Build & Grow Your Business with These 3 Sessions from INBOUND 2022

In case you missed INBOUND this year or couldn’t take notes of your own, don’t worry—we’ve got you! Our INBOUND 2022 recap blog series is back for the second year in a row, and it has all the juicy information that you missed.

INBOUND’s sessions were divided into six different sections this year:

• Build your business
• Build your CRM
• Build your curiosity
• Build your workplace
• Build your purpose
• Build your community

Today’s article is all about building your business. We compiled information from the sessions we believe will have an impact on today’s businesses as they grow and scale. 

Note: Powerhouse Pass attendees have access to the INBOUND 2022 virtual event platform for one year from today to rewatch any session on demand.

What's Next: How to Spot Business Trends (That Matter)

Presentation by:
Ethan Brooks
Hubspot, Sr. Marketing Manager

Watch the on-demand recording of the session (note that you must have an INBOUND 2022 Powerhouse Pass to view).

Learn the tools and tactics used by HubSpot’s Trends analysts to identify market changes, understand what drives them, and discover how to turn those insights into valuable business opportunities.

How can you spot trends?

When people hear “trends,” they get the wrong idea—they think about fads. How can we differentiate between a business trend and something that is “noise” or a “hype cycle”? It comes down to a handful of practices and habits:

• Remember skeptical optimism. Just because something is newer doesn’t mean it’s automatically better.
• Lasting value trumps the next big thing.
• We do not predict the future.

Look for data-backed opportunities.

Here are three steps to look for data-backed opportunities. 

1. Spotting 

Information flows like a river. People already know what they need, they just need to know where to find it. Sources include:

• Individual practitioners
• Niche communities
• Social media, blogs, and newsletters
• Mainstream news
• Common knowledge

The tools are not the most important part, it’s how you use them. Tools include: 

• One-on-one interviews
• Filings
• Investor blogs
• Email newsletters
• Pitch decks
• Niche communities (e.g., Slack and Facebook)

2. Vetting 

When going through the vetting process, you’re trying to answer three questions: 

• How many people have this problem? 
• Is that number going up or down? 
• Are people spending money trying to solve it?

3. Ideating

Ideating is when you turn insight into viable business ideas. There aren’t really any new ideas, so it’s easier to look at what you can put your own spin on. If you see something that’s working, you can take the idea and apply it to a more specific audience. 

The key is to have a community around you to turn research into viable business trends. That community will take your concept to the next level.

Marketing Rules of Thumb: “Trust It” or “Bust It”

Presentation by:
Nancy Harhut
HBT Marketing, Chief Creative Officer

Tom Shapiro
Stratabeat, CEO

Jen Wiese
Freerangewriter, Creative Director

Watch the on-demand recording of the session (note that you must have an INBOUND 2022 Powerhouse Pass to view).

Discover when to apply and when to avoid these common guidelines in this informative debate. See under what circumstances seasoned marketers say to “trust” an often-quoted principle, and under which they argue “busting” that same principle is best.

You’ll gain an advanced understanding of when to apply certain rules of thumb so you can create the most effective marketing.

Rule #1: Copy should be short.

Tom: You shouldn’t tell your users everything. It should be “short and punchy to maximize results.”

• Not always about who came to the page, but what did they do on the page.
• One of the best techniques is to shorten your copy—it’s more powerful!
• Ask, “What is going to have the maximum impact?”

Nancy: There are some instances when longer copy is your friend.

• Examples include blog posts when you want to “sell off the page,” 
• Write in a way that will benefit both marketers and the potential customers

Rule #2: Include social proof.

Tom: Yes, content should include social proof.

• Social proof is like lighter fluid for your marketing results.
• One of the strongest forms of marketing.
• The best way to influence behavior is with social proof.

Nancy: Social proof can be awesome, but there are instances where you don’t want to use social proof. 

• Social proof is difficult to provide if you don’t have a lot of customers or followers yet.
• Social proof can backfire.
• The bottom line: It can send the wrong message.

Rule #3: Marketers should focus on benefits.

Tom: Yes, we should focus on the benefits.

• We’re self-interested and focused on what will happen to our business/life/career based on this decision you want us to make.
• Make sure the benefits drive us to action—for example, talk about positive ROI, opening more offices, or helping the world. Those examples are what get people to take action.

Nancy: Marketers bend over backward for benefits, but there is an issue with them.

• Loss aversion is a big hindrance! 
• People are twice as motivated to avoid loss than they are to achieve benefits. For example, “If you wait until tomorrow, you will pay more.” 

Rule #4: Making people feel special or exclusive will get them to buy.

Tom: Exclusivity is a powerful motivator.

• There’s a drive to capture something before others do, for instance, a limited collection or edition, or a flash sale. 
• Talk about how few seats are left for your webinar to drive home the power of exclusivity.

Nancy: Exclusivity is powerful, but the question of “when” matters.

• Someone might not want to be the first to have/do a particular thing, because that produces a feeling of vulnerability. 
• When you promote exclusivity, also promote authority approval so that people feel safe in their decision-making.
• Other folks want insight from the “experts” to experience that feeling of safety and security about the decision they’re making.
  
  

Take Your Webinar from Boring to Buzzworthy

Presentation by:
Alyssa Peltier
Cvent, Sr. Manager, Market Insights

Emily Dick
Cvent, Director, Demand Generation

Watch the on-demand recording of the session (note that you must have an INBOUND 2022 Powerhouse Pass to view).

Audience expectations for webinars and online events have changed. Are you keeping up? From the initial invite to the registration page, to producing the live presentation, to the post-show playbook, marketers must now seek to create moments that set webinars apart and drive deeper audience engagement and participation. 

It’s time to make a turn with virtual events. People are bored with the same experiences, and expectations have now changed. We have to start creating experiences that are worth being there for. If we treat virtual events more like our in-person events, we’ll deepen audience engagement and increase our return.

These 10 tips will bring your webinars from what could be a boring spell to a magical experience.

1. Put your audience first. 

You have to know how to position your webinar to the right audience and at the right time. Consider these questions:

• Have I clearly defined my audience? 
• Have I made the registration process as simple as possible? 
• Is my content helpful? 
• Is this webinar format one that my audience is interested in?

2. Try new formats. 

This comes from knowing your audience. Is a multi-day format best, or would a lunch event work best? 

Start by grouping into formats, for example, a benchmark webinar is going to look a bit different than a C-Suite audience (panel) event. Maybe a 60-minute format for thought leadership is hitting well, but would 10 minutes work better for another type of audience? 

How about gathering information beforehand: Would an email per week with questions prior to the event work best, so you understand exactly what your audience wants to hear?

3. Start with a plan.

Create a rundown beforehand. It’ll help you be more efficient and intentional. It will also help you give a clean presentation without awkward moments.

4. Use the right tools.

There are a lot of streaming and production platforms, and you need to choose the one that takes complexity off of your plate. Pick the platform based on your goals and specific needs.

5. Brand your space.

Add your branding to your webinars so that your audience knows who is speaking to them. This can even be accomplished with a lower budget and strategies such as: 

• Adding an LED to your background
• Providing branded mugs
• Giving out company t-shirts
• Considering what’s behind you—use a virtual or pop-up background

6. Use graphics and videos.

Graphics and videos are really engaging, enhance your production, and reinforce your presentation. Your audience needs a break from talking heads on their screen. Consider using the following video and design resources: 

• Custom graphics
• Customer quotes
• Countdown videos
• Free stock images

Pro tip: If you’re not a natural graphic designer, you can use platforms like Canva that bring the designer out of you.

7. Interact with your audience.

Don’t be afraid to break the script and jump into the chat. Polls also add an extra layer of engagement where the audience and the brand come together. An engaged audience is a receptive one.

8. Give away great content.

If you are in a position to give away great content, it is going to position you as an expert and build reciprocity. Rest assured that if you give away great content, your return will be great.

9. Repurpose your content.

You spent all this time delivering an amazing webinar, so get every mile that you can out of it! Repurpose it! It will help you attract further followers and reach a new audience.

Here are some examples of how you can repurpose your webinar content:

• Post it on YouTube
• Offer it as on-demand content
• Create a highlight reel
• Create mini clips (10-60 seconds) for social sites or videos in emails
• Create gifs to embed in post-webinar emails
• Use Rev.com to transcribe your webinar and create blog content

Pro tip: If you decide to post a video, don’t forget to add captions!

10. Create can’t-miss live moments.

When you’re live, you can plan and promote further initiatives. Giveaways or access to specific pieces of content help increase webinar attendance. 

Stay Tuned for More Recaps!

Make sure you take these sessions' most important takeaways and put them into practice, whether you’re just starting your business or looking to scale. 

Another thing to be aware of and keep up with: different marketing and business trends. To understand your customers better or tap into new profitable markets, you need to know how to spot industry trends and differentiate signals from noise. 

Luckily for you, we have an article coming up next about “The Future of Marketing: Marketing Trends Taken from INBOUND 2022.” Stay tuned!