Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to attend, for the first time, the Inbound Marketing Summit held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. I certainly took home a great deal – and not juts free T-Shirts. It was a fantastic event, from the variety of speakers to the exceptional networking that followed.

Now that I have had a chance to debrief from the day’s events, it is clear that five lessons rose above all others. Here are my five major takeaways from IMS 2012.

5. I Need to Blog More!

Immediately, I realized that I am not blogging nearly enough. I certainly wouldn’t pretend to be a captivating writer – Kathy Barry didn’t raise no liar.

But what I do know is that I have thoughts and ideas I should be put into writing. Content writing will help build my “personal brand,” a term that was used amply at yesterday’s Summit.

My Twitter handle, @tomrbarry, should be seen by as many eyes as I can possibly get it in front of. I gained roughly 25 new followers yesterday alone by Tweeting from the event. If I can start creating relevant content for these folks to see on my social profiles, I am engaging effectively.

A featured speaker yesterday, Dharmesh Shah, offered this thought: “Think of every question you get at a tradeshow or on a sales call, write them down and answer each one through blogs.”

As a sales person, that will be easy and valuable content for me to create.

4. Qualifying Sales Leads Is Hard Work

Having too many inbound leads is a problem every sales person would want to have. But, as you know, it doesn’t often work out that way.

Each lead needs to be carefully nurtured and contacted. Reaching out to someone three or four times might seem like plenty, right? Wrong.

According to Richard April, VP of Marketing, Paul Alves, CEO, and Craig Ferrara, Director of Client Operations for AG Salesworks, “the minimum amount of ‘touches’ you should anticipate for inbound leads before converting them to sales is eight times.”

To make sure you are maximizing time during the day, develop a regimented approach to qualifying these leads. Build a process.

The window to convert leads into sales is always opening and closing quickly. If you can dedicate the time – wisely – you will see results.

3. Think Mobile First

I probably heard the phrase, “mobile first,” over 100 times yesterday. And I couldn’t agree more with the idea.

Mobile is the next big thing when it comes to marketing. Bridging the gap between the physical world and the digital world is becoming so easy with the use of smartphones and other mobile technology. The fact that mobile is the fastest growing medium in the world is a startling indicator that it’s influence is only going to become more noticeable.

Having a strategy to utilize this technology is critical. When you start developing inbound, outbound and online strategies and campaigns, mobile should always be included.

If you are going to create content for your clients, understand that there is a good chance they are consuming it on a mobile device.

2. All Aboard The Google+ Train

Google makes sure that marketers and online officials are keeping the playing field even. Part of Google’s new algorithm stresses the importance of authors of posts and content – rather than pages. This means you need to start building the authority of your writers through Google.

A Google+ profile is one way to do this. A solid presence on Google+ will build credibility and recognition by the search engine. Include links to valuable content. A strong network on Google+ will, conceivably, build the influence and reach of your writers. A personal brand is becoming more important than keywords.

1. Invest Time In Social Conversations

Whether you are in sales, marketing, public relations or administration, taking the time to engage and connect with real people on social channels is very important. You must engage to communicate and have conversations – not constantly offering your sales pitch.

Monaco Lange said that we should, “stop selling products, start telling stories.” I need to incorporate real world problems and find solutions that will solve those problems. Create  content that is valuable, sharable and likeable.

The stories I tell should demonstrate the benefits of the tools and services I sell. No one will engage with your content if it isn’t worth having a conversation about.

A Question For Readers

What channels do you use to engage and interact? Find me on Twitter @tomrbarry and let’s chat.