Brian Halligan is chief executive of HubSpot, a company that makes software for marketers. He's also an author and senior lecturer at MIT.
On Thursday, Jan. 9 he'll be in Milwaukee to headline Stream Creative's inaugural Experience Inbound conference at the Harley-Davidson Museum.
Via email, I asked Halligan a few questions as he prepared for his Milwaukee talk.
OnMilwaukee.com: I read that HubSpot has a "push up club." We used to have one here at OnMilwaukee.com, too. Love it. So, how many push ups can you do?
Brian Halligan: Yes, our pushup club is one of the many traditions that makes our culture at HubSpot unique. I'm sad to say that I've taken on some pretty big internal projects over the last four months, so I haven't been participating of late, but hope to get back into it in the New Year. 2014 seems like a good year for pushups.
OMC: What's HubSpot and why inbound marketing?
BH: HubSpot is the world's leading inbound marketing platform. Our software enables businesses globally to earn the attention of their customers rather than renting it. Consumers have access to more tools than ever to block out advertising and other interruptive forms of marketing, so businesses need to leverage social media, email marketing, blogging, and a truly exceptional website to help prospects, leads, and customers find them on the internet. That's the crux of inbound marketing: earning your customers' attention instead of renting their attention through paid advertising. HubSpot allows companies to leverage one single, integrated, and powerful platform to do all the things they need (blogging, SEO, social media, email and analytics) in one place--what's not to love about that?
OMC: What do you know about Milwaukee
BH: I know that Milwaukee has some of the oldest breweries in America, so I expect some great beer and good cheese during my visit. I know Milwaukee is home to many Packers fans, an awesome HubSpot User Group and a few great HubSpot partners. I look forward to learning more while I'm there.
OMC: In two years Twitter will be?
BH: Our primary source for breaking news.
JS: What are your pieces of advice for publishers like OnMilwaukee.com?
BH: Publish early and often. The majority of our incoming leads at HubSpot come from old blog entries, and that's the value of inbound marketing--it's the gift that keeps on giving. Finally, there's always a point where you think you're out of things to say or write about. During those times, consider answering questions from your customers, giving the floor to some different folks on your organization (developers, engineers, and sales folks are all options to consider), or changing up your format: publishing should vary in length, format, nature and tone.
JS: Define success.
BH: Success is a delighted customer: there is nothing better.
Halligan will be joined on Thursday by Frank Belzer, Author of Sales Shift and VP of Corporate Training at Kurlan & Associates, Wayne Breitbarth, Author of Power Formula for LinkedIn Success and CEO of Power Formula LLC, Christine McMahon, CEO of Christine McMahon & Associates, Jake Athey & Nina Brakel-Shutt, Marketing & Sales Manager and Business Development Strategist at Widen Enterprises, and Jeff Coon, Partner and Creative Director at Stream Creative.
Complete event information is here.
