This post was submitted by a TNS experts. Check out...
read more TNS Experts
What's a good, converting landing page? It's the one that doesn't make a user think too much and look for a desired item. It delivers the message clearly to the right people in the right place.
To create such a landing page, you need to invest in a little research and content first. In this post, we've gathered 8 tactics for creating a landing page that attracts customers and makes them come back for more. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
1. Know your target audience
Writing without your target audience in mind is like shooting without a target. You can be a great copywriter and put all your heart and skills into writing, but you'll fail to deliver your message to your reader.
A good content writer doesn't start work without basic information about the target audience, like:
- Demographics (age, location, gender, occupation, income, marital status, etc)
- Their online habits
- Hobbies and interests
- Pain points
The same product can have different target audiences, so all your content must focus around them. For example, Bumble and bumble shampoo is targeted at busy millennial women looking for professional haircare for an affordable price. The company uses informal style, bold call-to-actions (CTAs), and quality images from social media to showcase their vibrant community and products.
2. Write straightforward headlines
A headline is an element of a landing page that draws attention and impacts a customer's decision whether to stay on a page or not. While the rest of a landing page discloses the offer and slightly leads a customer to making a decision to buy, to fill in a subscription form, etc, a headline determines whether they'll be interested in your offer.
CoSchedule is an ultimate marketing suite. The company placed a bold headline and a screenshot of their tool above the fold. Such a move allows customers to make a first impression of the tool and get the key idea of what the tool does: helps teams organize marketing work for remote teams.
3. Use educational content
Landings shouldn't be all about sales pitches. A "tell, don't sell" approach pays its way, especially if you're promoting educational services, working in a non-government sphere, or raising awareness.
Educating your customers on an existing problem helps you evoke a fear of missing out (FOMO), so they get motivated to solve the issue as quickly as possible. You can also bond with your customers around an issue and share your values with them in such a way.
One of the content marketing examples for educational content is Colgate. The company educates their customers about oral care and oral health in the first place, creating an image of a company with a scientific and caring approach.
4. Place catchy CTAs with visual elements
Sometimes, you have to lead a customer to a desired action. With the help of CTAs, you can give them a hint of what you'd like them to do: to make a purchase, to subscribe to a service, to leave an email, etc.
Call-to-action buttons must be vivid and bold enough, so users can easily spot them and not scroll them away. However, CTA buttons aren't a place for your creative experiments. They must comply with the general rules of conversion rate optimization and be recognizable.
A time-proven format for CTA is a button with text. Sounds boring? You can experiment with colors, fonts, shapes, placement of a button, and their visual look.
Tarte Cosmetics doesn't leave a chance for their customers to miss a CTA with this luring animated offer at the very beginning of the home page.
5. Add lead forms to the main screen
If you're collecting user emails or signups, it makes sense to put your efforts into creating lead generating forms. A rule of thumb for successful lead forms:
- Keep them short and don't make a user fill in an excessive amount of information
- Use compelling call-to-action buttons
- Motivate users to sign up for an offer like a free ebook or a discount
- Use gamification techniques like quizzes and trivia
Backlinko, a #1 SEO training resource presents a subscription form on the main screen, inviting users to subscribe to the exclusive newsletter right off the bat.
Being paired with a bold and straightforward headline and clean design, the lead capture form motivates users to join the platform quickly without getting into much detail.
6. Publish customer success stories
Customer stories are a must on a converting landing page. Besides their main purpose – building trust among your target audience and creating social proof, they also help you:
- Convert leads into loyal customers
- Create a sense of empathy towards your customers
- Bond with your customers around your values
To make your customer stories trustworthy, it's important to use photos, names of your customers and their job titles. Ideally, you add a link to their social media accounts, so anyone can double check their identity and make sure their story isn't fake.
Make sure your customer stories are storytelling, not just a list of facts and appraisals.
Patagonia, an activewear company, created "The stories we wear" project to breathe life in generic customer testimonials. They share the moments of lives of their customers while wearing Patagonia activewear. It helps them build a community and share their mission and values through the love for adventures and active lifestyle.
7. Take a benefits-driven approach
Theodore Levitt, an American economist, said: "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want to buy a quarter-inch hole."
This means that you should focus on the benefits of your product and services rather than on their technical characteristics, even if they're impressive and revolutionary. As a rule, users don't get much from long and detailed technical specifications. What they really want is to get to the point and see what's in it for them.
Apple is a great example of a technological company that keeps copy on their landing pages short and concise. Apple doesn't burden a customer with too much technological detail. Instead, they add a description that goes straight in the heart of a user. For savvy users, Apple adds an additional page with technical specifications, so anyone can easily compare the devices if needed.
8. Add demo videos
What can tell a story better than copy and images? Videos, of course!
With videos, you can tell a story, stir the right emotions, and efficiently showcase your products and services.
The general rules of efficient demo videos are simple:
- Speak with a wide audience, but always keep "the one" customer in mind, as if you're speaking with them in person.
- Include CTAs in a video as well – visually and in a video script.
- Choose a video format – an explainer video, a demo, etc, and stick to their storyline and narrative.
The video doesn't necessarily have to feature people. For example, Calendly, a meeting scheduling tool, provides a classic explainer video in a plain cartoon-like form. Such video format helps customers get the essence of a service and their value proposition.
Wrapping up
Do you want to see a significant boost in conversions? Then try these time-proven tactics to landing page optimization from prominent ecommerce and service companies.
Feel free to let us know how your page performed after implementing our tips. We're looking forward to chatting with you in the comments section below!
This post was submitted by a TNS experts. Check out our Contributor page for details about how you can share your ideas on digital marketing, SEO, social media, growth hacking and content marketing with our audience.
