Optimize 3.0 Inbound Marketing Blog

I had a very successful blog post related to internet marketing help.  This was an interview with one of Hubspot’s top rated users.  I’ve wanted to follow up on that and recently came across the perfect opportunity:  Larry Berezin, EVP www.newyorkparkingtickets.com.  Larry came to Optimize 3.0 and downloaded a piece of content.  Like a good inbound marketer, I reached out and we quickly realized we are Hubspot users.  Larry’s one of the very first in fact.   Moreover, having grown up in NYC, Larry is something of a hero for the common man besieged by parking tickets in NYC. His site is the go-to resource if you’ve ever received a ticket here.  For anyone looking for internet marketing help, Larrry’s experience with Hubspot’s online marketing platform is telling.

(Post updated March 2016) Curious about Hubspot competitors and how internet marketing systems compare?  What about Hubsot vs. Eloqua, Marketo and Pardot? What are the key differences between these internet marketing systems?  This comparison chart analyzes each across 10 key features including blogging, CMS, SEO, lead nurturing, price, ease of use and analytics.  Each feature is ranked (0 = Not at All to 4 = Awesome) for a best possible score of 40 points.  Quick summary points below:

What exactly are the differences of inbound vs outbound marketing?  Here’s an explanation that I trust will help your understanding and help improve your own marketing efforts.

During one of my periodic reviews of my full SEO traffic (this is a great source of material for a blog), something jumped out at me that relates to the darker side of Hubspot – Does it work?  Some terms in my SEO results include Hubspot Sucks, Hubspot Not for Me, Hubspot Bad, Hubspot Fail, Hubspot Negative Reviews, Hubspot Overrated, Hubspot any good and Hubspot Termination.   Some choice stuff and this generates traffic for me.  Interesting.  This can’t be a complete surprise since there are undoubtedly people who feel that way about Apple.  But I’d like to use this as a jumping off point to shine a light on Hubspot and give the #1 reason Hubspot doesn’t work. 

 Recently, someone asked me what is inbound marketing?  I recognize there are quite a few definitions  and Hubspot put together this great video.   But I have a particular answer for “what is inbound marketing software”, that differs from simply explaining it relative to old-school outbound tactics (e.g. intrusive TV and newspaper ads).  This definition can best be described as inbound marketing in practice.  That is, how is the software actually applied from beginning to end.  It certainly helps to do this if you have inbound marketing software that integrates the various components.  Here’s Optimize 3.0’s definition of what is inbound marketing:

How to use twitter for business can be confusing.  Fully understanding the utility of the medium is difficult.  Twitter can be a confusing place with its own nuances and nomenclature such as "followers", # hashtag symbol and lists. Also, a majority of business owners still consider it a place for social interactions and “fun”, not fully realizing that it is a powerful inbound marketing tool. The following statistics show the ubiquity of social media, and the potential impact a twitter business account can have on traffic, leads, and inevitably, sales. Any meaningful inbound marketing needs to be closely tied to a strategy that embraces how to use twitter for business.  This outlet actively promotes content and engages with potential buyers in a dynamic manner.  

What is landing page?  Many people don’t know what this means.  Landing page is a term for where your site visitors convert.   Convert can mean many things, but in this context it’s a site visitor that passes along their contact information (name, email, telephone #, etc) in return for a piece of information (whitepaper, ebook, podcast, etc) or interaction with you (e.g. demo, webinar).  Landing pages are a critical component of online marketing and often get overlooked.    

Exactly what is Hubspot?  Well, by way of a real world example I’m going to shed some light on what it is and how it can help your business.  Starting from keyword research, to blogging, to lead generation, to sales conversion here’s a step by step example of how I earned a client using Hubspot together with inbound marketing principles. 

The Internet has fundamentally transformed the way in which people locate, discover, share, shop, & connect. For a business owner, reaching consumers has transformed dramatically. A successful business needs to understand the best way to reach its customers online in order to expand.