It was a little bit strange not waking up in Boston on Monday morning. With its busy streets and collection of new and old architecture, what isn’t to love about the city?
Inbound 2014 was fabulous. Between networking with other partners and collaborating with users, the sessions were insightful and valuable. HubSpot employees (as always) were eager to please and eager to help. It was nice to finally put a face to a name or a voice that we had communicated with during the past year.
Each speaker had something different to offer. Guy Kawasaki delivered a wonderful opening keynote that featured some great quotes and one-liners about developing your business and the value of marketing. Malcolm Gladwell was inspirational and confirmed our investment of time and money into the idea of inbound marketing. Martha Stewart was quirky, frank and had a contagiously confident energy that had us laughing and slurping down her “green machine” smoothie that she made right on stage, which she then offered to all 10,000 Inbound attendees and partners. I could go on and on about other speakers, specific sessions, and entertainment, but if you want a recap then check out this little slide show.
I will, though, share with you a few tidbits that I picked at #INBOUND14. I, for one, will make sure to take this in to consideration for next years conference!
- Fill out your agenda. So the only tiny complaint I had was that some of the sessions that I wanted to attend (that I was very excited for) filled up too quickly (a couple filled 20 min before they started!) and were full. There were a few encore sessions that were held the next day. Make sure you make your schedule early (something I did not do) so that HubSpot has a fair chance at making sure ahead of time that the most popular sessions have the largest meeting space.
- An external battery is a must. My phone battery got a huge workout. Next time I will probably bring my iPad just to manage our social media accounts. I mean – what do you expect? It’s an inbound marketing conference and there were major incentives to staying on top of your Twitter (especially). Make sure if you are planning to go next year that you bring an external battery with you! You will need it.
- Go to sessions – even if they seem elementary. There were some sessions that I thought would be just a little refresher, but you have got to listen because you may learn something that builds upon what you already know! For example, I went to a Twitter session put on by @TwitterSmallBiz and I learned something new that I tried on the spot. They suggested running mini Twitter campaigns with 3-4 tweets that you publish intermittently throughout the day with the final tweet including a call to action. It was something so simple that gave me a whole different strategy and outlook on Twitter that I don’t think I would have gained without attending the session.
So what?
#INBOUND14 was awesome and we can’t wait to go back next year. HubSpot’s customer base is rapidly growing and we are more excited than ever to be customers and partners. If you have any questions about Inbound 2014, or just HubSpot in general, then give us a call, send us an email, or tweet @Stratagoninc.
Inbound Marketing is awesome. Are you doing it right?
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