#INBOUND’17 : What Inbound Marketers Can Learn From Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama has carved a niche for herself beyond just being President Barack Obama’s wife. Her charming personality, calm demeanour, rejection of sexism and zest for spreading awareness for social and health issues makes her an inspiration for millions of people – especially the youth – worldwide. Her dedication and perseverance towards her causes have been instrumental in bringing these issues to the world’s focus. During her tenure as the First Lady, she launched four key initiatives which gained momentum and instant recognition among people:

• Let’s Move! - brought together community leaders, educators, medical professionals, parents and celebrities in a nationwide effort to address the challenge of childhood obesity.

• Joining Forces - with the collaboration of Dr Jill Biden, called on all Americans to rally around service members, veterans, and their families and support them through wellness, education and employment opportunities.

• Reach Higher - aimed to inspire young people across America to take charge of their future by completing their higher education.

• Let Girls Learn - focused on helping adolescent girls around the world go to school.

With her dominant personality, compassionate attitude and dedication for causes close to her heart, there could have been no other person who would’ve been better suited to inspire the inbound movement, and she is one of the most awaited speakers at INBOUND. We have discussed five major lessons which every marketer can leverage to achieve more through their inbound strategy and life as well:

Download the e-book and learn key takeaways from Michelle Obama

#1. Strong Communication Skills

“I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values – and follow my own moral compass – then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.” – Michelle Obama Michelle Obama has been described as one of the greatest political commentators of our time. She has the ability to enthral her audience with powerful speeches. Her strong personality motivates and influences people to take action to bring solutions to various problems. An inbound marketer can learn how to have impeccable communication skills from her so as to optimize all your content assets, such as your website, blogs, content offers, etc. so as to reach your audience at the right place and at the right time and communicate your message effectively.

#2. Keep Your Audience in Mind

“Our greatness has always come from people who expect nothing and take nothing for granted - folks who work hard for what they have, then reach back and help others after them.” – Michelle Obama Michelle Obama’s demeanour is very simple and she does not let her audience feel intimidated in any way whatsoever. She always thinks about her audience’s pain points and works with them to bring about a change in the society and inspire them in the process. Like Michelle Obama, it is very crucial for inbound marketers to always keep their audience in mind before designing any piece of content or taking any critical decision. Unless you think from your audience’s perspective and understand their pain points, you won’t be able to design great content from them which they find relevant. Doing this will not only help you optimize your keyword research but also establish you as the thought leader among your customers.

#3. Dedication and Perseverance Towards Your Goals

"You should never view your challenges as disadvantages; your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages" – Michelle Obama Michelle Obama has always remained very dedicated towards her goal of bringing various social and health issues to the global platform, and bringing about change in society and inspire people – especially the youth – to lead better lives. Even after holding the post of the First Lady, she remained dedicated to her passion for community service, which reflects in the resounding success of the four key initiatives which she took up during that period. Inbound marketers have a very important lesson to learn from Michelle Obama: they need to remain fully focused towards their goals and not be in a rush when it comes to seeing the results of the same. Taking hasty decisions can be detrimental for your business.

#4. Building Relationships - Both Online and Offline

“What I have never been afraid of is to be a little silly, and you can engage people that way. My view is, first you get them to laugh, then you get them to listen.” – Michelle Obama Michelle Obama has established her position as a youth icon, and it is quite remarkable that she continues to be a highly relatable figure till date. This is only possible due to her excellent networking skills and extensive use of pop culture to bring about a change in the community and speak her mind. Her Twitter handle alone has around 8.8 million followers! One of the major reasons she is able to resonate with the masses is due to the pertinent issues she raises and how she empathises with the common man and able to think from their perspective. The importance of building solid online as well as offline relationships cannot be empathised more for marketers. Developing a business-customer relationship will obviously give you a huge edge over your competitors. This will help you to retain your customers and build a bond of trust and affinity with them.

#5. Adding Value to People’s Life

"And in my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much..." – Michelle Obama Michelle Obama realised that community service is her true calling early in her career, which made her leave her promising professional career in law. She always wanted to work for humanity – which can be seen in her compassion towards her country and its people – and see the world as a better place. Marketers work in a social setup, and any decision they take needs to be taken after considering its impact on the society at large. Thus, the goal of every marketer should be to touch the lives of their customers and bring about some positive changes to their lives by adding some value to their product or content assets. This will help them grow as marketers and in their personal lives as well, which is the ultimate goal of every marketer. These are some of the impactful lessons which every inbound marketer can take from Michelle Obama, that can give them new insights into their strategies and help them develop a mindset to approach their marketing efforts in a more helpful and humane manner. Ultimately, they can ingrain these lessons in their personal lives as well, and grow as an individual.

Meet up with us at Inbound

Our team will be at Inbound and we would love to meet up with you to talk about getting results for your brand or for the brands your agency works with. Fill out this form so that we can arrange a time to meet up. We’re looking forward to an inspiring week and spending time with like-minded people, see you there!

Schedule a time to meet with #ARM Worldwide at INBOUND 2017