Inbound Marketing Blog

It went by quickly. There were thousands of people, colorful lights, loads of excitement, and it all took place in the historic city of Boston. Though it sounds similar to Pearl Jam at Fenway Park, it was actually the annual Inbound conference, hosted by HubSpot. The four-day event brought together professional marketers and speakers to discuss current best practices for inbound marketing. During the second day of the conference, CEO and co-founder of HubSpot, Brian Halligan, delivered a keynote speech that bid farewell to one of the industry’s most trusted companions: the funnel.  

Direct mail may seem like an archaic strategy nowadays, but in a crowded world full of digital ads, email, and social media, a mail piece can make a brand stand out from its competitors. Even millennials, who spend most of their time with technology, prefer mail advertising. According to the USPS Mail Moments Review, 84% of millennials take the time to look through their mail, and 64% would rather scan for useful information in the mail than email. In addition, nearly half of millennials ignore digital ads—further proving that they have become desensitized to most digital marketing efforts. A direct mail campaign will cut through the clutter of modern ads. Here are some tips and tricks for designing a mail piece that is dynamic and effective enough to draw customers in.

Manually keeping track of potential and existing customers’ contact information across multiple spreadsheets and having random notes in different places can quickly become overwhelming and difficult to manage. CRM software is an invaluable tool  that will help you more easily manage and organize your data as your business continues to grow and scale.

These days, more and more people are taking a break from social media. Whether it’s because of frustration with content, concern about spending too much time online, or a variety of other health and social reasons, many users are reducing the time they spend on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms. If your business communicates with customers and potential customers using social media, you may worry about this trend. How do you adjust your social media marketing strategy to overcome this shift?

Pressure cookers and crock pots have been around for years, but recently the countertop appliances have become unexpectedly trendy. One of the most popular new machines is the Instant Pot, designed by a team of Ottawa, Canada-based engineers in 2008. Despite not engaging in any TV or print advertising, the small company has enjoyed startling success by using viral internet marketing channels like bloggers, social media, and word of mouth—recruiting “brand ambassadors” to enhance its goodwill and its sales. The product’s success is a lesson in modern marketing strategy.

It’s January again. Now that the holiday buzz has died down, have you thought about what your content marketing goals are for your business in 2017? Research shows that setting goals increases motivation and achievement. If you haven’t thought about what you're going to do to improve your marketing in the new year, here are 3 suggestions that will help you see better results.

 If you’ve decided to start blogging for business development, congratulations! Writing a business blog is a great way to generate a lot of new, fresh content for your website, which helps your SEO. And although business blogging isn’t rocket science, there are definitely some mistakes that will undermine your blogging efforts. Avoiding these common pitfalls can help your blog be more useful to your business, generate more leads, and appeal best to your audience.

What does a British cooking show have to teach a Des Moines business trying to improve its SEO or a San Francisco startup trying to build its brand identity? Whether you’re a fan of the Great British Baking Show or not, its widespread international appeal is due to some identifiable strategies that can easily be applied to businesses of all types and sizes. These four lessons can get some steam into any business’s marketing strategy and help your brand rise to the top.

Most businesses don’t like to spend a lot of time thinking about updating their marketing strategy. But keeping up with marketing trends and strategies can help make sure your products and services resonate with your target audiences rather than annoying or frustrating them. Here are five things that you need to stop doing, along with suggestions for what to do instead.

 If you haven’t yet heard about Pokémon Go from your kids, friends, or neighbors, chances are you will very soon. This free, downloadable application for your mobile phone is an interactive game that encourages users to explore their communities on foot, “catching” cute little animated creatures who appear virtually on your screen along with the actual real-life landmarks.