#InspiredBy Mad Libs

Nov 23, 2015 | #InspiredBy, Holiday

Do (pronoun) remember playing Mad Libs as a (noun)? Sparkfactor is giving you the chance to play Ad Libs as an adult! Thanksgiving is fast approaching, the weather keeps reminding us of the Polar Vortex to come, and holiday shopping is moving up on the to-do...

HDR Processing // What It Is and Why It Matters

Nov 17, 2015 | Google Maps Business View Photography, Photography

We’ve done many Google Business View virtual tours in interesting places around the Chicagoland area. We’ve photographed music venues, rooftop bars, spas, and showrooms. There’s no telling what the lighting will be in any place we shoot. Sometimes...

Prevent Blindness America – Our Vision is Vision

Nov 16, 2015 | motion

Prevent Blindness American contacted our creative team to produce a video for the newest campaign, Our Vision is Vision. The video explains to the viewer what Prevent Blindness America’s priority is: helping all Americans enjoy a lifetime of healthy vision. This...

The Culture of Free

Nov 8, 2015 | Marketing, Inbound Marketing, #InspiredBy

Costco has free samples. Hulu has a 7-day trial period. Sign up for a newspaper subscription at a summer fest and get a free t-shirt. In an age where anything and everything can be at our fingertips or the click of a mouse, consumers have grown accustomed to a culture...

Why Responsive Web Design is Important

Nov 3, 2015 | SEO, UX, Responsive Web Design, Web Design

What is responsive web design? Responsive web design is a way of designing a website so that it adapts—or responds—to any device: a huge desktop monitor, a laptop computer, a tablet, a smartphone, and everything in between. A web developer purposefully designs and...

Why You Need to Start Demonstrating ROI [New Data]

Oct 13, 2015 | Analytics, Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is a “long game.” It’s not as easy as snapping your fingers and watching the number rise on your metrics—rarely is anything that easy. Inbound takes time and nurturing and investment. If your inbound marketing strategy...

How to Stop a Bad Campaign Before It Starts

Oct 6, 2015 | Marketing, Advertising, Business Lessons, #InspiredBy

While in Boston for INBOUND 2015, I took a Liberty Fleet sunset tour of the port. When we got to the Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, one of the members of the crew told us that elephants were used to test the integrity of the bridge. When asked why, he said that...

If A Planet Has a Virtual Tour, Why Don’t You?

Oct 2, 2015 | Google Maps Business View Photography, #InspiredBy

If you’ve read my bio, you know I enjoy Star Wars . . . which itself is an understatement. Needless to say, I’m stoked for the newest Star Wars movie, Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Out-of-my-mind excited. So when I saw that there’s a virtual tour...

What We Learned From INBOUND 15

Sep 22, 2015 | Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Email Marketing

The week of September 8th, Sparkfactor went to Boston to attend the INBOUND Conference, put on by HubSpot. The 4-day conference covered everything inbound marketing-related, from training in HubSpot’s COS and content marketing to sales and email marketing automation....

Connect with People Instead of Personas

Sep 4, 2015 | Marketing, Inbound Marketing

I listen to Spotify during my workday. I prefer the sounds of Maroon 5 over the glaring sound of silence, or garbage trucks out the office window. And while I like that I can listen to almost any song I’d ever want, I still have to sit through the ads that play...