us through practical and valuable operations practices that impact organizational growth. This is a session for which you’ll want to have your notebook ready.
Get ready to learn how to automate and build an operations roadmap for your teams.
- “Killer SEO Strategies Through Product Design Methodology” with Tony Verre
In this session, Tony shared tips and strategies for developing a content experience that enhances your site’s SEO + SERP rank. Our favorite part of the session was on trigger mapping as Tony talked about the importance of the 5 Why’s.
Our team has adopted this method to make problems and solutions easier to get your head around. Basically, just ask yourself ‘why’ five times!
- “Inclusivity is Not Exclusive” with Judith Heumann
Judith is a disability rights activist and author. In this insightful discussion, she advocates for the inclusion of disabled voices as companies work to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusivity in the workplace.
Listen to her share what it truly means to be inclusive of disabled employees and consider them as an important community in your efforts toward consideration of all people.
Let’s Recap
HubSpot’s INBOUND conference is a great chance to lift your head up from the day-to-day slump and get a well-rounded refresh on the current marketing landscape. We recapped our favs, but there’s way more to discover On-Demand, like the HubSpot Spotlight, and of course the closing talk featuring Oprah Winfrey.
Our team is still talking about what we learned, and we’re already looking forward to next year – hopefully in-person in Boston!
