Archive for June, 2010

Landing Where You Need To Be

By Amanda Bala

Has this ever happened to you?  You are looking to learn more information about a specific product, so you go onto Google and begin a search.  You enter the product you want to find and the list of websites comes up.  From there you choose what looks to be your best option.  However, when you click on the site, you are taken to the homepage and not the page with the product information you were searching for. From there it is up to you to search through the website to find what you are looking for.  This can be extremely frustrating for the consumer and in some instances even cost the company a potential sale.  The solution to this problem is what is commonly called a landing page.

A landing page in the simplest terms is the page that a visitor “lands on.”  It is making sure that the visitor is taken to the exact page they are searching for when clicking a link.  A landing page very rarely is the homepage. 

There are two types of landing pages: reference and transactional.

A reference landing page presents information that is relevant to the person visiting the site. These pages can display text, images, relevant links or other specific informational elements.

A transactional landing page seeks to persuade a visitor to complete a transaction.  This can be making a purchase, filling out a form or interacting with advertisements that appear on the landing page.  A visitor taking the desired action on a transactional landing page is referred to as a conversion. The efficiency or quality of the landing page can be measured by its conversion rate, the percentage of visitors who complete the desired action. 

Let’s look at a situation where a landing page would be useful.  For example, take Delicious Marketing.  If you found a link directing you to a specific Delicious Marketing article and clicked it, you would expect to be taken directly to that article, correct?  If we had the correct landing page set up, then that is what would happen.  Now, what would happen if you clicked on the link and instead of directing you to the article, it took you to our home page?  Most likely, you would be annoyed and probably leave the site and mumble a few choice words cursing Delicious Marketing for wasting your time.  Even if you did stay on and try to find the article, you would probably still not be pleased with our company for making you take extra steps.

Landing pages are a simple way to make it easier on a visitor.  And if a landing page is not used correctly, it is a great way to upset and annoy visitors, and potentially lose a sale. With all the different sites consumers have to choose from, don’t you want to make sure you give them exactly what they are searching for?

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To Brand or Not to Brand

By Amanda Bala

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Wikipedia defines a brand as the identity of a specific product, service, or business. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, color combination or slogan.  What does this mean for your business?  How does branding affect you?

When we hear the name Coca Cola, what image comes to mind?  For most, it is the vivid red label of the bottle.  Though the label has changed slightly through the years, the color has remained constant.  So much that there is actually a font color called “Coke Red”.  This is their brand.  It is a feeling, an emotion, an image that elicits a response.  Whether it is positive or negative, it has a strong mental picture and feeling that goes with the company. 

Your brand is who you are and what you do personified.  It is the look and feel of your business.  Many people think a company’s logo is their brand.  This is quite untrue.  The logo is a part of your brand.  However, it is just one piece of the equation.  You take your logo and build your brand around it. 

Your brand needs to be distinctive.  It must set you apart from your competition.  Just like the logo is the cornerstone for a brand, your brand is the cornerstone to all of your marketing communications.  It strengthens your position and sets the stage for your entire marketing framework.

There are many important things that your brand should convey.  It must clearly deliver your message to potential customers.  It must connect with them emotionally and confirm your credibility in your area of expertise.  It needs to motivate your potential clients to buy what it is you are selling.  Lastly, it must promote loyalty from those clients to return to you in the future.

Finally, a brand is consistent.  Colors and themes are carried throughout.  As mentioned above with Coca Cola, through time they have varied the label slightly.  However, the overall appearance and color have remained the same.   A brand can be upgraded and enhanced after it has served its time and it can be varied as long as the logo, colors, fonts, etc. remain consistent.

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Social Networking: Does It Really Work?

By Amanda Bala

“No, I will not join Facebook, Twitter or any of those other social sites”.  Is this you?  Have you said these exact words?  Do you think that the new wave of social media websites are only for kids and people with too much time on their hands?  If so, then you are missing a great opportunity to use these tools to help grow your business.

People have so many excuses as to why they are not using social networking.  “I don’t have the time”, “I don’t understand the sites”, “This is just a fad” or “I am too set in my ways to change now”.  No offense, but this is flawed thinking.  None of these excuses matter.  It is time to realize the massive potential that exists for any business that is willing to put the time and effort into using new technology.

The Internet has and will continue to change the way business and business relationships work.  If you do not understand the new technologies or are just resistant to this change, your business is likely to suffer.  You may not be taking advantage of these new avenues to reach potential clients, but your competition is, which puts you behind them.  With the click of a button and a few minutes of time, they are not only reaching out and building relationships with new and existing clients, but also getting involved with them, which is a very effective way to expand business.

C. C. Chapman in the blog “Managing the Gray” sums this up perfectly in saying “Brands need to wake up to the fact that “new media” isn’t going away. In fact, I’d argue that it isn’t new anymore, but is here and at the forefront so you either wake up and pay attention or you lose business to the company that is paying attention.”

The depth of the client relationship you can create via social networking is something that could never be achieved with traditional media.  It does not mean that traditional media such as television, radio and print are obsolete; it means that you need to use all of these facets together in an integrated campaign.  In doing this, you can connect with your target audience and build relationships that will engage your clients and make them come back to you as well as to refer you to others.

You have a choice; sink or swim.  With the revolution that is the Internet, marketing is evolving on a daily basis.  You can try to fight it, but you will lose.  In fact this is just the beginning.  Social networking is not a fad, it is here to stay and it is just going to keep evolving and getting more and more necessary.  Don’t miss the boat… amazing opportunities are waiting for you.

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