The Best Marketing Tips from INBOUND 2018

1. Develop a plan to implement your own content strategy, regardless of team size.

Session: From 0 to 100K Subscribers: How Small Teams Can Build Powerful Content Marketing Engines

As inbound marketers, we know that content is key. If you’re still not putting out content every day, you have likely blamed it on a lack of time, a lack of writers, or a lack of ideas. This is one of the best marketing tips out there because it will help even the smallest teams become well-oiled content machines.

• Consider using outside contributors such as prospects, influencers, partners, local universities, or your employee network.
• Have your content writer interview your CEO and ghost write blogs on their behalf.
• Update old posts with current information and re-publish them with a new date.
• Compile blogs on a similar topic and turn them into a content offer.
• Use the information from a blog to create an infographic.
• Repurpose data from clients into a blog on a service you do particularly well.

Along with consistency, the most important tip is to create a content calendar. Mapping out exactly what will be posted when and by whom will eliminate the stress of asking what needs to be written and who’s going to do it.

2. Use historical data to project future results.

Session: Predictive Analytics for Inbound Marketers

Data collection is getting easier, but data interpretation remains elusive for many businesses. It is so tempting to treat data reactively - asking what happened and why - but if we want to be successful marketers, we have to push beyond those questions and look to the future. That’s where predictive analytics comes in.

We should use data not only to inform or evaluate our strategy, but to actually predict its outcomes. By embracing this as one of the best marketing tips from Inbound 2018, we can set more tangible (and realistic) goals which will allow us to better communicate our value and results to our clients.

Let’s say you send out an email newsletter. Interpreting both industry and in-house data can help you predict the results of that emails based on a long list of factors. Rather than sending it out at random, you can pinpoint the exact time and day to launch the email that is statistically probable to deliver the best results.

3. Sequence your Facebook Ads.

Session: Build a Social Media Sales Machine (with Organic Content + Paid Facebook Ads)

Your Facebook Ads have a nice picture and engaging text, but are they as effective as they could be? If you’re not sequencing your ads, chances are you’re not getting the best possible results from them.

Sequencing your ads begins with custom audience targeting. First off, import a contact list into Facebook and create a lookalike audience. Personally, I prefer to have a lookalike audience for each one of my buyer personas. Next, make sure you are maximizing your Facebook pixel and can create audiences based on behaviors, such as those who visit a specific page on your website.

From there, you’re going to create an ad sequence for each of the steps mentioned in the slide above: Connect, Commit, and Close. The idea is that your custom audience will see an ad tailored to their experience as they move along this process.

For example, you can create an ad sequence that shows Ad #1 to someone who engaged with your Facebook page, then if they visit your website it shows Ad #2. If they then download an offer and reach the thank you page, they will see Ad #3, and so on.

The best part is that after it’s set up, your audience will automatically be moved through this sequence while you sit back and watch the results pour in.

4. Simplify your reporting processes to increase efficiency and drive ROI.

Avoiding Analysis Paralysis: How to Leverage Data-Driven Decision Making to Drive Inbound Growth

When we talk about results, most clients have one metric in mind: money. As inbound marketers, we realize that there are dozens if not hundreds of KPIs that lead to increasing that precious ROI - but we don’t always do the best job of communicating this to our clients.

Setting vague or idealistic goals will only lead to disappointment, so it is crucial to nail down with hard numbers exactly what we want to reach and what the milestones are along the way. Working backwards from the almighty ROI goal, you can figure out how many customers you need to convert to meet that goal.

Working backwards still, you can use the data to determine how many website visitors you’ll need to reach that number of customers. Continue on and you’ll have an idea of how many social followers you should reach, how many blog views or CTA clicks you should strive for, and so on.

If you are finding that your clients’ expectations are not aligned with your own, then these best marketing tips from Inbound 2018 will work wonders for getting you on the same page.