When was the last time you hit the streets to promote your business? It’s probably been a while if you’ve ever actually attempted to resort to a cold approach method like that. While not entirely unsuccessful, “Street Selling” is very uncomfortable and extremely difficult to execute well. You’re walking up to someone you don’t know and trying to sell your product or service with absolutely zero context.
What if I told you that relying on just your website is exactly like approaching strangers on the street? It’s true.
Think of it this way: when a new visitor comes to your website, they know nothing about you. They may click around and see what your business does, but then they get distracted by Facebook and click away from your site. Your potential customer now knows your business exists, but there’s nothing left to draw them back. It’s the internet equivalent of tossing your business’s flyer into the trashcan just around the corner from where you’re handing it out.
Hopefully you’re now asking: “Is there a better way, Ryan?” The answer: absolutely yes. You need to use a landing page.
What’s a Landing Page?
It’s exactly what it sounds like – it’s a dedicated page that new visitors to your site “land” on when they click on your Social Media posts or online advertising. The goal is to provide direction and value upfront. Instead of hoping your visitor clicks the right page and takes the time to read your perfectly crafted copy, a landing page actually lets you direct people to exactly where you want them. Sounds great, right?
You can design a landing page to do just about anything – like get leads or make a sale. The trick is to make sure you do it right. Creating a perfectly balanced landing page can be difficult, but it’s worth every second your put into it. Take a few minutes to soak up the basics of landing pages, and then feel free to come talk to us here at Spynr if you’re interested in learning more!
The Two Tenets of Landing Pages
When someone visits your site, you want them to purchase your product or service. That’s common sense, and it’s why you hopefully spent a lot of time constructing the perfect pitch on your site. However, before they even get to your pitch, you need to accomplish two largely unconscious victories with your visitor:
- You need them to like you.
- You need them to trust you.
That’s the mark of a good salesman, right? Well, a landing page is a top-notch salesman. If the average person can’t look at you and both like your company and trust it, then you need to seriously reevaluate.
That’s why landing pages are so powerful. It’s an upfront opportunity to be extremely likeable and provide some tangible and trust building value from the very beginning.
Keep in mind that you can’t win over everyone who sees you, but the ones you do win with a good landing will be much more willing to invest themselves in your business. Landing pages create an affirming relationship from the start. Once you’ve established that initial relationship, you can switch your focus to warming your new lead and making a sale.
Variety is the Spice of Landing Pages
Now that we’ve got the landing page concept down, there’s one more thing to consider: what’s your objective? Not every landing page has to deliver sales. In fact, most don’t. The safer and much more lucrative approach usually takes a longer road, but let’s consider a few different objectives and see what works best for you.
- “I want to make a sale.”
You need to simultaneously create affinity and a need in your new visitor. Consider something like a short, tantalizing video with a compelling call to action that leaves people wanting more. Your objective is to get them to click through to the next page and learn more about your product or service.
- “I want to start a conversation.”
Your goal is to get contact information. The best thing to do here is provide something in exchange for an email address or phone number. Put together an eBook or webinar that you can offer your visitors and then follow up with a conversation starting email campaign.
- “I want them to know more about me”
You need to direct them to your blog. It’s tempting to send them to your “about me” page, but don’t. The best way for someone to get to know you is to show them what you know, and a blog is the perfect vehicle to do that. Put together some content, or talk to us about creating it for you.
- “I don’t know what I want”
That’s okay. If you really want to look into your options, we’d love to talk to you about some of the different strategies you can implement on your website. Just get us some contact info and we’ll get you started!
