Proving the value of your online marketing and advertising campaigns should be easy. Every website platform, online advertising program and social media website now comes complete with data - tons and tons of data. When you add that to Google Analytics, MOZ, SEMrush and the like, you have endless reporting capabilities at your fingertips. In fact, if you are not currently overwhelmed with the sheer volume of available data, please, tell us your secret.

As a marketing manager, you have a lot of balls in the air and some worrisome hurdles to overcome on a daily basis. Such as… will that new campaign show positive ROI? Will your clients respond well to your design and messaging? Is this new social media platform worth investing time in, or is it a short-lived trend?

In recent years, strategy and our ability to analyze and customize prospect and customer data has changed. Marketing tools in particular have become incredibly sophisticated such as CRM resources, marketing automation, content management, social scheduling & monitoring, surveying, email distribution and much more.

Insurance agents have a lot of options for getting new leads, from cold-calling to trade events, and paying for traditional advertising. The disadvantage of those methods (aside from time and cost) is that you are reaching a broad group, not necessarily people who are looking for what you offer. This is why the information you can obtain from your website is so valuable - these are visitors who are searching for information about the exact products and services that you offer.

As technology changes, so does the buyer journey for the customers of many businesses and organizations. Marketers who are not relying on data to make important modifications to strategy, design and other elements focused on connecting with prospects and existing customers, may soon be left in the dust. In this Q&A interview with Kyle Lacy, Vice President of Marketing for OpenView Venture Partners and Experience Inbound 2016 keynote speaker, you’ll learn why creating moments is more important than marketing and why it’s becoming critical to rely on data to drive revenue. As a new dad, Kyle also shares some pretty great productivity tips for juggling the demands of both work and life.

Being a one-person marketing department forces you to master many complex trades. First, you must be a marketing strategist and business analyst who comes up with the big picture goals, campaigns, and calendars. Next, oftentimes you must also be a graphic designer, SEO expert, copywriter, event planner, media buyer, vendor, staff trainer, and overall customer service savant in order to tackle the day-to-day activities.

Looking for a few tips from copywriting experts or ways to help prove ROI for your content marketing efforts? Are you someone who is tasked with generating social media content for your business, but struggle with finding or creating quality images? My favorite posts this week touch on these topics as well as a few others that I found incredibly useful, and I hope you do too.

The Stream Creative office is a magical place every spring as the team gears up for March Madness festivities. We complete our brackets and post them for all to see, the kegerator is filled with the beer of choice, Jason brings in his projector and screen, and some family members even join us to “work remotely” by setting up shop in our conference room. While many of our team members root for Wisconsin to go far, this year the majority have the Badgers going all the way. Not surprising considering the talent, heart and impressive stats the roster had coming into the tournament.

When it comes to inbound marketing plans, kicking off a new campaign can be intimidating whether you are a rookie or a seasoned player. Change yourgame by identifying the way people learn about your company online, align your marketing goals and create the best experience for your prospects. Whether you are planning your first campaign or brushing up on inbound basics, we have 5 must-haves to plan like a pro.