how to have a successful blog

How to Have a Successful Blog (Expert Tips)

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Blogging has become a great way for companies to write about content that relates to what they do. This can include tips and advice on anything the company is an authority on. Topics for blogging can range from “What a Good Landing Page Looks Like” to “How to Start Your Own Business in 10 Easy Steps.” Blogs can also strengthen online marketing efforts.

You might be wondering, how can my company have a successful blog? Here are 7 expert tips to help you out.

blog written out on colorful popsicle sticks

Tips for creating a successful blog

1. Choose a Topic People Care About

The first step to having a successful blog is to write about a topic that people want to read about. Make the topic interesting, and something worth reading. Once you choose a topic, research it to make sure you are providing reliable information to your readers. Then you can begin writing your blog.

2. Make the Formatting Easy To Read

When formatting your blog, it is better to have many short paragraphs rather than a few long paragraphs. A blog is something that people want to be able to read easily. Short paragraphs are more easily digestible than long paragraphs. An additional benefit of shorter paragraphs is a visually appealing layout. Long blocks of text may scare readers off, but shorter paragraphs break it up, making your blog look more approachable.

3. Have an Attention Grabbing Title

As you are reviewing your blog, go back to the title. The title is important and needs to be clear and specific. It has to tell readers the topic of your blog article. Most importantly, the title needs to be attention grabbing. Titles should be between 50 and 60 characters. If it goes over 60, the end of the title will be cut off in the search engine results. Speaking of search engines, remember to enhance the potential for search engine optimization by using keywords that are relevant to your blog’s topic.

4. Pictures Are Fun to Look At

A blog without pictures can be boring. Add a picture or two to your blog to make it more visually appealing. Adding pictures to your blog will also break up the text, which makes the content easier to read. These pictures can be relevant to your topic, and they can also just be a part of your blog as long as they fit. For example, if your blog is directed towards an audience of readers who are business people, you could include a picture of someone wearing a suit. Adding pictures to your blog is a great way to make it more visually appealing and break up text, therefore enhancing readability. Do not forget to cite the pictures you use if they are not yours.

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There are many reasons a successful blog includes links to other relevant articles. One of these reasons is that it boosts search engine optimization. Successful blogs also include a CTA (call-to-action). Your CTA tells readers what action to take. This can be downloading a resource like an ebook, checklist, or template. Whatever it is, your CTA should be related to the topic of your blog post.

Also Read: 50 Most Powerful Call-to-Action Phrases

6. Share on Social Media

Once you have written your blog, you must ensure that it reaches a wide audience. Effectively sharing your blog is crucial to maximizing its visibility. You can share your blog through social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. You can also send out emails to showcase blog articles.

7. Be Consistent and Frequent

The most important things to remember are consistency and frequency. Consistency establishes reliability and trust with your audience. It also shows your audience that they can expect regular blog updates, making them more likely to return and engage with your blog content. Frequent blog posting ensures that your blog stays relevant, and increases the chances of your blog being found by new readers. Remember, blogging is more than one post. Instead, it is multiple consistent posts over time. When you are in charge of blogging for your company, it is best to post a minimum of two blogs a week.

Blogging can be fun. Follow the 7 tips listed above to create a successful blog for your company.

Integrating Social Media & SEO Efforts For Enhanced Search Engine Results

Creating a Brand with Social Listening and What Tools To Use

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Social media marketing is an important part of reaching today’s modern era customers. Setting up social media accounts that prioritize providing good content can be challenging. In order for your brand to stick out, you need to learn what your customers are looking for and how to provide them with that content. This is referred to as social listening. Those who have social listening strategies worked into their social media marketing gain an edge over their competitors.

Social listening plays a key role in growing your business and increasing your company’s brand trust with its customers. The good news is that the ability to operate social media channels and create engaging content is right at your fingertips. If you are looking for ways in which you can handle all the comments, likes, and messages on your platforms, fear not because we have a strategy for you.

The below content contains ways in which you can learn about social listening as well as tools you can use to make the process easier.

connected brains

What is Social listening?

Social listening is all about looking into your industry’s trends, comments, and content in order to gain insights into your brand experience. Social listening is critical for understanding how your customer feels about your brand which is commonly referred to as social media sentiment. Correctly using social listening is one of the most valuable ways to increase brand trust and create a loyal customer base. One good example of social listening is Netflix promoting a DIY sock that pauses the TV show. Netflix looked at what people were talking about on social media through comments, posts, and stories which lead to this creative invention.

Social Listening Tools

Keeping up with the constant change in social trends can be difficult. Thankfully, there are many different tools and programs that can help brands keep up with trends.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a premium service that helps brands and companies monitor data and trends on all social media platforms they are active on. It can also be useful for identifying social media goals that your brand can create based on the data. While Sprout Social is an excellent service and can help greatly with social media needs, they are more costly than some of the other social listening tools mentioned below.

HubSpot

HubSpot is a marketer’s dream program. Whether it be for creating inbound content, social media uploads, or advanced automation, HubSpot knows what tools a marketer needs. HubSpot has features that allow you to keep track of all social media posts, interactions, and total social media leads. 

social media doodles

Learn more about social media campaigns here!

One of the big perks of HubSpot is the ability to easily work together with the sales team to use social media interactions as a step to making a sale. Furthermore, HubSpot is a free-to-use platform which makes it a must-have.

Also Read: Using HubSpot Lead Flows To Improve Conversion Rates

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a service that allows users to view and interact with their social media followers in an easy and convenient way. Hootsuite’s dashboard is able to keep track of all social media interactions whether it be messages, comments, likes, or mentions without having to leave the service.

In addition, Hootsuite provides top-notch analytics and reports from all social media accounts in use. This, along with the convenient dashboard, makes Hootsuite a premium service that competes with the likes of sprout social. Therefore, the cost of the service is noticeably different than free services.

Buffer

Buffer is one of the more user-friendly tools on this list. The software application allows users to “buffer” social media posts on many accounts. The user interface is very clean and not as complicated as some other services. Buffer can respond to comments across many platforms. There is a free version available to use, however, the service will be lacking some features.

SEMrush

SEMrush is different from many of the other services mentioned above. The platform is well known for its keyword research and online ranking data. The ability to manage social media accounts makes SEMrush a valuable service to have. Want to manage all your social media accounts in one place? SEMrush has you covered. You can also use many of the SEO and keyword tools to help monitor your social media accounts.

Social listening can be tricky. Keeping up with so many accounts and followers is no easy task. Thanks to services like Sprout Social, HubSpot, Hootsuite, Buffer, and SEMRush, marketers are able to keep up with demand. Now it’s time for you to start social listening utilizing these tools. Are you ready?

Integrating Social Media & SEO Efforts For Enhanced Search Engine Results

What’s Trending in Marketing of April 2024

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Step right into our April 2024 edition of “What’s Trending in Marketing,” your portal to the freshest marketing trends and insights. Stay ahead of the curve with our collection of marketing trends and reports for the 2024 year.

Additions in AI Advertisements

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is making it easier for brands to reach consumers with AI-powered tools. They’re introducing new features to personalize advertising campaigns, like creating multiple versions of ads tailored to individual users. Additionally, they’re offering personalized product recommendations based on what users have browsed and liked. These tools are available on both Facebook and Instagram, aiming to make shopping experiences more seamless and impactful. Read more here. 

people on arrow pointing to target

Brands Values and Their Customers

To keep your customers happy, it’s important for your brand to reflect their values. Most shoppers want brands to share their beliefs. Many have stopped buying from companies whose values clash with their own. To stay connected with customers, brands will focus on showing what they stand for. A survey found that nearly half of marketers plan to invest more in creating content that highlights their brand’s values. Only a small minority will decrease their investment. This shows the increasing importance of authenticity and alignment in fostering lasting relationships with customers. Read more here. 

The Rise of Podcasts

Given the surging popularity of podcasts and online audio, marketers are increasingly recognizing the value and potential of these platforms for reaching and engaging with audiences. In a survey conducted on marketing trends for 2024, 82% of marketers expressed their intentions to either increase or maintain their investment in podcasts and audio content. This signifies a strategic shift in marketing strategies. More emphasis is placed on leveraging the power of audio to connect with consumers in meaningful ways. Overall, the continued growth of podcasts and audio content presents an opportunity for marketers to expand their reach and build brand awareness. It also allows them to foster deeper connections with their target audience in the evolving digital landscape. Read more here.

Learning Marketing Trends and Ideas

Interactive Email Marketing Trends

In today’s competitive online marketing scene, you have to stand out. To do this, businesses are turning to interactive email strategies. These interactive emails go beyond traditional text and attachments. They offer engaging features like animated GIFs, navigational menus, integrated forms, rotational banners, and sliders. Not only do these elements add visual appeal, but they also improve the overall user experience. This encourages active engagement and interaction with the brand’s message. Google’s enhanced compatibility ensures seamless viewing across devices, while emerging trends like key frame animation and cinema-graphs add even more excitement. Interactive emails not only catch customers’ attention but also streamline user experience, making them a vital tool in modern marketing strategies. Read more here.

Innovative Video Strategies to Transform Your Senior Living Marketing

Digital technology has revolutionized marketing for senior living communities, offering unprecedented opportunities to engage potential residents and their families. Video content, in particular, is a powerful tool for showcasing the amenities, values, and lifestyle senior living communities offer. As seniors increasingly embrace digital platforms, mastering video marketing is crucial. Videos can tell authentic stories, educate viewers, and provide virtual tours, all of which are essential for attracting and informing prospective residents. Leveraging digital strategies like SEO optimization and YouTube presence enhances the reach and impact of video marketing efforts, allowing communities to connect meaningfully with their audience and foster trust in the decision-making process. Read more here.

How Brands Market To the Different Generations

Generational marketing targets different age groups in order to better meet their unique needs and preferences. Each generation has distinct characteristics that influence their consumer behavior and how they interact with marketing efforts. Baby boomers, for instance, value quality and respond well to email and TV ads, while Generation X prioritizes convenience and brand loyalty, engaging with social media and video content. Millennials seek authenticity and personal connection, favoring social media and influencer marketing, while Generation Z, the youngest segment of consumers, prefers an omnichannel approach and values brand ethics and authenticity. Understanding each generation’s characteristics is crucial for creating marketing strategies tailored to their behaviors and preferences, which allows you to effectively reach and engage with them. Read more here.

30 Lead Generation Tips & Tricks  Download our FREE guide to attract those leads!  

Nano- or Micro-Influencer Marketing

More brands are leaning towards collaborating with nano- and micro-influencers instead of celebrities or big social media stars because they charge lower rates and still generate high engagement. Reports show that marketers prefer working with small-scale influencers, with nano-influencers charging between $5 to $25 for a TikTok post and micro-influencers asking for $25 to $125. These smaller influencers also boast higher engagement rates, meaning their followers are more likely to take action based on their recommendations. To ensure a positive return on investment, it’s crucial to collaborate with influencers whose followers match your target audience. Read more here.

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Companies in Partnership Marketing

More brands are teaming up with others in their industry because it helps both parties achieve their goals. This collaboration can involve co-producing webinars, appearing on each other’s podcasts, or sharing each other’s social media content. For instance, Videowise partnered with other brands to promote their ebook. Partnership marketing allows brands to reach more potential customers by tapping into each other’s audience, connect with industry leaders for insights and assistance, and gain access to valuable resources like customer insights and industry data to enhance marketing campaigns. Read more here.

User-Generated Video Content

We’re likely to see more user-generated video content because potential customers trust it more than highly-produced brand videos. These videos, created by real customers who have used the product or service, carry authenticity that resonates with audiences and increases the likelihood of conversion. To encourage customers to share their experiences, brands can ask for honest reviews, host giveaway contests for video testimonials, or collaborate with creators who can provide genuine opinions in exchange for a fee. This approach saves time, money, and effort compared to creating highly-produced videos from scratch. By leveraging user-generated content, brands capitalize on the credibility and relatability that real customer experiences offer. This fosters stronger connections with their audience and drives engagement across digital platforms. Read more here.

FREE DOWNLOAD 25 Website Must Haves  Check out our guide for driving traffic in leads and sales!   
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Interactive Email Marketing Trends

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With increasing competition in the online marketing world, it is becoming essential for businesses to innovate creative ways to appeal to customers via email. Learn some of the newest interactive email marketing trends to take advantage of.

As opposed to traditional emails that would only contain plain text and occasional attachments, interactive emails are packed with exciting add-ons to appeal to their customers. Below are characteristics as well as advantages of using interactive email marketing trends for your business.

Interactive Email Marketing Trends

Let’s have a look at how we should create interactive email which is in trend:

Increased Compatibility with Google

Google announced compatibility with the media query for their email clients across all devices. This compatibility now allows email developers to include complex email designs without having to sacrifice certain components in order to ensure compatibility.

With the all-new support for media query, developers are now unlimited in their ability to incorporate complex media into emails. Google has also optimized email layouts for viewing between mobile devices and desktop computers.

Animated GIFs

An animated GIF is a combination of static images, containing multiple frames in succession, to create an animated image. It achieves video effect while occupying only slightly more space than a regular image.

These interesting animations can be designed to convey important information about your business. They can also convey information like sales discounts, new product launches, etc.

animated gif.gif

Providing a framework for menu options within emails can allow your customers to quickly navigate through various products or service categories right within the email. This allows you to conveniently present your customers with several options to choose from before they can begin to load new web pages to get to your site.

If you are providing news, customers can quickly scroll through various news categories and see what interests them before they can read further. Travel companies can also offer various packages right within the email for their customers to sieve through.

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Integrated Forms

Integrated forms are a highly effective tool for businesses who want to streamline the process of gathering valuable customer information. You should embed the form within the email rather than having the reader link to a new page. Whether it be in the form of a survey or a questionnaire, integrated forms offer a seamless experience within the email itself.

This allows customers to answer questions or make their selections right within the body of the email. There are templates that integrate check-boxes, text boxes for open-ended questions and radio buttons for closed-ended questions.

6 Email Marketing Tips

Rotational Banners

Emails that contain a lot of information can present it in a clean and catchy manner by using rotational banners. These interactive elements allow consumers to flip through multiple images, each with a separate message embedded within.

Rotating banners are perfect for tour and travel companies that are showcasing various packages. Financial institutions like banks that are advertising credit card options or different types of bank accounts can also use this feature. News snippets of various trending stories can also be laid out in rotating banners by news and media outlets.

rotational banner toyota.png

 

Sliders

Sliders can be used to display multiple products within the email at the same time. This allows customers to make comparisons. It also allows customers to access information on multiple products without having to click on their inbox.

Sliders are perfect for companies that launch different variations of the same product and would like information on the various versions to be readily available to the customer. They are also helpful for those sellers who would wish to include a combination of pictures, product specifications and product reviews right within the email.

There are also brand new interactive email designs that are slowly growing in popularity but still pretty new to most email users. These include key frame animation (smoother animations and frame changes than GIFS, with effects such as linear and parallel movement, and hover effects), cinemagraph (using GIFS to create cinematic video-like effects), and compatibility with 2k and 4k resolutions (which includes lack of width limitation and a resolution of higher than 600 pixels).

In conclusion, interactive emails are the future of email marketing. It is important for businesses to stay up to speed with new email marketing trends that they can incorporate into their future marketing strategies. The numerous advantages of interactive emails, as discussed here, continue to make them an online marketing necessity.

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buyer personas

Why Are Buyer Personas So Important?

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Creating buyer personas is an important part of an effective inbound marketing strategy. This is because buyer personas help you define your target audience and then help you tailor your advertising towards that audience. When developing content, consistently referring back to the attributes of the buyer persona will help ensure that the content resonates with that audience. Buyer personas are an important part to attraction marketing.

Establishing a buyer persona can be a creative process as well, as it encourages marketers to think back to their childhood mindset and generate imaginary people. Of course these imaginary thoughts are far more sophisticated now, and are used to create an individual that represents your target audience. They embody the behaviors, characteristics, and needs of your target audience.

Read more

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How Brands Market To the Different Generations

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Generational marketing is a type of marketing that targets the needs and desires of different demographic groups according to their age. Deliberately segmenting consumers into generations allows brands to target their campaigns more effectively, ensuring they are communicating with the correct group of people at the right time. With that in mind, the following is a guide on marketing to different generations.

Understanding The Different Generations different generations

Four generations make up the majority of the American population. These include the baby boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980), Millennials (1981-1996), and Generation Z (1997 or later).

  • Baby boomers: Because they are now entering retirement age, they have less disposable income than before. Their spending habits tend to focus more on maintaining a particular lifestyle. They are particularly interested in the quality of the products they purchase, rather than getting good deals.
  • Generation X: This generation is marked by wariness and pragmatism. They continue to search for better opportunities, even in their adult years. Generation X is particularly passionate about convenience, quality, and frugality. They are the least likely to spend their money impulsively.
  • Millennials: The Millennials are tech-savvy and independent thinkers who reject tradition and gravitate towards purposeful innovation. As a result of this mindset, they are disillusioned with the status quo. They are highly individualistic and value authenticity, diversity, and inclusion.
  • Generation Z: Generation Z is currently the youngest generation. Identifying traits of Generation Z include a desire to be unique among their peers and use technology for social good. They are also strong entrepreneurial.

25 Website Must Haves

How to Market To Different Generations different generations

Different generations grow up with access to different types of media. They also have different needs, wants, and fears. Keeping this in mind, the following are a few tips on how to market to each generation:

Marketing to Baby Boomers

Boomers by far prefer to engage via email marketing. You can still reach them via TV commercials as well. However, it’s more challenging to engage them through mobile content. Many Boomers have Facebook profiles and can be driven to take action through social marketing and content marketing. Well-written content can go a long way towards converting a Boomer.

Boomers are also more likely to prefer direct engagement via phone and would rather not rely on complicated technology. Promotional offers are more likely to appeal to boomers than other generations.

Marketing to Generation X

Most of Generation X is technologically adept. They are as present on social media as the younger generations. However, they are more likely than other generations to do thorough research before making an online purchase.

You can reach Generation X most effectively through Facebook and email marketing. But they do tend to prefer mobile engagement throughout their buyer’s journey. Brand loyalty is meaningful to them, so loyalty programs work well when targeting Generation X customers. You can also effectively engage them using video content.

Generation X Matters: How to Tell Your Brand Story to Them

Marketing to Millennials

Millennials are the first generation raised with the internet, which means they are a very digital-savvy generation. Social marketing is effective when reaching Millennials because social media has played a significant role in their lives since childhood. You’re less likely to reach Millennials using email or other direct marketing methods. They tend to be more interested in finding relevant content than other generations.

They’re also distrustful of commercial advertising and value integrity and authenticity. Millennials want a personal connection with the company they’re buying from, which means personalization is essential. Word-of-mouth is crucial to building their brand trust. Finally, they want to be entertained, so they engage with influencers a lot.

Marketing to Generation Z

Generation Z is the first generation to grow up in a post-9/11 world. They tend to be more skeptical than other generations regarding advertising messages. Because they were born into a world dependent on technology, they have short attention spans and constantly bounce between any number of screens (phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and computers).

Like Millennials, the brands they purchase from must be ethical and authentic. The best way to reach Generation Z is by using an omnichannel marketing strategy and focusing on social media engagement. Not only are Generation Z members are likely to share their opinions about brands online, but they are highly engaged with social media influencers.

Understanding Your Audience

Understanding your target audience is crucial to figuring out how to reach them. After all, your brand’s target audience may not consist of every generation. Certain marketing techniques that work well for Baby Boomers (such as email marketing) won’t be as effective for Generation Z.

Develop your buyer personas to identify what generations your brand’s target audience consists of before creating a generational marketing strategy to reach and engage with them.

30 Greatest Lead Generation Tips
long form video1

6 Reasons You Should Leverage Long Form Video Marketing

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Video marketing has long been accepted as one of the most effective forms of content marketing. Video content is easy for people to consume on any device. It’s also arguably the best way to deliver a message in an engaging way and to establish an emotional connection. However, there’s been a misconception that short-form video content is the best way to go. After all, people generally have shorter attention spans these days. Not to mention that many social platforms, such as Snapchat and TikTok, encourage shorter video content. Yet there should also be a place for long-form video content in your video marketing strategy.

Let’s understand first what is long for video content?

Long-form video content offers a deeper and more extensive exploration of the topic, providing a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

watch video video marketing

6 Reasons To Leverage Long Form Video Marketing

The following are six reasons why you should be using long-form video marketing:

1. Deliver More Value

There’s very little time to provide useful information to viewers in a 30-second to two-minute clip. You basically have just enough time to deliver a simple message. As such, there’s not a whole lot of value in short-form videos. The only thing you can really achieve is to generate brand awareness. Long-form videos are much more effective when it comes to trying to provide value to your audience. For example, it’s difficult to create a how-to video that’s less than a couple minutes long. However, you can create a detailed, step-by-step how-to video in the long-form format.

2. Create A More Engaging Experience

Although more short-form videos are consumed than long-form videos, long-form videos drive more engagement. A video marketing study published in 2017 revealed that although 80 percent of videos are under five minutes, those videos drove less than 33 percent of overall video engagement. On top of that, 8 percent of the videos that were over 15 minutes long drove half of all audience engagement.  As long as the quality of your video content is high, a long-form video is going to be more engaging. After all, it’s going to keep viewers on your site (or social channel) much longer than a 30-second video would. Not to mention that the actual content you’re delivering will be more engaging since you’re able to provide more information that’s useful to your audience.

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3. Improve Your SEO

Short-form videos may get shares on social media, especially if they go viral due to their humor. However, short-form videos don’t tend to earn many backlinks. Websites are more likely to link back to your videos if they provide exceptional value, which they are more likely to do if they are on the longer side. By earning more backlinks, your long-form videos will help boost your SEO.

Similar Article: Six Types of Real Estate Video Marketing Ideas For Homebuilders

4. YouTube Favors Longer Videos

YouTube is the major video platform. Not only is it the top video hosting platform, but it’s also the second biggest search engine behind Google as well as a social media platform in itself. Long-form videos do much better on YouTube than short-form videos. There’s a reason for this: YouTube’s algorithm is built around favoring long-form content. The reason why they built their algorithm this way is that longer videos allow more room for ads. Videos have to be at least 10 minutes long before ads can be run in the middle of the video, which is why many YouTube creators do everything they can to reach that 10-minute mark.

5. Build Your Brand Authoritylong form video social media

While shorter videos may get more views, they don’t generally help much in the way of building your brand authority. This is simply because shorter videos are limited in the amount of useful information they can convey. BY creating long-form videos, you can go into way more depth about a subject. The more in-depth your video subject matter is, the more you’ll be able to showcase your authority. This will help to boost your brand’s authority within your industry, which can help to build more brand trust as a direct result.

5 Types Of Marketing Videos You Should Think About Using

6. Convert More Leads

Building your brand authority is certainly going to play a part in converting leads. When viewers develop trust in your brand by watching your long-form videos, they’ll be more willing to convert. However, this isn’t the only reason why long-form videos convert more than short-form videos. The people who are watching long-form videos tend to be near the bottom of the sales funnel, while people who are watching short-form videos are probably still near the top of the funnel. As such, many long-form video viewers are already ready to convert.

Shorter videos are a good way to generate more brand awareness. However, long-form video content tends to be much more effective overall when it comes to nurturing leads and building brand authority and trust. As such, you should make sure to implement a long-form video content strategy if you haven’t done so already.

landing page lead conversion rate

5 Types of Landing Pages To Increase Your Lead Conversion Rate

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Are your company website’s landing pages converting as many visitors to leads as you’d like? If you have a low lead conversion rate, one problem may be that you are not using the right kinds of landing pages. Landing pages have several purposes: to collect important information from visitors, to begin building a relationship with visitors, and, ultimately, to convert visitors to leads. Some companies only have one or two types of landing pages, and as a result, their lead conversion rates suffer.

Before exploring types of landing pages, let’s first understand what a landing page is.

What Is a Landing Page?

A landing page is a standalone web page designed with a specific purpose in mind. The purpose is typically to convert visitors into leads or customers. Unlike a general website page, landing pages have one clear goal. There are many goals landing pages can be created to achieve, such as prompting signup for a newsletter, downloading an eBook, making a purchase, and many more.

landing page lined paper doodles

5 Types of Landing Pages To Increase Conversion Rate

Here are 5 different types of landing pages that are sure to increase your lead conversion rate.

1. Email List Opt-In Landing Page:

It’s proven that the most effective place to put your email opt-in form is on it’s own dedicated landing page. An email list opt-in landing page gives you more room to tell visitors exactly how they stand to benefit from filling out your form with their personal information. By removing pesky distractions, like navigation, a landing page urges your visitors make a decision: opt-in or miss out on quality content and offers.

2. Product Detail Landing Page:

A product detail landing page is common in the retail industry. It serves as dedicated space on the company’s website to showcase information about a specific product. Product detail landing pages are positioned within the website’s navigation. They contain information regarding the product for sale such as features and specifications. Product detail landing pages also contain customer reviews. A benefit of product detail landing pages is that there is no extra work or cost required when it comes to creating a separate page. An additional benefit of this type of landing page is that it applies to visitors who are in the awareness or the consideration stage.

Read more on Driving Website Conversions During Each Stage Of The Buyer’s Journey

3. Coming From [social network] Landing Page:

You can apply this type of landing page to every type of traffic that your website generates. Most likely, any landing pages attached to your social media accounts bring visitors to your home page. This is a start, but it’s not the best option. You should make your landing page more customized and personal. A good social network landing page addresses where the visitor is coming from. It also provides information that the visitor is probably looking for. This can be information like background about the company. It can also be information about how to get in touch with the company, such as an email address, phone number, etc.

4. Content Guide Landing Page:

Inbound marketing revolves around the creation and distribution of content. If your company actively blogs, you have the opportunity to extend the reach of your blog content by organizing it with its own landing page. While the blog page on your website is useful, it probably only shows your most recent blog content. By creating topic-specific content landing pages, you can curate your blog content and showcase your best quality work to your site’s visitors. Topic-specific content landing pages engage your audience at different stages of their journey. Structuring your content like this optimizes user engagement. Additionally, it bolster’s your brand’s authority and relevance within your industry.

landing page doodles with coffee

5. Lead Capture Landing Pages

Marketers often refer to lead capture landing pages as “squeeze” pages. The goal of squeeze pages is to capture leads without distractions. Lead capture landing pages don’t contain any exit paths or distractions such as links or navigation tools. This type of landing page should include one thing: a prominent call-to-action (CTA) button that takes visitors to a form where they are encouraged to submit their personal data. In order to coax visitors into filling out the form, you should offer an incentive. Incentives can be eBooks, whitepapers, or webinars. This strategy boosts lead generation and builds trust with potential customers. Additionally, it enhances engagement.

Use these five types of landing pages to increase your lead conversion rate.

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What’s Trending in Marketing of March 2024

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Step right into our March 2024 of “What’s Trending,” your gateway to the latest in marketing trends and insights. Stay informed and ahead of the game with our collection of marketing trends and reports for the 2024 year.

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Google’s Update and Latest Changes

In its ongoing quest to enhance user experience and maintain the integrity of its search platform, Google unveiled an important core update in March 2024. This update marks a significant shift in the way Google evaluates content quality and addresses spam across the vast expanse of the internet. In this update lies an effort to minimize the presence of “unhelpful” content in search results. By refining its criteria for assessing content relevance and usefulness, Google aims to ensure that users are presented with the most valuable information in responses. This not only enhances the overall quality of search results but also raises the bar for content creators, compelling them to produce more substantive and engaging material.

These changes mean marketers and SEO experts need to rethink how they do things online. As Google updates its algorithms, they have to update their methods to make sure their content gets seen. By keeping up with these changes and adjusting their strategies, marketers can stay successful in the fast-paced online world. Read more here.

AI in Online Shopping

To meet consumer expectations, AI has a huge impact in online shopping now. IBM’s research found that more shoppers want AI help when they’re shopping. They want it to help them find products, solve problems, and get deals. But, even though companies want to give them this kind of help, what they offer often isn’t good enough, which makes shoppers unhappy. Still, shoppers like the idea of using AI, especially things like virtual assistants and features that use augmented reality.

Making AI shopping help work well means using customer data responsibly to give people personalized help that matches what they like. Also, since shoppers want better online and in-store experiences, AI is becoming really important for stores. Brands need to focus on using AI to make shopping more fun for customers while also making sure their privacy is protected and that everything is easy to use, no matter where they’re shopping. Read more here.

Automated Pausing in Ad Groups

Google Ads has recently implemented a significant update that introduces automated pausing of ad groups exhibiting low activity. This move aims to streamline budget efficiency for advertisers by redirecting resources towards more productive campaigns and eliminating wasteful spending on underperforming ad groups. One of the key advantages of automated pausing is its ability to optimize budget allocation in real-time. By automatically identifying and pausing ad groups with minimal activity, advertisers can prevent unnecessary expenditure on campaigns that fail to yield desired results. This proactive approach to budget management enables advertisers to allocate resources more effectively, maximizing the return on investment (ROI) from their advertising efforts. Read more here.

Learning Marketing Trends and Ideas

Tailoring The B2B Sales Funnel To Meet Your Needs

The B2B sales funnel typically consists of three main stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. However, it’s not rigid and can be adjusted to fit specific business needs while still incorporating elements of these stages. By tailoring the sales funnel, businesses can more effectively identify where customers are in their journey and determine appropriate actions.

For instance, a modified B2B sales funnel may include five stages:

  1. Lead Generation: Introducing leads to the company and establishing authority through content and online presence.
  2. Lead Nurturing: Continuing to educate leads about the company and their pain points, while qualifying them based on their level of interest and need.
  3. Initial Meeting: Engaging directly with qualified prospects through various interactions like discovery calls or product demonstrations to build trust and establish a relationship.
  4. Closing: Finalizing the deal and securing commitment from the prospect to do business with the company.
  5. Retention: Nurturing the relationship with customers after the sale to ensure continued business and encourage referrals, thus enhancing customer retention and attracting new leads through referrals.

This modified funnel retains elements of the standard three stages while providing a more tailored approach to understanding customer needs and journey progression. Read more here.

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Modern Logo Design Trends of 2024

In branding, a compelling logo is crucial for creating a lasting impression and distinguishing your brand. Modern logo designs are essential for crafting a memorable brand image in today’s digital age. Trends in logo design include minimalist designs, bold typography, handmade elements, and dynamic logos adaptable to different platforms. Handcrafted and calligraphic logos offer authenticity and uniqueness, standing out in a digital world. While AI-generated logos may lack originality and understanding of brand values, professional expertise ensures a logo reflects the brand’s ethos effectively. When designing a logo, prioritize simplicity, versatility, and alignment with brand values. Embracing modernity in branding with a well-designed logo enhances brand awareness and loyalty. Collaborating with a professional designer is a strategic investment in creating a logo that captures attention and resonates with your audience. Read more here.

Using Hashtags on LinkedIn

Using hashtags on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook helps users expand their audience beyond their followers. Hashtags categorize content with relevant keywords, making it visible to users searching for those terms. While hashtags are often seen as casual, they hold value on professional platforms like LinkedIn. Here are ten tips for using hashtags effectively on LinkedIn:

  1. Follow LinkedIn’s hashtag rules and limit the number of hashtags used.
  2. Follow relevant hashtags to monitor conversations and discover content ideas.
  3. Research industry trends and competitor content for hashtag inspiration.
  4. Create a company hashtag to strengthen brand identity.
  5. Utilize LinkedIn’s suggested hashtags feature.
  6. Use hashtags in comments as well as in posts to increase visibility.
  7. Balance niche and popular hashtags for broad and targeted reach.
  8. Incorporate location-based hashtags to target specific audiences.
  9. Utilize event hashtags to highlight involvement in industry events.
  10. Reuse effective hashtags from successful posts to maintain engagement.

Using hashtags on LinkedIn can attract more leads and engage clients and prospects effectively. Incorporating hashtags into posts can enhance visibility and encourage interaction, potentially leading to successful marketing campaigns. Read more here.

Recent Marketing Trends, Reports, and Updates

Blog Content Ideas

In March 2024, content marketers have a range of creative options beyond the typical themes of St. Patrick’s Day and college basketball. Instead, they can explore topics such as National Puppy Day, alternative “March Madness” activities, the transition to daylight saving time, spring fitness, and National Craft Month. These ideas offer opportunities to engage audiences with fun, informative, and helpful content related to various products and industries. For instance, content around National Puppy Day can appeal to pet lovers, while articles on adjusting to daylight saving time can provide practical tips relevant to different lifestyles. Similarly, focusing on spring fitness or National Craft Month allows marketers to offer valuable assistance and insights to their audience while promoting their products in a more organic and engaging way. Read more here.

Profitable E-Commerce Ideas

Several e-commerce business ideas cater to various niches and interests, offering opportunities for entrepreneurs. These include selling homemade pet treats, starting an educational platform, crafting handmade toys, and offering eco-friendly baby toiletries. Additionally, flipping thrifted goods, selling specialty foods, dessert boxes, brand-name fashion reselling, and online plant sales are popular options. Collectibles and natural cosmetic products present profitable ventures as well, along with home decor items like candles, rugs, and bedding. Each idea requires thorough research, compliance with regulations, and strategic marketing to ensure success in the competitive e-commerce landscape. Read more here.

AI in Writing

AI-aided writing, editing, and research tools, including ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, Grammarly, and others, have significantly advanced, making them invaluable for copywriters in tasks like brainstorming, research, outlining, and proofreading. While fears of AI taking over copywriting jobs persist, it’s unlikely to replace human writers entirely, as AI still frequently provides misleading information, termed “AI hallucination.” Despite its advancements, double-checking AI-generated content remains crucial to avoid errors. Read more here.

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Tailoring The B2B Sales Funnel To Meet Your Needs

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When it comes to the B2B sales funnel, there are three main stages: awareness, consideration and the decision stage. The funnel represents the journey that the customer takes from start to end. However, the B2B sales funnel isn’t necessarily set in stone. It can be modified to fit your business’s needs as long as it contains aspects of the three main stages. By customizing the sales funnel to meet your company’s specific needs, you’ll be able to identify what stage your customers are in more effectively, thereby making it easier to determine who they need to be in contact with and what actions need to take place.

With all this in mind, the following is an example of how the B2B sales funnel can be slightly modified. While still retaining aspects of the three main stages, the following B2B sales funnel consists of five stages.

Tailoring B2b Sales Funnel Stages

1. The Lead Generation Stagefunnel with levels

The lead generation stage is a part of the awareness stage. It’s during this stage that leads who may not know who you are or what you do are introduced to your company. They may not even know what their exact pain point is at this time. Presenting a solution during Lead Generation Stage stage of B2B Sales Funnel is premature. Instead, your goal should be to attract their attention and to establish your authority within your industry by producing high-quality content and establishing a presence online in the form of a website as well as social media pages.

2. The Lead Nurturing Stage

The lead nurturing stage is an extension of the awareness stage that ends up moving into the initial part of the consideration stage. It’s during this stage that you nurture your leads by continuing to educate them about your company and to inform them about the problem or pain point that they have. It’s during this stage that you will begin qualifying your leads.

Not all leads will be good prospects. Using lead scoring software, you can score leads based on actions they take during the lead generation and nurturing stages. For example, if they are spending a lot of time on your website, have returned multiple times, and have downloaded a free eBook and filled out a form, then you might want to qualify them as they have indicated a certain level of interest in your company.

When you qualify a lead, you need to make sure that they have expressed interest in one way or another, have a need for what you’re selling, have a budget to afford what you’re selling, and have the decision-making power within their company to actually make a purchase.

Read More: How Marketing Automation Can Improve Your Lead Nurturing Process

3. The Initial Meeting Stage

Once you have qualified a prospect, it’s time to engage directly with them. This is the initial meeting stage. Depending on how you structure your sales funnel, this initial meeting can come in a variety of different forms. For example, it could be a discovery call, a direct sales pitch, or a formal product or service demonstration. The idea is to establish the groundwork for a relationship and build trust with the prospect. They may not be ready to buy just yet. This B2B sales funnel stage is the second half of the consideration stage.

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4. The Closing Stage

The closing stage is the stage in which you close the deal. It’s essentially the decision stage. At this point, the prospect should be making the decision to do business with your company. To ensure that you close, you want to align your priorities with theirs, secure their commitment, and continue to nurture the relationship with them until they make a decision.

5. The Retention Stage

Whereas standard sales funnels tend to end at the decision stage, your business with a new customer doesn’t end with the purchase. Remember, retaining the customer is of vital importance, which is why there should be a retention stage. Nurturing your relationship with your customers after the decision stage will help ensure that they continue doing business with them. Additionally, the stronger your relationship grows, the more likely they are to refer your company to other potential customers. This is a more cost-effective way to attract new leads since you’ll essentially be able to skip the first stage due to the referral.

This example shows how you can modify the standard sales funnel to create a funnel that better represents your B2B needs. As long as it retains some aspects of the standard three stages and the funnel is modified to help you better understand what part of the journey your customers are on and what their needs are, it should remain effective.

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