HubSpot INBOUND Conference 2022: The In-person Experience

After two years of attending the HubSpot INBOUND Conference through a virtual platform, it was finally time to head back to Boston for the big event! Our team attended both in-person and virtually, and had a great week learning, connecting, and strategizing. 

Held at the Boston Convention Center in the SeaPort district, INBOUND didn’t disappoint when it came to the production and setup of the conference. Between the large stages, software booths, neon signs for photo ops, food trucks, Former President Barack Obama, and more, it was certainly an experience.

The Mainstage Presentation

On Day One of the HubSpot INBOUND Conference, Hubspot CEO Yamini Rangan kicked us off by discussing digital fatigue and the importance of a connected customer growth strategy. 

More than ever, old go-to-market strategies will not work. 

• 65% of Google searches ended without a click
• 40% fewer responses to sales emails
• -1.6% average blog growth rate

In other words, customers are disconnected from companies and companies are disconnected from their customers. This means that going forward, building a community and leveraging personalization will be key. In fact, 71% of consumers now expect highly personalized experiences across all touch points! 

New HubSpot Features!

HubSpot is releasing a myriad of new features that will be available in Beta soon that are centered around solving for the disconnection businesses are struggling with, and solving for a more connected customer growth strategy. This includes: 

• Customer Journey Analytics 
• Data Journey Mapping
• Custom Object Builder
• Data Quality Center
• Data Quality Automation
• HubSpot Alpha Pay 

Breakout Sessions

After the mainstage presentation was complete, we broke off into smaller breakout sessions called Deep Dives. These sessions, in my opinion, were by far the best part of INBOUND 2022. 

Industry experts from a variety of areas – content marketing, paid media, business development, etc. – held hour and a half seminars that dove into the nitty gritty of these topics.

A few of my favorites from the three days were:

• How Great Brands Scale SEO by Dale Bertrand 
• The Anatomy of a High Performance LinkedIn Strategy by AJ Wilcox
• How to Lead a Small Team to Marketing Success With Agile by Dorien Morin-Van Dam

There was a lot to takeaway from these sessions, and while I won’t be recapping all of the great sessions I attended, here are a few interesting tidbits: 

• Google has shifted from a rule’s based algorithm to an AI algorithm, meaning the intent behind a keyword matters now.
• LinkedIn is a great first touch in the user journey, and then other platforms can be utilized for follow up and retargeting.
• 83% of consumers are willing to share personal data to enable personalization.
• A video’s success on YouTube often has to do with momentum and its performance within the first 24 hours; so right when you publish a video, send out emails and texts promoting the video. 
• Third party data is on its way out; figuring out how to utilize your first party data is critical. 

The In-person Experience Was Great

When I needed to catch up on work between sessions, I found myself sitting in the very center of the conference center, at the Hubspot Hub. 

I liked being in the thick of it and all the excitement, surrounded by conversations about automation and integrations. The content, the connections and the sense of community at the HubSpot INBOUND Conference were in high gear, and I loved it!

When I needed to catch up on work between sessions, I found myself sitting in the very center of the conference center, at the Hubspot Hub. I’ve missed being able to connect with people casually, to bump into a developer and ask them their opinion on the use of CMS Hub vs. WordPress. And just as I missed it, so have many others.

Are you a HubSpot user looking to get more value from your CRM? Download your free Growth Stack Guide below and learn how we can help you grow your HubSpot skills.