by Traci Polifka • 2 minute read • January 6, 2016
Unicorns are amazing. (Well, they would be if they were real.)
Do you ever get jealous of people simply because they’re awesome? I know I certainly do (whether I like to admit it or not!).
At Nectafy, we get jealous of other inbound marketing agencies—you know, the ones who are truly great at what they do.
Now, don’t get me wrong—we like to think we’re pretty good at inbound marketing ourselves. But there are definitely a few other agencies—these five in particular—that have taught us a thing or two about what it means to deliver high-quality inbound services.
If you’re looking for relevant blogs to follow, website designs for inspiration, or inbound resources to learn from, these five agencies have got it goin’ on.
1. Kuno Creative
Kuno Creative, founded in 2000, was one of the first inbound agencies to partner with HubSpot. It is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and serves mostly business-to-business (B2B) clients in the software as a service (SaaS) and health care industries.
Take one look at Kuno’s website and you’ll see just why we think they’re so amazing. The site is beautifully designed with an easy-to-navigate interface that explains exactly what they do. The “View Our Work” section shows off some of their best client work, including website designs, ebooks, and infographics. Their “Website Design Example” page has a cool feature that shows you how their designs work on both PC and mobile by scrolling through computer- and phone-shaped icons. (Seriously, check it out here—it’s really creative.)
Aside from their client work, they offer tons of great inbound-specific resources for anyone looking for marketing advice, including ebooks and blog posts. A couple of my personal favorites include:
- Scientifically Proven Ways To Write Better Headlines (As an inbound writer myself, this post has definitely been helpful!)
- 10 Steps To A Killer Lead Generation & Lead Management Process
Oh, and did I mention Kuno is a three-time winner of HubSpot’s Happiest Client award? Obviously they’re doing inbound right.
2. IMPACT
IMPACT was founded in 2009 in Wallingford, Connecticut. Each of its 24 team members are HubSpot-certified at three levels—Inbound, HubSpot, and Partner—and their designers and web developers are also HubSpot-Design-certified. They serve both B2B and B2C (business-to-consumer) clients.
IMPACT’s website is so well-designed that the agency won HubSpot’s Website Design Of The Year award in 2015, as well as the COS Innovators Of The Year award. Their site is easy to navigate with helpful resources like case studies front-and-center on the home page. They also have a great personality, which is quite evident. (Just take a look at their team member page!)
IMPACT’s team member, Clyde.
IMPACT also has a great social media presence—they’re always posting relevant articles and updates. (And we’re a little jealous of their 52K followers on Twitter!)
IMPACT’s blog is packed with valuable topics, from inbound marketing trends to sales to productivity tips. One of my favorite posts is 5 Brands Whose Emails We Actually Love Seeing In Our Inboxes—it has real-life examples of marketing emails with solid takeaways to apply to your own.
3. SmartBug Media
SmartBug Media was founded in 2007 and became HubSpot-Partner-certified in 2010. They serve both B2B and B2C clients in Irvine, California, with a focus on technology and health care organizations.
SmartBug’s website has a clean design with a toolbar at the top for quick navigation. My favorite feature is their “Inbound Marketing Learning Center,” where they showcase all of their inbound resources and offers in one place.
SmartBug’s blog is really well-organized with clickable tabs for each category of post. They cover a wide range of topics, from inbound basics, to design, to social media. A couple of my favorite posts include:
- 8 Habits Of Highly Productive Workers
- 6 Email Marketing Campaigns That Are Probably Better Than Yours (Another article with real-life examples and helpful takeaways.)
SmartBug won HubSpot’s Client Growth Story Of The Year award in 2015, as well as the Best HubSpot Client Onboarding award—which means they do a great job of not only taking on new clients, but helping them achieve results with inbound.
4. Square2 Marketing
Square2 Marketing was founded in 2003, with offices in both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They offer full inbound marketing services to both B2B and B2C clients including those in the technology, manufacturing, and health care industries.
One of the first things you’ll notice on Square2’s homepage is their lead generation tracker—they say they’re on a mission to generate one million leads, and they have a live counter keeping track of their progress (which is pretty cool!).
Something else we like about their site is that they use it to promote their core values—something we take pretty seriously at Nectafy. It’s always cool to see the principles that are driving those at an inbound agency to succeed, so we enjoy when an agency takes the time to share those values with us.
Both the chief marketing officer and president of Square2 Marketing speak at events, and they’ve authored two books together: “Reality Marketing Revolution” and “Fire Your Sales Team Today!”. They have definitely become thought leaders in the inbound industry, and they share their valuable insights on their blog, as well.
(One of my favorite posts is The Must-Have Metrics For Your Inbound Marketing Dashboard.)
As if all that wasn’t enough, they’re also winners of the 2015 HubSpot Partner Of The Year award. Sheesh.
5. Bluleadz
Bluleadz was founded in 2009 as a website design, SEO, and PPC agency. When they discovered HubSpot, they went all-in and became a full-service inbound marketing agency. Today, they serve mostly B2B clients.
One reason Bluleadz is so awesome is because that’s their mission—to be awesome. (Really, it’s on their About Us page!) According to their site, if something they create isn’t high quality, it goes straight to the trash. (That could be why they won HubSpot’s Best Client Blog Series award.)
Their blog is pretty great, too—their entire team works to create relevant, high-quality articles about all things inbound. One of my favorites: The Importance Of Goals In Your Inbound Marketing Strategy.
Bluleadz also has a fun personality, which is evident in everything they post. (Take a look at this Halloween video, for example!)
Take It From These Inbound Agencies
While no inbound marketing agency is perfect, these five certainly have things figured out—and that’s why we admire them. Whether you’re seeking helpful blog posts, creative web designs, or an influential online presence, you can look to these agencies for marketing inspiration.
Are there other amazing agencies out there we should check out? Let us know in a comment below!
