We will be soon be missing our three summer interns:
Hajer Dlame – Manchester College (web division)
Greg McConahay – Ivy Tech (IT division)
Matt Stephens – Southwood High School (IT division)
I am pleased to report that our previous intern Mark Gorham is now working with us part-time (with a hopeful upgrade to full-time soon). Also, Greg has accepted a part-time position with Visionary as a floater between the IT and web divisions. Matt Stephens will hopefully be returning to us once his first year of college is completed.
Hajer is completing a new project for us that should be launched sometime in August. Stay tuned for more details.
Good luck to all of our summer interns as they finish school, start school or start their careers. We hope that this summer has been filled with learning and friendship.
Visionary Web offers a variety of services including web design, web development, content management, database design, graphic design, video publishing and social network marketing, but did you know that we have recently added the following services:
Constant Contact Partnership – let us help you setup your email marketing strategy using Constant Contact today
Spam Stops Here – stop spam in its tracks before it gets to your inbox (available to hosting customers)
Here at Visionary Web we are enjoying the summer in a variety of ways. Our guys and gals have traveled to Ohio, Tennessee, Florida and Illinois. The days have been hectic with a lot of people out, but we have been surging through new projects for Aleris International, the Wabash Public Library, Miami County EDA, Eternal Image, the Wabash County Chamber, Halderman, Manchester Church of the Brethren, Zion Lutheran Church in North Manchester, Thermafiber, United Tool and Florida Fish and Hunt!
Wow what a summer!
We are also sad to report the retirement of one our most prolific clients, Sharon Burch from Health Positive. Sharon has worked with our company for several years and we wish her the best success in her next adventure.
My week got off to a craptastic, wonderful beginning when I tried to start my car and the engine wouldn’t turn over. The first images in my mind was seeing 5 Benjamin Franklin’s with wings floating away, laughing at me as I would be forced to pay the mechanic for parts, labor and not to mention towing. I was fortunate to know that my problem was most likely that my ignition switch had failed. So I went on Google and typed in “Replacing Ignition switch Do it yourself”. I found multiple forums explaining how to do this, but for a mechanic newbie like myself, most of this was Greek to me. I’ve always learned something better if shown a visual of how to do it, than explained. So my next step was youtube. I type in the same search perimeters and I find this little gem.
Replacing Ignition switch
What could have potentially cost 500 dollars plus who knows how long I would have been without a car, turned into $80.00 for the part and only 5 hours without a car. Ignition switch was replaced and I was back in business.
You tend to hear about videos going “viral” on youtube that help businesses get instant recognition and marketing companies promising you they will help you create the next internet craze video. The truth is, no one really knows the reasons what makes one simple little $25 budget video explode over the net while a $500,000 mass marketed version fails. Generally humor is used but if you are using 80% comedy and 20% trying to sell something, you are already at a disadvantage.
As you can see with the video I posted, it was a simple how to video. It was from a company that markets certain parts for GM models. From their viewed list you will notice that it has received over 17k views. While this is no where considered “viral”, that is indeed a healthy number. If you go by the traditional 10% model that out of 10 potentials, 1 person buys, this potentially nets you 1,700 sales for a product that costs $80.00. This equal outs to $136,000. The cost to make this video was probably $500-1000 range. So as you can see, the return on investment here is huge! So instead of wasting time and energy on making the next viral video, try focusing on simple how to videos explaining your niche product or service.
At Visionary Web, we are all about the return on investment for your website and development. We will work with you to help you reach your targeted audience beginning with a small website package, and as your website traffic grows, we will help you with what steps you can do next to expand your website. Whether it is a simple website update with a content management system that allows for you to embed how to videos, to blogs and shopping carts.
 Don’t worry, I was able to put it all back together again. 
The Problem:
Precision Design, which offers custom laser cutting and etching services for name plates, logos and control panels, was using a program written in java script to place orders on a X Y axes plane. The problem with this program was that it did not take into account different browsers, and resolution settings. This resulted in incorrect terminal placings and countless hours wasted in long distance calls between client and Precision Design.
The Solution:
Sandy needed a customized program that would not be affected by type of browser or resolution of her clients. Sandy worked with Visionary Web to develop a customized FLASH program that allowed for correct placing of terminals, mounts, board dimension, mounting hole diameters and even give them the choice to choose board colors.
The Results:
The new addition has cut down on long distance calling for Sandy and allowing for quicker turn around on completing her orders. Her customers have all left positive comments on her site, one even goes on to comment on the customize program “(I) Really appreciate the customized editing. It made for an easy “remote” design process and unique look.”
FLASH does more than just create visual eye candy for websites. It can be used for creating games, watching videos, and as with Precision Design, customized programs for online ordering.
Do you think your business has needs that qualifies for our assistance? Contact me Sean at sales@visionaryweb.com!
Visionary Web has always been about helping small to large businesses and non profits. We’ve recently completed 3 projects and are set to begin a new project that encapsulates what we do.
Flying W Aviation (www.flyingwaviation.com) was looking to have a online presence, simple website offering scenic rides, aerial photography, rental and leasing options. Flying W was a perfect fit for our small business package deal. Visionary Web worked with Flying W to create a website that was simple, easy to navigate, and search engine optimized.
Logan’s Landing (www.loganslanding.com) is a non profit organization based in Logansport Indiana that focuses on revitalizing downtown Logansport. Logan’s Landing needs were unique in that their target audience was not just casual visitor, they needed their website to be able to draw in a potential businesses to reinvest in downtown. Therefore their site needed to be a more contemporary design,embraced web 2.0 features and search engine optimized for site surveyors. Visionary Web installed a blog feature and content management system (CMS) Website Baker. Website Baker is a wonderful tool in that you do not need to know any website coding to keep your website updated.
Aardvark Electronics (www.aardvarkelectronics.com) located in Monticello Indiana, also was needing a site redesign. Aardvark Electronics needed a website that was clean, simple with a minimalistic feel to it since they sell a lot of electronic items that can overwhelm their visitor. Visionary Web worked with Aardvark Electronics to create a design that was easy to navigate clean and utilizes web 2.0 features. Visionary Web will soon have Aardvark sister company Pulaski White Rural Telephone Company site redesigned. (www.pwrtc.com)
Aleris Specifications Alloy Inc, located in Wabash Indiana, makes alloys from aluminum. While they do not need assistance with a website, they do require a service that Visionary Web also offers; consulting. Visionary Web will be working with our sister company Visionary Computers in providing consultation with Aleris in the area of quality and safety with database management and I.T. support.
Do you have a small, medium, large company or non-profit organization that is in need our services? We have the experience and knowledge to help you grow your business! Contact me, Sean for more information at sales@visionaryweb.com
If you are like me, you are constantly on the go, driving to clients office, networking events..etc. It should be no surprise that I have a GPS unit in my car. Recently I found a neat little app for my blackberry that is called Foursquare. This program uses your smart phone built in GPS device and uploads your current location to Google Maps. Whenever you visit a really cool place that has been entered into the Google Map listings (say, Visionary Web) you can click on a check in button and receive points. What is also neat is that when clicking on a very, very, very cool place (again Visionary Web) Google Maps also has your website address linked. The more you check in at the same spot, you can become mayor of where ever you are.
Currently website traffic is still dominated by the usual desktop, but a rapidly growing percentage is visiting websites through smart phones. A lot of websites are not optimized for mobile versions and as a result you are having incredibly high bounce rates (web site abandonment). Every business wants to utilize their website to bring in my sales and having Visionary Web create a custom made mobile edition is a great way to tap into this potential.
Foursquare is an example of mixing fun with business. Let’s say someone is out on their mobile device, playing Foursquare, they find your business on Google Maps. They click on it to check in, and also notice you not only have a website, but a mobile website.
Contact me, Sean at sflaherty@visionaryweb.com if you have any questions. Now if you excuse me, I need to make myself mayor of Visionary Web!
Welcome to the redesigned Visionary Web! We hope you are able to find your way around the site easier. If you have any questions or suggestions, email info@visionaryweb.com Thanks!
Why is Visionary Web pressing so hard for our customers to use social media like Facebook and Twitter to reach their intended audiences? This week in Website Magazine (www.websitemagazine.com) they had an article titled Goodbye Google, Hello Social. We knew from reports that social media was getting big, but this past week Facebook’s traffic was up 250% and Twitter was up 1000% (that’s right a %1000). That translates to less than 20 million visits behind Yahoo! and 30 million behind Google.
What does this mean for the average Internet retailer? Get on the social media bandwagon or be left in the dust. Website Magazine recommends that every serious business should have a presence in the social networking sphere. It also means that early in 2010 Facebook and Twitter will probably pass Yahoo! AND Google for the most visited sites on the net.
If you think social media and establishing a social media presence is going to be a pain, not to worry – there are ways to tie your existing blog with your social media outlets AND tools to help you manage them all from one place. What are you waiting for? Contact Visionary Web today and we can help you decide how social networking could help your business.
260-569-0260
Ask for Sean Flaherty or Mark Sapusek
or email: sales@visionaryweb.com
We have quite a few clients that use blogs on their site. Here are just a few that I’m going to talk about:
Health Positive – http://www.healthpositive.com/blog
Brodbeck Seed – http://www.brodbeckseed.com/blog
Halderman Farm Management – http://www.halderman.com/blog
Health Positive: You’ll notice that a majority of the posts deal with massage therapy which is what Health Positive focuses on in their business. You’ll also see that they tag their posts which is helpful with the search engines because those could be used as search terms. So for example if someone searches for “Massage Business Marketing” then it’s possible that this blog would show up as a search result.
Brodbeck Seed: Brodbeck Seed focuses on Agronomy articles for their blog. Usually an article is posted each month with up to date happenings in the farming world. This information can be helpful/useful to the farming community.
Halderman Farm Management: Halderman focuses on land values, economy, leasing etc. with their blog articles. They also post articles in regards to their auctions as well which is just another way for people to find more information about a particular farm auction.
In conclusion all three of these companies use their blog in a very useful way for their consumers. Their articles can certainly help them with their search engine rankings for particular keywords. If you ever need a blog setup on your site please feel free to contact us @ 877.569.0260
|
