INBOUND 2017: Authenticity Takes Center Stage
In divisive times, it takes a lot of courage for a company to headline a 20,000-person conference with a political figure like Michelle Obama. And that’s just what HubSpot did at INBOUND 2017, sending the message that they’re more interested in creating authentic and meaningful experiences than diluting their voice to please a wide audience.
The theme of authenticity reverberated throughout every keynote speech and breakout session at the four-day conference, which featured talks from the HubSpot founders, Issa Rae, Brit Marling, Andy Cohen, Bozoma Saint John, Mario Batali, Billie Jean King, and many more.
On the second day of the conference, HubSpot founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah spoke about the beginnings of the popular sales and marketing software that’s now celebrating its 11th year.
During the keynote, Halligan announced that HubSpot will soon be introducing a new messaging feature called Conversations, included in the free version of the CRM. Additionally, in 2018 they’ll be unrolling the Customer Hub (also included in CRM Free) that includes automated customer feedback and testimonials, sentiment analysis, churn forecasting, and a robust knowledge center.
Both new products aim to improve the customer experience, as HubSpot has built its reputation on putting clients and user experience at the core of their innovations. It’s not just a business mission, it’s a selling strategy.
“We confuse the activity of selling with the outcome of sales. Selling is one of the possible activities one could do to make a sale. As it turns out, there are more. And as it turns out, one of the best ones, instead of hustling, is actually helping,” Shah said.
Additionally, Shah encouraged content marketers to double down on content quality, and not worry as much about quantity.
You can view most of the talks and sessions here.
Attendees began lining up at 6 a.m. to see Mrs. Obama’s 9 a.m. talk, moderated by author Roxane Gay. News outlets covering the speech emphasized her comments on women who voted for President Donald Trump, but they missed the bigger point she made: Success comes to those who are true to themselves.
In marketing, it’s common to broadcast messaging that appeals to a wide audience, but the type of messaging that resonates and stands out is that which is bold and authentic. No one’s ever won by copying the other guy.
As a proud HubSpot Connect partner, we look forward to seeing how they evolve and how the MarketMuse integration can amplify your HubSpot experience with in-platform content optimization. At the core of the MarketMuse philosophy is creating content that helps your users, so get in touch with us today to see where you’re missing opportunities to connect to your audience with content that answers questions.
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Stephen leads the content strategy blog for MarketMuse, an AI-powered Content Intelligence and Strategy Platform. You can connect with him on social or his personal blog.