Optimize 3.0 Inbound Marketing Blog

When TED.com came to Optimize 3.0, their ask was simple but urgent:

“We need to boost awareness and registrations for our new event, TEDNext.”

Despite TED’s iconic brand, TEDNext was a newer initiative and overall awareness was low. Their internal marketing team had already run traditional campaigns, but performance was underwhelming. Registrations were slow. And many prospects had started but never completed the registration process.

With a goal of just 2 new registrations, TED was looking for a focused, data-driven event registration strategy.

We helped them 5X that goal with 10 net new signups and built a scalable B2B demand generation strategy they could repeat.

Inbound Marketing Alone Isn't Enough Anymore

For more than ten years, inbound has been the best way to go. Make blog posts, optimize them for search engines, and write content that draws people to your site. That worked well when people mostly used Google to look for answers.

But things are different now. People can get answers right away with AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's Search Generative Experience. They don't always have to go to your website anymore.

The answer is simple. Your content may still show up in search results, but traffic drops, form fills slow down, and inbound alone stops sending you the leads you need.