Visfire – A Digital Ad Agency

January 13th, 2011 by Brennan Knotts. Posted in Enterprise, Georgia, ecommerce

Cory Rowan works with Visfire, an Atlanta SEO company and web design firm that dubs itself a “digital ad agency.” In the interview below we discuss trends in mobile development and local seo, working with motorsports clients, and social media integration.

1. What types of services does Visfire offer?

VisFire offers creative internet marketing strategies, web design and web development services.  In addition, we have recently added a full suite of print advertising services and are moving into the mobile development arena to accommodate customers in search of applications for the iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile platforms.

2. What advice would you give to someone trying to hire a web design firm?

Many customers’ number one concern is price as it is for most things.  However, it is important for the client to understand exactly what they are looking for and find a firm that can properly execute their needs into a functional, marketable and striking website.  I would suggest a client ask a series of questions as if they were interviewing someone.  A few questions I would suggest are:

1. How does your web design process work?
2. Will you be using a content management system?
3. Do you provide training?
4. What experience does your team have?

When you are shopping for a web designer/developer imagine you are shopping for a car.  There is a reason why web design prices vary so greatly.  Do you want the cheapest car available?  Do you want the most luxurious car? Do you want the fastest car?  The safest car?  If you are only concerned with price, you probably won’t get many of the other requirements you are seeking.

3. What trends are you seeing in the type of work you’re being asked to do?

Almost 100% of medium sized firms are asking for content management systems, most want mobile development and everyone is concerned with SEO.  Just a year ago these broad based requests were only being submitted by enterprise level clients.  Clients are looking for mobile and SEO from the start, while it was previously an afterthought.

Localized SEO has also become a hot button topic for firms of all sizes.  Large companies want local SEO for their individual retail locations and smaller companies want to be the go to firm in their service industry.  VisFire is offering targeted strategies to push local rankings higher for local and location based mobile search.  Although we are an Atlanta SEO company, we offer nationwide localized search strategies.

4. Are Visfire’s web designers, developers, SEO experts, etc. located in-house or do you outsource to freelancers?  Is this something a client should consider when hiring a web design firm, why or why not?

VisFire’s experts are located in house so we can service our clients in the most efficient manor possible.  When hiring a web design firm, be sure you are going to deal directly with the team leader assigned to your project.  As a customer, your direct point of contact should always be knowledgeable about the technical aspects of your project.  Be cautious when dealing with non-technical sales people that many firms hire.

5. What’s your favorite type of client or project?

We like all aspects of our work, but some are more interesting than others.  New clients that represent an industry we haven’t worked with before are very exciting.  It gives us the opportunity to learn about a new industry.  This is especially true if we are developing an internet marketing strategy for the client.  If we had to pick one type I would say automobile and motorsports clients.  My partners and I are both automobile enthusiasts and know the industry well, so our passion shows when dealing with these types of customers.

6. When is a website “finished”?

Officially, as soon as the customer is satisfied.  That probably sounds a little cliché but it is the truth.  We are providing a service that becomes a product [a website] and it should represent that individual or company.  Therefore, as hired designers our clients have the final say so.

Unofficially, the vast majority of our clients keep coming back for additions and expansions, so projects are never really finished.  We have been fortunate enough to continually receive repeat business.

7. Here’s a more personal question (well, more personal to Visfire that is) – what’s one change you wish you could make to the Visfire website right now?

There are always changes that we think about making to our website.  We are like a car mechanic that never has time to fix his or her own car.  At this point I would like to add some dynamic menus to our navigation, update our portfolio and probably lighten up the color pallet.

8. You call yourselves a digital ad agency, how does this make you different from other web design companies?

Design, development, and marketing/advertising are treated as three separate but overlapping entities.  We are not a web design firm that also buys ad space and we are not an advertising firm that happens to design for the web.  All of these elements together function to give our clients the best experience possible.

We are often asked to market, optimize, or advertise websites other firms have designed and developed.  This usually results in us spending huge chunks of time fixing someone else’s work before ours can even begin.  Firms that are just focused on design seem to leave out some of the most important elements used for search engine marketing and display advertising.  Clients that come to us for their design and development get these elements built-in the first time.  It is our experience in marketing that makes our web design and development right the first time.  In the end, this saves the client time and money.

9.  As a digital advertising and web design firm, how do you approach social media integration?

Before any social media campaign is implemented, we have a conversation with our clients about expectations.  Social media is not the uncharted gold mine as it was once perceived, it is now a necessity.  It is part of every design, every marketing strategy, and every ad campaign we do.   Some clients incorrectly believe that a social presence alone will suddenly bring them greater sales.  Social media is part of the larger puzzle.

Social media is not just a marketing tool or advertising medium, it is a listening tool.  It is not a place to blatantly blast customers with solicitations, but it is a place to start conversations and listen to what your customers really want.  Much of social media’s ROI is soft or indirect.  While sentiment metrics and click through counts are quantifiable, a change in the way your business views its customers (as people instead of numbers) is not so easy to measure.  Businesses need to begin to think of social media as a necessity and an opportunity for understanding.

Some of our client’s biggest social media successes have not even been in the social medium.  We often use social trends from Facebook and Twitter to drive banner ad or email campaigns.  We have seen huge email opening rates when integrating social trends into subject lines.  The same can be said for click through rates as well.  By involving ourselves in client’s social campaigns, we are able to create web and advertising experiences that drive greater customer engagement.  My advice – integrate social media into your website as much as possible and start listening.

10.  Does VisFire have an area of expertise that is more prominent than others?

Our areas of expertise vary for each of our areas of specialization in web design, development, and marketing.  However, there are areas of expertise or skill sets that overlap more than others.  Although our staff is very diverse, we all have a strong knowledge of ecommerce.  Our developers and designers have worked in software packages ranging from open source and custom to enterprise cart frameworks.  Our marketing and advertising team has worked with online retailers generating revenue anywhere from $100 thousand to $100 million.  We are very comfortable in this space and believe that there is no one size fits all ecommerce solution.