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Landing Pages are Key to Converting Sales

landingegmb757loverOne of the most common problems we see with our clients is landing pages that are not converting website visitors into customers.  Many clients will spend quite a bit of money on advertising, but fail to complete the transaction on their landing pages.  Often visitors will be just directed to a home page, which is a bit like dropping your 5 year old off at the mall and expecting them to be able to buy their own tennis shoes.

When you’re designing your landing pages, you need to put yourself into your customer’s shoes.  What information would you need to make a purchase decision?  A landing page needs to have all the information that a customer would need to make a purchase decision – ideally it also lets them make a purchase right there.

If you have a wide range of products, you’ll need to have multiple landing pages which target each one.  The same for multiple target audiences and advertising.  Think of a landing page as a one page print ad – you really need to engage the customer, entice them with your offer, and get them to take action.

It may take a bit of time to get a landing page that you’re happy with.  Make changes and then give them some time to work.  Take a look at your statistics and see what’s working and what’s not.  Good landing pages will be well worth the effort (with a side benefit of a bit of seo juice).

(photo by egmb757lover @ Flickr CC)

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Do you have Effective Advertising?

advertisingskyworkmediaIf you can spare some cash, a tight economy is actually a great time to do some advertising to expand your brand’s reach.  Your competitors may be pulling back on advertising, which makes this a good time to steal some share from them.  All of this is meaningless if you don’t have effective advertising.

I’ve seen many clients who have pretty good click-through rates for their ads (especially Google AdWords), but when you take a look at how much they’re paying for a conversion (usually a sale), it often is more than the product is selling for.  Here are some tips to make your advertising more effective:

  • Tout benefits to the customer.
  • Be clear and to the point.
  • Make your brand stand out.
  • Don’t be obnoxious – avoid too much movement.
  • Ads should lead to an effective landing page.
  • Make information needed for purchasing clear and consistent.
  • Minimize clicks for whatever action you want people to take.
  • Target your ads to places that actually have potential customers.
  • Don’t try to trick your customers.
  • Be attractive – your ad and landing page (and website) need to look good.

What else makes for effective advertising?  Please share any ideas in the comments below.

(photo by Skywork Media @ Flickr CC)

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Think of Social Media as a Great Party

partytanakawhoEver been to a great party?  (I hope so, if not – find one soon!)  What made the party great?  Good food?  Good music? Probably the most important part of a good party is good people.  People who you like and feel comfortable with make it easy to have a good time.  Think of social media like a good party.

You arrive at the party.

Do you just start shouting at people? I hope not.  You probably scan the room to see who is there and what they’re doing.  You may start mingling and greeting people, listening to what people are saying in smaller conversations.

You find some interesting people.

You listen to the conversations and introduce yourself when they look up at you.  You continue to listen, but speak up occasionally with good points that add to the overall conversation.  You learn more about the people who are around you.

You start to dance.

The music gets a bit louder and people are starting to hit the dance floor.  You grab a drink and dance with the people you’ve met.  Everyone is having a great time.

Someone special catches your eye.

From across the room you notice someone really special who is looking directly at you.  You make your way across the room and start up an engaging conversation that makes the time seem to fly.

You have a great time.

Social media is about being social.  Meet new people, learn what they do and have engaging conversations.  The more people you meet, the more great conversations you will have, and the more likely you will find business leads.  Remember to have a great time!

(photo by tanakawho @ Flickr CC)

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