Landing pages are where conversions happen. In the world of marketing that means landing pages drive value for all that we do. Without proper landing pages campaigns don’t lead to profits, growth, or results. As vital as landing pages are to our strategies, many marketers still struggle with optimizing these pages.
The main barrier marketers run into is thinking of their landing pages as a sales pitch. Consider what it took to get your audience to your landing page. They probably saw an ad or a few ads, came from a social page, or opened an email. These initial touch points most likely leaned on the salesy side, using a short window to earn the customer’s interest. Continuing to push a sales only agenda is going to further reduce the chances of converting.
Instead of thinking about your landing page as a sales meeting, consider using the destination as an opportunity to tell a story. This may sound a bit odd at first but there’s a psychological factor behind it that makes this mindset so effective. An effective story can instantly help a customer connect with your offer, visualize your product in their life, and speed up a purchase decision. Here’s 5 ways to ensure your landing page story is clear and effective.
If your landing page is a story, then think of your ad as the trailer to the story. Your ad highlights key value points in its limited timespan, of course your landing page is going to expand on these points but if customers don’t feel like the ad and landing page connect then their bounce rate will be high. This is why it’s key to confirm why a customer should stay and browse your page.
Your landing page should remain relevant to the initial touchpoint that brought the audience there. If your ad focused on a new pricing or special offer, then put your price up front and at the top of the page. If your ad focused on a certain product line then start your page with a listing of products. Every point from your original touchpoint should be focused on and expanded on in your landing page.
Your landing page is a story, and every great story needs a great main character. In the world of Hollywood it’s easy to tell who a main character is as soon as the audience shows up for the show. But in marketing, you have to put in the extra effort to ensure the audience knows who the star is. The problem is it’s not always who we think it is.
In marketing, the brand is never the main character of the story. If you’re selling dog food and making a story all about your brand, then you’re not selling dog food at all. The truth is, the customer needs to consistently feel like the main character of your story. In the dog food example, the audience needs to be able to see their dog at the center of that dog food story.
Identifying the audience as the main character of your story is only complicated if you haven’t done work upfront to personalize your landing page. If you have properly segmented your audience then it should be a simple task.
All you have to do is:
Once your audience feels called out they’ll begin to trust your landing page and conversely, your offer.
Just because your brand isn’t the star of the show doesn’t mean it shouldn’t come into play. Your brand is still a necessary element in your story. If your audience is the main character, then the brand needs to serve as a mentor character–a Gandalf to the Frodo of your story. As the mentor, the brand is in charge of creating a plan for the main character to follow to achieve their goals.
If you’ve already addressed the pain points then you should be able to create a plan to overcome these pains. Whether that be expenses, time savings, or quality of life improvements, you need to be able to show the audience the path to their goals and how your offer gets them there. Speak to the benefits of your offer and show the audience how it exactly targets their needs or wants.
A part of being the mentor is garnering trust. Take the time to facilitate yourself with the audience, explain why your brand is an expert in sourcing these kinds of solutions. Your customers need to believe in your ability and expertise or else they want to trust the plan long enough to act on it.
Interest is a fickle thing in the world of online marketing. You only have so long before interest begins to wane and your bounce rates start to rise. Everyone converts differently, and for this reason your landing page needs a CTA strategy that caters to different conversion habits.
A CTA is not something you want customers to search for. If they’re ready for a purchase as soon as they click an ad then they should be able to find the CTA immediately. Your layout should cater to making the CTA clear and stand out.
Your CTA design should include:
Beyond this, a CTA needs to have a clear action. If your customer can’t discern what action they’re about to take by clicking your CTA button, their own confusion may dissuade them from following through. There’s nothing worse than getting a potential customer to the finish line just to lose a sale due to an ill-conceived CTA button.
Landing pages are creative challenges at their core. Every audience has different needs and desires when it comes to fueling their purchase decisions. Best practices will get you going in the right direction but they don’t necessarily help you stand out from the crowd. Being an expert of creative is about understanding what strategy to deploy and how to personalize those strategies to your unique audience.
Unfortunately, answers like that only come in the form of proven experience. Fortunately, there are options to fast track your brand’s way to that experience.
KNB online hosts a team of experienced designers, brand experts, and experienced marketing strategists. We’ve used our mix of experience to help brands of all business types, goals, and growth stages achieve more results with their campaigns. If nothing else, our expertise is a great way for quickly building a foundation of social strategies that you can build on.
If you want to meet to learn about our strategies or discuss a personalized partnership with my team then we’re available to meet. It’s up to you, simply click here and book some time so we can evaluate the best path forward for you.