Interview: Katie Burke, HubSpot Director of Talent and Culture

We’re back with another InterviewFX feature! If you’re new to this series, InterviewFX is our way to bring you advice from entrepreneurs, marketers, and other experts to help you better manage your business and online marketing. Today we focus on the inbound marketing movement as we talk to Katie Burke, Director of Talent and Culture at Hubspot. Katie offers you valuable insights into the values of a sustainable client relationship, inbound marketing, and the future of podcasts.

Keep reading to see the full interview!

1. How did you first get started in the marketing world? What drew you in?

I worked in consulting for a year after college and just wanted something more creative — I got a call out of the blue from an old family friend who knew that a firm called Glover Park Group was hiring — they were re-imagining the world of political communications and wanted someone to be half executive assistant, half account coordinator. I got the job, had no idea what I was doing, but was lucky enough to work with truly incredible people and I’ve been in something related to marketing ever since.

Ultimately, I’m drawn to people who are great storytellers and to the opportunity to tell compelling stories — marketing gives you access to both those things.

2. What makes for a sustainable client relationship?

Commitment – it’s so easy to get lazy with your customers as you grow and scale, but it’s a fatal mistake, and you do so at your peril. At HubSpot, we have SFTC (Solve for the Customer) baked right into our Culture Code, so there is no denying its importance to our business and our brand.

3. HubSpot has been a significant driver of the inbound marketing movement – what’s one piece of advice you would give someone new inbound marketing?

Don’t play it safe—people think it’s enough to create content and send it into the world, but it’s not—you need to create stories that truly draw people in. To make that happen you need to take some risks to be remarkable.

4. Can you describe an area of digital marketing that you’ve seen many businesses neglect or miss out on?

I think a lot of brands are still missing the mark on visual content — the best visual content out there right now is short, sweet, and shareable, and I still think most brands are too boring, too long, and too safe in terms of their visual content execution.

5. Which trends do you think will be vital to marketing campaigns in 2015 and onward?

At HubSpot we just launched our podcast, the Growth Show with Mike Volpe, and it’s made me pay a lot more attention to the world of business podcasts. I think audio content will be a major player in the upcoming year, and I think we’ll see people getting really creative with what audio content can do for engagement. Katie Burke is the Director of Talent and Culture at HubSpot, the world’s leading marketing and sales software company.

Katie has an MBA from MIT Sloan, a BA from Bates College, and a minor obsession with anything on Bravo!