For the first time in INBOUND’s nine-year history, the 2020 conference was held virtually over the course of two days in late September. INBOUND 2020 went beyond broadcasting sessions and created an immersive online experience for attendees complete with avatars, a virtual world to explore and interactive sessions. Although no online experience is complete without a few glitches these days, our digital marketing pros “walked” away from the event with valuable new ideas and approaches.
Here are our reactions and top takeaways from the conference:
“One of my favorite sessions was ‘The Definitive Guide to Content that Sells: Essential Steps to Massive Results and ROI,’ led by Marcus Sheridan, President of Marcus Sheridan International/IMPACT. In a standout point, he encouraged marketers to not shy away from talking about the concerns or negative views of their product or service. Blogging about a concern and offering a solution can be one of the best ways to build trust with customers. And trust leads to sales.”
– Sara Pudvelis, Marketing Associate
“I really enjoyed this year’s session on virtual events and webinars called ‘Maximizing Your Media & Virtual Events’ with Olivia F. Scott, Founder & Principal at Omerge Alliances. The timely session offered thoughtful pivots to the countless cancelled/postponed in-person events this year due to COVID-19. One of the most interesting takeaways she shared was to record almost everything in advance, but still have the speakers present for live Q+As. The information I took away was extremely helpful as our agency strategizes new ways to generate leads for a number of our clients that relied so heavily on lead gen and networking from in-person events.”
– Marissa Lindstrom, Digital Strategist
“The most rewarding thing about INBOUND 2020 was that the sessions I attended provided insight directly impacting conversations I’m currently having with clients. For example, customer success and how to use social media as a tool to enhance it has been a frequent topic of discussion with my clients and other industry organizations. I noticed a majority of the sessions I attended at INBOUND highlighted the benefits social media can bring when building a quality customer success program. Leaders in the industry touched on everything from using social listening on Twitter to learn what consumers are saying about your product or service in real time to establishing alignment internally to the challenges organizations face when trying to present this authentically on social media.”
– Ashley MacLaughlin, Social Media Specialist
“The most insightful session I attended was ‘10 Scientific Secrets that Make Your Content Impossible to Ignore.’ The session shared valuable research about content strategies proven to drive higher engagement regardless of the industry or product. In an industry where analyzing data is so important, it’s necessary to understand what messages, images and strategies help you get the most out of your content. This session did the hard work for you and gave me information I was able to apply to my clients right away. One of my favorite tips was to leverage experts in your content. Humans naturally respect authority and by using language such as “see what experts are saying,” you can gain the trust of your audience.”
– Wyatt Craig, Digital Account Executive
And that’s a wrap on INBOUND 2020!