Marketing, Tech Tips
One of the most frequently asked questions I hear must be “What is a landing page?” immediately followed by “What are the benefits of a landing page?” A landing page is a webpage that you land on after clicking on a hyperlink. However, the definition goes a little deeper when discussing landing pages as a marketing tool.
When we talk about landing pages in marketing, we are usually referring to a webpage that has been designed to focus solely on a single objective. The reason it focuses on a single objective is so that potential customers will also focus solely on that one thing. No distractions of sidebars or a navigation menu that can potentially take them away from the page with your intended conversion goal. Landing pages are basically really short versions of sales pages. So why should you use one? Simply put, they increase your conversion rate.
Landing pages are generally used for inbound advertising campaigns. Most often you will see a landing page when you have clicked on an ad or a social media post if the business is trying to get your attention for a specific product or service. Using dedicated landing pages allow you to project a different voice for different products, unlike your home or services pages where you are trying to address several things. Even though your voice may differ on your landing pages, your overall branding should remain the same.
Another benefit of using landing pages is that it’s easy to split test different pages to see which gets the most conversions. Sometimes small changes in text or images will make all the difference between a successful campaign and a not so successful one.
When creating a landing page, there is a basic anatomy they all have in common:
- A primary headline that matches the ad or post you used to get people to click on.
- A supporting headline
- The hero image or video. (According to eyeviewdigital.com, using video on landing pages can increase conversion by 80%.)
- Short and concise content. Utilizing bullet points allows you to convey more information in a smaller space.
- A call to action that is big and bold.
- Social proof – One or two testimonials, optional
- Another CTA is optional
- A closing statement
Even though landing pages are kept fairly simple, you can take a little more creative license with background images, arrows pointing to relevant information, and colors. But remember, the main goal is to have the prospect focusing on your product, so don’t go too crazy!
Usually after I finish answering the first two questions above, I hear “Can you create one for me?”. My answer is always YES!
Branding
There are so many new buzz words these days it’s hard to keep up. (Here’s a complete list of buzzwords predicted to take over in 2017.) One of the new words is ‘brand identity’. It’s more than just your typical buzzword though, you need to know what it means and what you as a business needs to do about it.
So, what is a ‘Brand Identity’? According to http://www.investopedia.com, a company’s brand identity is “how that business wants to be perceived by consumers. The components of the brand (name, logo, tone, tagline, typeface) are created by the business to reflect the value the company is trying to bring to the market and to appeal to its customers.”
It also goes on to point out the difference between brand identity and brand image. Your image is how the public perceives you which may not necessarily be what you think your brand identity is. For that reason, it is important to create a clear and concise brand identity and keep it consistent across all forms of your marketing..
Here are a few ideas to help manage a brand identity that will last and represent you well:
- Take the time to development your brand. This will help you manage your image.
- Brand consistency eliminates brand confusion.
- Establishing your brand standards and maintaining that standard, will build brand equity.
- Customers will see your brand and know exactly what your business is no matter what platform they see you on.
- Maintaining a consistent brand helps to convey a certain degree of reliability and trust. (think Coca-Cola)
You may want to create a brand style guide to share with your team. Included in the guide should be:
- Exact company name to be used including LLC, Inc, Co., etc.
- Tag Line
- Mission Statement.
- Logo – You should have variations so you need to detail what/when/where each variation is used.
- Color Scheme – Include hex codes, rgb, and color usage as it relates to your brand.
- Typography – List of fonts you use in your blog content, press releases, emails, sales copy
- Imagery and Photo Styles — How should these look to the market? Under what circumstances are different styles used, what feelings they should induce in the customer
- Copy Guidelines — The more details the better about capitalization of letters in the brand name/brand material, and circumstances and locations to use trademarks, affiliations, slogans, disclaimers, etc.
- Examples of what you consider poor use of your brand — such as inappropriate language while signed into company social media and other online profiles.
Is your brand identity the same across all platforms of marketing, including social media? Is it telling the same story everywhere you see it? Talk to us and we can do a complete brand identity evaluation for you!
