From a product management perspective, applications (mobile or web) really need to serve two functions at the highest level: to serve or to entertain. When you think about it, that’s more than a New Media question, one could relate that purpose to the “real world” as well. Let’s play a quick game: name any brand and you should be able to categorize it as a service or entertainment (maybe even both but remember we said at its highest level). Let’s dive in further…

When starting a new media product development session, one of the first questions we always ask is : will this app serve or entertain? Case in point: TMZ’s mobile app entertains where as Bank Of America’s mobile app serves a purpose. Yet another example: angry birds entertains, but goto meeting offers a service. Make sense?

Starting off a product planning session with this simple question in mind can help drive both the user experience and the product roadmap successfully. The benefit to developing and managing mobile applications is offering that very personal experience, but the downside is the loss of verbal tone. When a user interacts with the mobile app, ideally they should have been condition first, in the “pre-sale” phase, as to the benefit this application will lend. Setting that tone early one, is really driven from the product development deliverables which treat marketing as the first customer.

Although there are many questions and requirements to complete when developing a mobile app, we find that the service vs entertainment is a great starting point from the onset.

The right domain can make all of the difference when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and your local strategy. Domains are not just web addresses, they are your first impression tools. They serve a strong purpose informing search engines what your site is about even before a user clicks on your domain. But does a domain name really matter when developing a strong local strategy for your New Media product/service?

Much controversy has been swirling around the search engine impact of keyword driven domain names. Sites like Search Engine Land.com cover the Local SEO benefits and drawbacks very well, but what we’re going to focus this blog post on the local branding element. There are really two types of geo-targeting when it comes to a branding element regarding a new media product/service. Obviously a good local strategy strives to connect the product/service with an inherent local audience. For example building a review based social application will have more positive uptake when target audience when local elements are prominent: example ” they have the best sweet tea this side of the big chicken” (in case you don’t know, The Big Chicken is a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Marietta, Georgia, which features a 56-foot-tall chicken rising up from the top of the building). So here we have a great local landmark, that wouldn’t mean much to some outside of a 20 mile radius of Marietta, but when developing a domain strategy for this web application, one might lean towards BestOfMarietta.com or MariettaSpeaks.com as a good local strategy name choice. Now this is somewhat a single use example, but the premise is pretty clear.

Although we have seen many cases of local strategy domain name abuse (your city-application or service.com) used thousands of times, but in general tastefully burying in a local strategy can act as an attractive invitation to both search engines and other automated indexing services, as well as develop a strong connection to your local user base.

As the Internet’s push for local search dominance continues to take shape, consumers, business owners, and executives alike are starting to wonder if it’s really all it’s cracked up to be. Consumers like the fact that finding a nearby doctor or plumber is at their finger tips, while tons of local businesses love showing up on major search engine results pages; but the measurement of conversion is still somewhat ambiguous.

Local Search For Goliath

When it comes to local search, how do large franchise organizations with tons of local locations factor in? With an estimate as high as 50% of all Internet searches being local in nature, local search has become an important aspect for national retail franchise businesses. As a New Media organization design their product road-maps with a local focus, factors like independent location weighting have to come into play when dealing with national retailers. As product managers and creative leaders, we need to to develop product road-maps with an inherent local strategy in place. For example, a great local strategy expert tip is adding a GEO modifier to ratings and reviews…Tommy 92636. This element gives the reader an additional perspective into the reviewers mindset and may lend creditability to the review.

What’s Ahead For Local Search?

All in all, the evolution of local search strategy hasn’t even peaked. As local strategy experts chasing the the ultimate product element, “Relevance”, we have to continually bear in mind use case scenarios that put ourselves virtually in the same experience path as other consumers. Doing so not only helps improve local search relevancy, but also adds aids retailers who really are offering fantastic products or services regardless of national or local origin.

Concept and strategy come in many different formats: thoughts, ideas, group discovery and even real world pain points. An interesting paradigm shift is beginning to emerge and we believe will soon be paramount in all discovery sessions; tap and touch. The introduction of the iPhone and iPad touch technologies is nothing too new. For years we have used ATM’s and in-car navigation systems successfully with just our fingertips. Even pen based PDA’s and tablet PC’s have entered our environments striving to achieve that “always with you” device status ready to capture ideas, thoughts and back of the napkin drawings. But in reality most product ideas and buisness models still begin with paper (napkin or menu) and pen.

One thing we have noticed over the past decade of providing product leadership and strategy to numerous new media organizations, is a very simple starting point that can be captured with a pen or touch: What’s wrong or missing? Who thinks so? This simple, yet often overlooked initial step is key to starting any new product design or enhancing a product road-map.

In our opinion, there are 3 questions that should be answered when kicking off any product concept:

1) I wish this app or web service could:________

2) According to research, ____ other users wish it could do that or something similiar as well.

3) If it did do that, there are at least ____ other partners that may be interested and could benefit from the audience it would target.

See, 3 simple questions that can be answered with a pen, a stylus, a keyboard, or a tap and touch; the choice is yours. We suspect the pen and paper are most comfortable very familiar ultimately making them most popular because they are readily available almost everywhere. Until we can pick up an iPad, being used as a to-go menu at your favorite restaurant, and jot down an idea the most important thing to remember is  no matter what your “weapon of choice”, make your product team happy by presenting your next great product idea to them with these 3 questions answered.

(CNNMoney.com) — Question: I’ve been learning about SEO and trying to work it into my company Web site, fretzels.com, which can definitely use an SEO makeover. My company, Fretzels by Jill, makes really unique hand-dipped gourmet chocolate-covered pretzels like you’ve never seen or tasted before.

I have Google Analytics set up and notice that most of the traffic comes from those who are searching for my site. What can I do to increase my Web site’s visibility when people are searching for more general keywords related to my product? For example, I’d love for people searching for “corporate gifts” or “unique gifts” to be able to find my site. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Read More

Costa Mesa, CA March 18, 2009 –Visionary View to optimize FarmPlusFinancial.com website.

Visionary View, a leading digital business development firm specializing in assisting clients meet and exceed their expectations of New Media, today announced it’s relationship as the interactive partner for FarmPlusFinancial.com, an organization dedicated to financing America’s agricultural industry.

“We are extremely excited to add Farm Plus Financial to our New Media client portfolio and enhance the online experience tied to their farm and rural lending process.. The US farming and agricultural market is in a position to take advantage of aggressive lending options, and Farm Plus Financial provides the services and resources to satisfy those needs ” said Greg Bozigian, Chief Media Officer at Visionary View. The firms experience also includes leading brands such as Verizon Wireless VZ Navigator, Local.com, AT&T, and Macy’s.

In a collaborative effort to optimize FarmPlusFinancial.com, Visionary View has redesigned the website while delivering a phased approach to better increasing Internet visibility. Since the relationship began in late 2008, FarmPlusFinancial.com is currently positioned within the top five results in Google for a keyword search on farm loans.

About Visionary View:

Visionary View (http://www.visionaryview.com) is a privately held new media management and digital business development firm who seeks clients and partners that understand and wish to participate in the new media frontier. Having core strengths in product management and new media marketing, Visionary View also develops wholly owned web applications through joint partner relations. To learn more about Visionary View visit http://www.visionaryview.com.

About Farm Plus Financial:
Farm Plus Financial (http://www.farmplusfinancial.com) is one of the nation’s largest providers of ranch, rural and farm loan programs dedicated to the individual needs of American farmers and ranchers. Headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, Farm Plus Financial has been helping American farmers finance millions in agricultural lending. To learn more about or apply for a farm loan program visit http://www.farmplusfinancial.com/get-started.html

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Media Contact:
Michael Banks
Visionary View
(949) 484.4834
mbanks@visionaryview.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Larry Michaels
Williams & Michaels Financial Services, Inc.
714.210.8875
lm@rwilliamscpa.com

Your web startup needs to cut through the clutter and reel in customers, and search engine optimization (SEO) can be just the ticket. SEO helps improve your search rankings so your website shows up higher on Google, Yahoo and other popular search engines. “SEO is really [fundamental]. It should be a line item when you’re developing your website,” says Greg Bozigian, founder and chief media officer of new media marketing company Visionary View. Read More

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Web can be a great place to market and sell your goods to consumers all over the world. It can also help you communicate with customers and foster a community around your company. The only catch: Site visitors need to be able to easily access those features in order to reap the benefits. Read More

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — If your business has an online presence, picking a Web host is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make. The host manages the servers on which your site will run and literally has control of your company’s connection to its customers...Read More

Lake Forest, Calif., January 2, 2008 –Visionary View (V2), the premiere New Media product consulting company, today announced that it has enter into a client engagement with Relevant Ads, an emerging search marketing organization helping thousands of local based businesses get online.

Visionary View will provide product consulting services to assist Relevant Ads in developing and managing their product roadmap. Planned expansion in 2008 includes a strategic focus on partner development, sales channel expansion, and the continued optimization of the company’s Relevant Yellow business directory profile page.

“Relevant Ads has a great mission, getting local business online” said Greg Bozigian, Chief Media Officer of Visionary View. “We’re excited to be a part of this initiative. The company is very focused on becoming that conduit deemed last mile marketer, where a local business can utilize a single managed platform as their local profile tool.”

“Visionary View has a team that fully understands the local advertiser market” said David Rodecker, President of Relevant Ads.” With our 2008 initiatives, Visionary View brought a perfect blend of product, and business strategy to assist in executing our aggressive 2008 roadmap.”

About Relevant Ads

Relevant Ads provides high quality search results for thousands of businesses seeking a targeted local Internet presence. Acting as a single source management platform, Relevant Ads provides advertisers optimized results including paid, organic, and local positioning. Relevant Ads manages a variety of data feeds, tier one distribution partners and highly leveraged strategic sales channels to deliver precise penetration of search engines. Founded in 2005, the company is headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif. For more information on Relevant Ads please visit: www.relevantads.com.

About Visionary View
Visionary View (V2) is the premier source for performance media products. Visionary View provides consulting expertise in development, management, and marketing of new media products utilizing performance search, interactive media, mobile technologies, and distributed video content. Founded in 2005, the company is headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif. For more information on Visionary View please visit: www.visionaryview.com.

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Michael Banks (mbanks@visionaryview.com)
Phone: 949.484.4834