Back in the 1990’s we thought having an animated gif on our web page was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but nowadays using an animated gif is considered a huge FAIL. However, by using video on our websites we are able to still capture the “wowness” of an animated gif with much better bottom line results.

Now that video production is affordable to all business sizes, we’re beginning to see companies use video on landing pages and not just their homepages.

Spinning off of Oli’s Your Landing Page Sucks! Here are 10 Examples That Don’t… I wanted to take a look at some great landing pages that incorporate video. Great landing pages explain exactly what you do in a brief amount of time, and video is a great asset for accomplishing such a task.

Here are 10 examples of pages that are crushing it with video.

1. Intuit

What better way to sell a product than to show it in action? The Intuit video itself does a great job of relating to potential customers, showcasing its benefits and explaining how easy it is to use.

What I like

• They include customer testimonial videos allowing visitors to see what others are saying about the product.
• Easy to read. The top section tells me everything I need to know about the product and how I can get started.

Things I’d change or test

• Remove all navigation at the top.
• From a design perspective, I’d have the “Start Now” section span the width of the page to add some depth to the page. See Zopim.com for an example.

2. Google

I like Google’s approach here. Give the user two main colors and keep the rest plain and simple. Immediately, the coupon and CTA button jump out at the page.

What I like

• The use of a coupon. Give something away for free to get your users into the door. We all can’t do it, but if you can it can really help conversions.
• Noncommittal copy. Users fear long-term contracts more than death and public speaking. Google’s copy includes “Request a free trial” instead of “Start your free trial”.

Things I’d change or test

• Headline for the video. For those not in online marketing, AdWords can be a complex system, so I’d put more of an emphasis on getting users to watch the video.

3. Path

Not only is Path a beautifully designed mobile app, but their homepage incorporates video right upon landing one it.

What I like

• Emotional connections. Rather than showing you the features (ie sharing with close friends), Path uses a more emotional connection by showing a husband and wife actively sharing photos of the family.
• Very little distraction. The copy is focused and there’s not much auxiliary content.

Things I’d change or test

• Add the number of app downloads or the number of captured moments.

4. UPS

Social Proof is one of the six “weapons of influence” in Robert Cialdini book Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive. He states that people will do things that they see other people doing. UPS uses Zappos to show the value of their services and how they help Zappos be the consumer friendly brand that we all know and love.

What I like

• Success stories. Using a well-known and well-liked brand such as Zappos will lead to increased conversions.
• Use of repeat shopper statistics. UPS has a hand to helping Zappos achieve 75% repeat customers. The implicit message is well done.

Things I’d change or test

• Minimize the amount of text. There is a lot to read through on the page and would like to see what happens if UPS remove the right side of the page.
• Dim the background. Changing the alpha setting on the warehouse image will make the main section stand out more.

5. Optimizely

Optimizely uses the video to show the simplicity of the application and lives up to its headline of “A/B Testing you’ll actually use”.

What I like

• No signup required. Allowing users to test drive your service with little or no barriers can lead to increased conversions. Even if a user does not sign up you may end up with a brand evangelist who can speak to the simplicity and value of your application.

Things I’d change or test

• Shorten the video. The video runs close to 4 minutes and gives you the full scope of the application. I’d test a 30-60 second video that gives viewers just a small taste of the functions. I think the product sells itself when you test drive it.

6. Zoho Books

Rather than making users read through all the features, Zoho Books shows you everything you can do in a quick 60 second video.

What I like

• Big video image. According to a recent Kelsey Group study, 21% of video viewers make a purchase. No wonder Zoho Books made the video so big.

Things I’d change or test

• Embed the video. Rather than using a modal, I’d embed the video, so users can sign up while watching the video.

7. Groupon

Groupon is known for being a little quirky. Example 1 and example 2. But the use of video to get unsubcribers to re-subscribe is utterly genius.

What I like

• Everything. From using video to having a call to action that says “Punish Derrick”, this is great execution on a page that most marketers ignore.

8. Animoto

I’m a big fan and a paying customer of Animoto. The design of this page is amazing and uses a unified tone of turning photos into amazing, theatrical movies.

What I like

• Video thumbnail includes a CTA. Most companies use a thumbnail that is a random scene in the video, but Animoto uses a call-to-action as their thumbnail which can dramatically increase views.
• Award design. The awards are very similar to the way awards are presented in motion pictures. Animoto does a great job of sticking with an overall message of the page.

Things I’d change or test

• Change the CTA Text. I would change the “Learn More” button to “See Pricing”. The user is already learning about the product in the video and the link takes the user to the pricing page.

9. VisibleGains

According to VisibleGains, they received a 51% conversion rate on this landing page. That’s pretty impressive and a big part of that success can be attributed to the video preview of the webinar.

What I like

• Huge focus on video. The video occupies a majority of the landing page and gives you a taste of the webinar.

Things I’d change or test

• Move the sign up form. The sign up form is a little far from the video for my tastes. I might try putting it a little bit closer to the video.
• Sign up form on the right. I wonder if having the sign up form on the right would increase conversions even more. My eye immediately goes to the video then my natural response is to look to the right of the video for the form.

10. Dropbox

Here’s a company that is fully invested in video. One of my favorite web apps out there, Dropbox has two options on this page – watch a video or download the app.

What I like

• Video thumbnail. The video thumbnail is beautifully designed and is incorporated with the logo itself.

Things I’d change or test

• Add a tag line. It might be interesting to test a tag line in case folks don’t want to watch the video and want to learn more the product. It may even lead to more video views.

Further Reading

• [Case Study] Using Video to Lift Landing Page Conversion Rate by 100%

Your Turn: What do you think?

Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Got examples of how video has helped you to convert better?

– Steve young

What makes Google+ truly different from Facebook? Besides the lack of ads, game spam and privacy issues, Google+ has two excellent features that are worth paying attention to: Sparks and Ripples.

When you’re just starting out and growing your circles of influence (like I am), these two items are invaluable in finding, connecting and sharing with the movers and shakers in your niche. Here’s how to use Sparks and Ripples to their full potential:

Sparks: Helping You Keep Your Finger on the Pulse of Your Industry

Google+ Sparks are like an advanced combination of Google Alerts and Google Reader – without the dashboard and inbox clutter. Sparks let you use Google’s own query language to set up improved filters for the information you care about. You can then save your searches and have them appear under “Sparks” when you’re logged into Plus.

For example, let’s say I’m interested in European travel. I search Google+ for ‘travel europe’, and it shows me Everything – From Everyone – Everywhere:

Now, I could save this search – but it would likely clog up my Google Plus dashboard in a heartbeat. Instead, simply click the “Everything” down arrow and choose Sparks. Currently, Sparks only let you see the most recent posts related to your search. If you click “Save this Search”, you will see your sparks listed under the “What’s Hot” section of your Google Plus stream.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. You can use Google’s own search language to filter your Sparks more efficiently, for example:

• Wordpress and plugins – To find only stories about both wordpress AND plugins
• Copywriting or SEO – To find stories about one term or the other, but not both

You can also +1 (share) any Sparks you come across, to people within the circles you choose. It’s a great way to not only filter information for your own knowledge and use, but also a way to keep participants in your circles “in the know”.

Action Steps for Working with Sparks

• Find informative, interesting or other newsworthy tidbits by finding and saving Sparks to your Google+ dashboard, where you’ll always have one-click access to the latest details from the web regarding your saved searches.
• Use Google’s advanced query language to filter your Sparks so that you only get relevant information and not every keyword-stuffed article that slithers across the net.
• Regularly share pieces with people in your circles who could benefit from them.

While Google+ is still rolling out new features and tweaking its user interface, I would personally love to see a way to further refine Sparks by selecting to get updates only from specific websites, people or places.

Make a Splash with Influencers using Google+ Ripples

Ripples are an appropriately-named feature that lets you see who the biggest thought-leaders and influencers in your industry are, as well as who they’re sharing with, and how large their audience’s “ripple-effect” is.

Case in point – Guy Kawasaki, of Apple Marketing and “Enchantment” fame, has a huge circle of influence. Like tossing a pebble into a pond, whenever he posts on Google+, it gets noticed and picked up by other people who have him in their circles.

For comparison sake, here’s Brian Clark’s (of Copyblogger) circle of influence with two major re-sharers and a handful of consistent re-sharers. The post was in reference to a potential sequel for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (which anyone around in the 80s would immediately sit up and pay attention to!)

Although ripples only tally and track shares between Google+ users, it’s a great way to see who’s promoting your posts, and how far your reach can spread. This is also a great way to add other influencers to your circle who may not have the name recognition that the original poster has – but are more likely to share posts.

Action Steps for Working with Google+ Ripples

• Use Ripples to effectively determine who has the largest sphere of influence within your circles. Ripples are a great way to determine how “viral” a post has gone – and should give you some fantastic ideas on how to capitalize on that trend.
• Ripples will give you a closer look at what spurs your audience to take action. Currently, if your post has comments, they don’t count toward the ripple effect. Likewise with any private shares. This kind of visual glimpse at who’s sharing what can help you tweak your strategy to likewise increase shares and/or comments.
• Using Google’s own search language together with Ripples can help you find local influencers to connect with – this article on Search Engine Land explains how to do it in three easy steps.

Getting the Most Out of Ripples and Sparks

As with most types of social media, the more you use these features, the quicker you can build up your network of circles and potentially get the attention of the fire-starters in your industry. The fact that Google is finally starting to bring together all of its services into one cohesive strategy means that you can expect features like Ripples and Sparks to play a more active role in search rankings. Now if only Facebook would roll out something similar!

– Sherice Jacob

Over the past year, Google has been using a cuddly toy to wipe out what it sees as spammy content, taking down some pretty big players in the process. It made a lot of people nervous – so I thought I’d share this infographic that does a good job of breaking down it’s history and how you should go about making your site Panda proof…

[Via: Single Grain - A Digital Marketing Agency]

– Oli Gardner

Your landing pages should be this awesome! (Image source)

Fact: in the world of landing pages, there are far more misses than hits. If you’re skeptical of that statement, do some quick research by clicking on some paid search or display ads.

Here’s what you’ll find: over-the-top cheesy stock photos that evoke strange emotions, sketchy testimonials from seemingly non-existent customers, blast-from-the-past color combos with too much orange, green, bright blue and flashing red (think of a 1990s music video), displaced enthusiasm and more information than the user could possibly digest. Hopefully, you’ll be able to reopen your browser after the surprise audio feature crashes it.

When you finally do find a stellar landing page, you may want to jump out of your seat and high-five it. It will be conversion-centric, trust-inspiring, energetic and straightforward all at once.

There is no recipe for the perfect landing page design, but your favorites may look a bit like these:

1. Salesforce: Social CRM Service Cloud

Type: Lead generation
How I found it: LinkedIn display ad

This landing page promotes Salesforce.com’s Social Service Cloud platform, which helps client-focused brands and agencies engage with customers on social platforms.

Why the Page Rocks

With video and downloadable e-books, the page is packed with learning resources that visitors will find useful (plus, there is strong evidence that videos enhance conversions).

With testimonials from professionals like senior social media directors, the service projects an instant sense of credibility. Through videos, prospective leads are able to connect with industry experts as people rather than names in chunks of text or quotes.

Suggested Improvements

When you are asked to register, the benefit reason is related to the “Service Cloud”. However, the rest of the page fails to explain what the Service Cloud actually is or reconnect with this idea. While offering teasers to its value from industry leaders and experts, there is no to-the-point description for audiences who would benefit from more details.

Editor’s note: When you do click on the resources, expectation quickly turns to frustration by requiring that you register before even watching a video – this is a massive old-school #FAIL in my mind – sometimes you really have to give content for free and not only think about lead gen – at least let people watch the videos! Conceptually the page is really strong – just too much of an instant barrier.

2. UserTesting.com: On-Site Usability Testing

Type: Click-Through
How I Found It: Google AdWords campaign

UserTesting is a service that allows website owners to quickly collect inexpensive feedback to inform product usability and improvements.

Why the Page Rocks

With a straightforward headline, quick call to action button, and clear testimonials, this landing page excels as a trust-building communication tool. Within 30 seconds, I can quickly see what UserTesting.com provides, who is using it and what users have to say about it.

If you want to learn more, there is plenty of information to walk you through the process and help me make an informed decision. I even have a general idea of how much it costs, and I’m even more inclined to buy with the advertised money back guarantee.

Editor’s note: There is strong social proof shown with the list of existing customers, which can be a big conversion tipping point.

Suggested Improvements

Above the fold, the page is a little too text-heavy with language that could be streamlined into a couple of high-impact statements or bullet points.

3. Inbound Writer: Social Writing Applications

Type: Lead-Gen/Registration
How I Found It: Display ad on Problogger

Inbound Writer provides real-time social intelligence to writers for content optimization.

Why the Page Rocks

It’s short, simple, and straightforward. All important information falls concisely above the fold. Instantly, a compelling headline capture’s my attention, and the layout provides all important information that speaks to any content marketer’s values. A product that’ll help me improve reach and engagement? Where do I sign up? From a trust factor there is the all important “I won’t be spammed” statement, places correctly right beneath the email address field.

Editor’s note: After the simple sign-up, you are provided with a nice modal explanation of what to do next. Smart!

Suggested Improvements

The page feels a little impersonal and could benefit from a testimonial beyond a list of companies that are already using the product. As is, the dashboard screenshots are small and tough to follow: strategic image-cropping would help with a much-needed face lift, or some nice modal popup screenshots (lightbox style) would provide a deeper preview).

4. Blog Talk Radio: Create Your Own Radio Show

Type: Click-Through
How I Found It: LinkedIn display ad

Blog Talk Radio is a platform for people to create and broadcast talk radio shows online.

Why the Page Rocks

This landing page is an example that shows how photos can be an elegant and effective marketing tools. It builds a personal rapport with the audiences by incorporating pictures of real users. The images rotate through three different individuals — one male and two female– to appeal to a variety of demographics. The layout is simplistic, focusing on trust and usability as a key emphasis with real customer quotes and images that put faces to the name.

Editors note: A few other plusses:

• The CTA is really obvious and states exactly what will you will get when you click it.
• The benefits are laid out in a simple and easy to read manner beneath the main banner.
• It offers some free content/advice to teach you how starting a radio show can be good for you (the link at the bottom). Helpful, insightful and FREE advice will position you as a thought leader and make people remember and trust you.

Suggested Improvements

The landing page could benefit from a clearer description of the service. As-is, the emphasis is on the people who use the product rather than the product itself. A quick way to address this issue is to design a layout with an attention-grabbing headline that says something like “Create Your Own Talk Radio Show.”

5. Fidelity: iPad App

Type: Click-Through
How I Found It: Google AdWords campaign

Fidelity provides investment and asset management services to consumers through products such as IRAs and 401(k) plans.

Why the Page Rocks

This landing page leverages a layout that makes sense by keeping pertinent information above the fold and orienting the audience with a compelling headline and dominant visual element that shows a strong sense of content of use. The Apple gift card promotion is a strong incentive tool and added bonus for the campaign to help drive conversions. While the landing page is designed for desktop and laptop viewers, there is a QR code for people to get the app on their mobile devices.

Editors note: There is a video in the bottom-left to aid understanding for interested parties and help boost conversions. But I can’t help feeling that it should have been embedded inside the iPad iself – or at least have an enlargeable lightbox screenshot that can be opened from the iPad image. I feel like they missed the perfect spot for a product demo.

Suggested Improvements

Editor’s notes: The call to action button might be better as a double lined button which would have the affect of increasing it’s size/dominance – and separating the action and benefit. Another option would be to include the details about the $500 Apple gift card promotion would be better-placed beneath the call to action. Something to try as part of an A/B test.

When you click through, you are faced with a second landing page with terms and conditions (and unnecessary frustration). It would be much better to have the t&c be launched into a modal window from the first page so you can read it if you want and not be interrupted by it.

What about these landing pages caught your eye?

Please share your comments, good and bad. What did you learn from these landing pages? How would you change them?

– Ritika Puri

Numerous studies have been conducted to determine “hot spots,” or the areas of a Web page users’ eyes tend to focus on first and those that get the most attention. There’s a natural pattern to the path most users’ eyes follow on a page that can can be used to a designer’s advantage when planning page design and layout.

According to EyeTools.com, an individual eye path, called a heat map, looks like little more than a totally random smattering of points, or hot spots, scattered over the page, but by analyzing the paths of multiple users it’s possible to determine logical or common paths.

This pattern can aid designers in placing key information in common hot spots on a web page or image.

Lack of pattern indicates confusion

Analyzing heat maps is a useful method to determine whether a landing page or image makes sense to consumers and impacts their experience. Path patterns should emerge when data from multiple users is compiled; scattered or random paths indicate that readers are confused.

If a heat map demonstrates that readers’ eyes are focusing on unimportant areas of a page, it’s time to revisit the design. Ideally, a heat map should show concentrated areas around CTAs (calls to action). In the example below, the most concentrated focal area is a portion of the header that says “No Fees.” While this is important information, users only briefly visit the “Current Stats” area on the left-hand side of the page, and completely skip over the call to action immediately below it, which reads, “Request Info.”

A good landing page designer knows that every pixel of a landing page has a purpose. Even white space, which not only reduces clutter but helps guide eye path to the most crucial areas of a page. Ample white space surrounding a call to action will help readers quickly focus in on this important area. Further, images can be used to subconsciously direct a reader’s attention. For instance, readers tend to look in the direction of another person’s eyes, so a photo with a person looking directly at a call to action will almost always force a reader to immediately follow the path.

Looking pretty isn’t enough

OneExtraPixel.com notes that many designers get caught up in the idea of creating a flashy, impressive graphic piece that impresses the customer (in this case, the brand or business purchasing the ad or design). Most landing pages designed with attractiveness as the primary factor fall short of conversion goals because they fail to take eye path into consideration.

Author Eric Rowell says,
“A good web design effectively satisfies the purpose of the website first, and then looks pretty second,”
comparing the process to an architect designing a home without windows and doors. In other words, function comes first.

First steps: defining landing page goals

Designing a landing page that converts is next to impossible if the page has no objective. A landing page designer should have a full understanding of the goals of the page prior to undertaking any aspect of the design. There are three important points to consider when defining landing page goals:

• Identify the problem the user is trying to solve
• Provide a solution
• Offer a call to action that solves the problem

Each of these points should be addressed consecutively through the page design in order to seamlessly move readers through the buying process.

Further, a landing page should accomplish the following goals.

• Differentiate the product, service or brand from competition. What’s the unique selling proposition, or USP?
• Decrease consumer anxiety. Is there a satisfaction guarantee or a no-questions-asked return policy?
• Offer an incentive for completing a call to action. What will be gained or lost by forking over some hard-earned cash?

Proper design guides readers to take action

Landing pages are designed to entice readers to take a specific action. Using heat map technology, landing pages can systematically guide readers to various points of a page, each step building on the last to complete a compelling sales message.

The Pixsysm Blog points out a few common pitfalls landing page designers tend to make:

• Objects that compete for a reader’s attention. More than one glaringly obvious call to action creates confusion; when a reader lands on a page, the final call to action should be clear and compelling. There should be no guesswork or decisions to be made by the reader regarding next steps.
• Too many fonts. Choose one or (at the most) two fonts that compliment each other. Use one font to emphasize important points and the other to convey supporting information.
• Don’t use boxes if not for a call to action. Boxes should be reserved for the main call to action, because a box tends to cause readers’ eyes to stop. Randomly-placed boxes appearing before the call to action can cause readers to get lost, confused, or leave the page altogether.
• Use a logical hierarchy of headings. Headings are used to lead a readers’ path through order of importance; like boxes, they should be used strategically to guide readers from point to point.

Using design to dictate eye path

Heat maps for non-landing pages tend to follow an “F” pattern, meaning readers tend to start from the top left and work from left to right and then take a vertical path down the page.

Landing pages, on the other hand, can follow a completely different path as dictated by proper design. In a previous post, Oli covers 8 Visual Design Techniques that can be used to dictate eye path and improve landing page conversions.

Here are a few tips, including some from Triple Moons Design.

• Use white space to your advantage. White space is relaxing and can guide a readers’ eyes to the next important step in the buying process.
• Start with a compelling headline. Most readers start at the top left corner of a page; this is a great place to put the company logo followed by a major headline.
• Use bullet points to convey bits of information. Bulleted lists are enticing to readers, because they briefly convey important highlights.
• Use images as directional cues to guide eye path. Social Triggers says an image of a person looking at a specific area of the page will draw attention to it. Further, images can create subtle arrows that dictate eye path subconsciously. For example, an image of a person with one hand on her hip can point a reader’s attention to the direction the elbow points.

Using eye path in design can be as simple as asking a group of friends to look at a page and note where their eyes fall in order. There are more sophisticated methods of analysis, but a landing page that isn’t converting is a sure indicator that the design doesn’t follow a logical eye path.

– Angela Stringfellow

Critics say that Google+ is merely a copycat attempting to dethrone Facebook as the king of social media. But it has a few tricks up its sleeve that set it apart from the pack.

Here are a few ways to use Google+ to give your marketing a kick in the pants that Facebook didn’t see coming.

Note: This is a follow up post to 6 Essential Google+ Features for Marketing Your Business Online [with useful Infographic].

1. Use hangouts to hold meetings or deliver live presentations

Google+ has a hangouts feature, which lets users hold conferences or present to groups of users. The functionality of hangouts has recently been improved to allow screen sharing, resulting in the ability to show a slide presentation while the presenter speaks. Marketers can basically offer complete webinars from within their Google+ dashboard! Pretty awesome!

The one caveat to using hangouts in your marketing and customer engagement strategy is that it can’t be set to private, so anyone can join a hangout. Therefore, hangouts for marketing and presentation purposes should be used for free events and shouldn’t contain any proprietary knowledge.

2. What’s hot on Google+?

In the left-hand menu, users can click on “What’s Hot,” which takes them to a page featuring the most valuable and newsworthy posts currently trending on the network. Marketers looking for the most up-to-date Google+ hacks or hot topics for a blog post or presentation will find this feature useful. On the downside, it’s not possible to drill down to hot topics by category.

3. Add sparks to follow topics

When a user types a search query in the Google+ search bar, results pages include people, recent posts and pages. Users can narrow the results by showing only people and pages, only posts or hangouts. Another option allows users to funnel the results to show only those from a certain geographic area.

Finally, users can opt to categorize results by interest by selecting Sparks from the drop-down menu. When this search is saved, the topic of interest will be added to the user’s left-hand menu for easy access to the most recent results at any time.

4. Empty circles for easy bookmarking

The Google+ circle design has mixed reviews. Some experts love the concept of easily sorting contacts into various categories, with the simplicity of sharing certain content with a distinct group of followers. Others say Google+ circles are too confusing for the average user.

Aside from categorizing contacts, circles can be used to create a private collection of notes or bookmarks. For instance, a user can create an empty circle titled, “Notes.” As he skims his Google+ newsfeed, he encounters a sweet free download, an interesting article on the latest political drama, and a mention of Oli Gardner, that landing page guy he’s been hearing about and meaning to follow. All these items can be quickly saved for later by clicking “share” and sharing it with his personal “Notes” circle. None of the information has been shared with contacts and it’s all neatly stowed in the “Notes” circle for easy access anytime.

Circles can also be used to bookmark an individual’s favorite websites or resources using the same process. And, because there’s no limit on the number of circles one person can have, the most organized users can create individual empty circles to categorize notes and bookmarks by topic.

5. Chrome extended share extension

Google+ is behind the curve issuing their API, which would allow third-party applications to access posts and distribute them through other channels. It’s not uncommon for marketers to post to several sites simultaneously, so it’s likely that Google+ will step up and issue an API soon. In the meantime, the Google Chrome browser offers a feature (available from the Chrome Web Store with a simple click) that will enable users to share content to Twitter, Facebook or both when posting a status update to Google+.

6. Disable direct message sharing

Social networks are by nature public venues, but there are still some items users prefer to keep to themselves or share with a select group. Any post or direct message on Google+ can be easily re-shared by recipients. To avoid public sharing of your updates, users should select “Disable reshare” when posting updates meant to be private.

7. Get real-time notifications

Another browser extension, Surplus enables users to get real-time notifications of updates and messages. Users can even reply from within the Google Chrome extension and post new updates without ever leaving their current Web or visiting the Google+ page.

Google+ can be tricky for marketers initially, but those who work past the nuances to learn the insider tricks and hacks will find this social network an incredibly valuable marketing tool. By taking advantage of a few hacks, tricks and work-arounds, marketers can build on the basic uses of Google+. And it’s only a matter of time before more features and functionality are introduced, enabling Google+ to remain competitive in the social media sphere.

– Angela Stringfellow

Of all the social networking sites that offer pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, LinkedIn is the most geared to reaching professionals, business owners, entrepreneurs and executives. With a little creativity in targeting, as well as ad and landing page design, you can improve your LinkedIn ad campaign conversions.

1. Targeting – It’s all about demographics

Best practices suggest you target your ads at real people rather than shooting arrows at dogs.

What is it? LinkedIn is a community of millions of business owners, entrepreneurs, executives and other professionals, and through their profiles they have self-identified exactly who they are, where they work, what they do, and what interests them professionally.

And you can target them based on that, which is awesome! Here I am customer, let me rock you like a hurricane!

Through its paid ad service, LinkedIn lets marketers take advantage of this demographic information to create highly-targeted ad campaigns.

Check out this infographic for some demographic data. It shows the almost limitless information you can use to target your ad recipients using LinkdIn data.

Think about the many different demographic groups that might be interested in your product or service. (Go ahead, I can wait for you while you think).

Then, when you design your campaign, you get to specify who will see the ad, based on job title, job function, industry, geography, age, gender, seniority, company size, company name or even LinkedIn Group membership.

Do This Now!

Make a list of five potential demographics, job titles, or industries you’d like to target, trying to think a little outside the box. So, for instance, you might know your accounting software is useful for small business owners, but what about attorneys, doctors, or self-employed actors? For more information about gearing your ad to particular audiences, see the targeting section of LinkedIn’s “Best Practices for Advertising on LinkedIn.”

2. Click-worthy Ads – Who Really Gives a Click?

He only clicks *really* cool ads.

LinkedIn ads consist of a headline of up to 25 characters, a description of up to 75 characters, a company name, an image, and a URL. Each element must attract the audience you’re targeting and inspire people to click on the ad. Ensure your ad will get the attention it deserves by choosing your words carefully, offering something specific to people who click on it, and using enticing call-to-action phrases.

Don’t make people guess what your company has to offer — tell them.

Make them want to click on your ad in order to get a special discount, a price quote, a coupon or a free sample or consultation.

Ads with images tend to get more clicks than those with just text, so use an image with bright colors that relates specifically to your product or service.

Try creating an ad that would make you want to click.

Do This Now!

Write a list of call-to-action phrases that relate to your service or product, such as “Learn to speak French” or “Balance your books in five minutes.” These sentences give your audience a reason to click on your ad and find out how they can do these things. For more about how to create an ad that works, see LinkedIn’s guidelines for creating effective ads and “How to Write an Ad” on StartupInternetMarketing.com.

3. Multiple ads

Lots of ads!!!!!! They're in Japanese, but there are still a lot of them. Metaphor thumbs up or down?

LinkedIn lets you create up to 15 ads per campaign, and multiple ads increase your chances of getting responses. Create a variety of ads — at least three — with different headlines, descriptions and images.

Multiple ads allow you to experiment with various copy and keywords to see which ones work best for your targeted demographics.

At first, all of your ads will be posted, and then as you begin to receive clicks, the best-performing ad will be shown more frequently. Or if you’d like, you can have your ads rotate regularly.

Do This Now!

Create 15 ads, experiment with using completely different words, calls-to-action, and images. You’ll be surprised how many different ways you can sell your product or service. Find out more on how and why to design multiple LinkedIn ads.

4. Landing pages (huzzah!)

This is what a landing page should look like. Theoretically and anatomically. Just make sure you use one. Okay? I'll be checking...

Where people end up once they click your ad is just as important — if not more important — than the ad itself. You want to make sure that your landing page is relevant to the ad and targeted to the demographic groups you’ve specified for your ad.

In fact, you should create a special landing page just for LinkedIn users, which makes the experience of clicking on the ad and landing on your page more rewarding and also will likely increase the conversion rate — the percentage of people who fill out a form, order a product, or otherwise interact with your site and company.

You might want to offer a special incentive or discount for people who come to your page through LinkedIn, which will also tend to increase the conversion rate. Make sure your landing page is simple and uncluttered while giving a strong sense of your brand.

Remember: it’s the first impression people have of your business, and you want it to be good.

Do This Now!

Identify your key offer or central message, and create a landing page that focuses on it. For tips and advice on creating a strong landing page, see “The Perfect Landing Page” on SmartInsights.com.

5. Analytics

Analyzing who clicks on your ad, when they click, what they do once they’re there, and other facts about your audience is a valuable part of any online advertising campaign. It lets you evaluate the return-on-investment of a particular campaign, and it also helps you to revise a current campaign or create a new one. LinkedIn gives you basic information about how many clicks each ad gets, and you’ll want to pay attention to these reports to see which ad designs and keywords are more effective. Also use Google Analytics or other reporting services to track ad responses and the behavior of your audience in relation to a specific campaign.

Do This Now!

Create an analytics journal and analyze your site’s reports every day. For more information about using web analytics to improve your ad campaign, read Omar Tawakol’s article on Business Insider, “Using Analytics to Take Audience Targeting to a Whole New Level.”

Advertising on LinkedIn should be a vital part of your overall marketing strategy, simply because it’s the best way to target your campaigns to specific people.

Question: How do you find LinkedIn ads compare to Google AdWords? Let us know in the comments…

CTA: What are you waiting for? Click the LinkedIn button below already! (thanks :)

Selling Awesomeness Via LinkedIn

Now we all know how far my metaphors and stories stretch, but if you were going to use LinkedIn to try and sell Scorpions tickets, you’d use target Male, late 30’s, Europeans, Americans & Brits. It might not be business related – but not everything has to be. At the end of the day it’s all about targeting the right demographic and that’s what LinkedIn excels at.

On that note, here’s a pretty awesome rendition of “Rock You Like A Hurricane” (with orchestra – so add that to the demographic). btw the awesomeness starts at 0:33

The lesson here… rock your ads dude!

– Oli Gardner

If you listen closely you may just be able to hear the resounding chorus of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” followed by a standing ovation, a birthday cake filled with candles and Happy Birthdays for the man himself, Unbounce’s own Mr. Oli Gardner.

Over the last year he’s shared his insights and thoughts, his metaphors and humor, and his uncanny ability to make even the most boring topic fairly relevant. So, in honor of Mr. Landing Pages’ birthday (Jan. 14) we are reviewing his best Unbounce posts of the past year.

Editors Note: Okay, perhaps this is a little self indulgent. But hey, it’s (was) my birthday on Saturday! (Hence the late posting). I hope you can enjoy the humour and my addiction to metaphor as much as I enjoyed writing these posts. Cheers! (to me)…

Why Microconversions are Just Like Dating (Video)

Nobody but Oli would compare micro-conversions to dating and then use “How I Met Your Mother” to illustrate how right he is. Ted Mosby may very well be the only other character who stays up late at night creating such algorithms for life.

10 Social Media Research Strategies to Inject Your Next Blog Post With “Roids”

Performance-enhancing content is examined in this post and Oli hits a home run not only with his list of content “roids,” but where to find them. The secret’s out and the dealer is just a click away. Are you using any “content on drugs” enhancers in your blog?

50 Things Every Marketer Must Do Before They Die

Well, Mr. Gardner, another year has come and gone and you still have quite a bit to do on your very own bucket list. This list not only promotes setting goals, but setting them high. A few favorites: Number Six: Write a real book. Number 34 and 35: Drunk Tweet and Regret drunk tweeting. Number 49: Every time you hire a marketer, give them this list as a task.

The 12-Step Landing Page Rehab Program (Infographic)

Even though he used the infamous Denial isn’t a river in Egypt joke, Oli really works to help struggling sites that have hit rock bottom work their way back to the top. The 12-steps provide “ah-ha” moments and work as a sponsor to help prevent relapse into old habits.

A/B Testing is DEAD! Ask a HiPPO Instead… and The HiPPOs Have Left the Building…A/B Testing Is Back

It appeared to be a legitimate post submitted the day before April Fools Day. Here Oli takes a look at how the advice of HiPPOs (High Paid Person’s Opinion) is just as good as the insight gleaned from A/B testing. But, alas it was just a great set-up for an elaborate April Fool’s Joke. However, the fake panel of HiPPOs gave some phenomenal landing-page advice.

My favorite Q&A:
“How do I decrease My Bounce rate oh wise HiPPO?”
“If your bounce rate is high, you should try adding some Javascript to freeze the page for 2 minutes so people’ can’t leave. Yup, that’s why they pay me the big bucks.”

Would You Change Your Name for SEO?

Mr. Landing Pages, or Oli, as he’s known to the rest of us, takes into consideration changing his legal name to rank him higher in SEO. It didn’t really work for “American Trout Fishing” and costs around $850, but it does make for a good conversation. Maybe Beyonce and Jay-Z are expanding their empire to establish a high-end greenhouse operation?

The MR. MEN Guide to Landing Pages, Conversion & Absurd Metaphors

Well done, birthday boy. Well done! This is a great representation of a cast of characters, good and bad, that has taken over the world of landing pages. Oli’s love of metaphors and the MR. MEN books has finally come together to create a masterpiece. If you had to pick, which character would you be?

Your Landing Page Sucks! Here are 10 Examples That Don’t…

With a presumptive tone that your page sucks (even though he admittedly acknowledges that he hasn’t seen it) Oli takes a look at 10 great landing pages and what makes them so great. He offers some quick tips on how to make them better, but overall if you follow his lead, you too can have a great landing page.

When CTA’s Attack

With a brain that never stops, Oli has taken real world CTAs (calls to action) to task, calling out some of the most in-your-face examples. Each offers a moral behind its story that transcends the digital world. Our favorite: The FarSide-esq push/pull signs complete with the original cartoon!

Happy Birthday, Oli.

It is with great hope that your year brings health, prosperity and happiness to you and your family. I can only hope that you continue to bring to light more of your witty commentaries, obnoxious (yet, oh so true) metaphors and business-changing ideas.

– Angela Stringfellow

Use Circles (point #3) to segment your customers based on demographics.

Editor’s note: My favorite description about Google+ was at SEOmoz’s 2011 MOZcon conference, where Kristy Bolsinger referred to it as a 3rd sock. “I already have 2 good socks (Twitter and Facebook) – I don’t need another one!”. I’m starting to come around though and see that it’s going to finally be the Google app that helps shape the social web’s future. So listen up and get on board. Quickly.

When Google unveiled brand pages on its Google+ social network, detractors argued that Google+ will never compete with Facebook, but it’s showing that it can offer a serious alternative social channel to share content, build links and connect with customers.

Here are a 6 tips to jump start your Google+ business marketing campaigns…

« Favour: Before you leave – click that wee Google +1 button on the left – it’ll be like art imitating life :)

1. Google+ Brand Pages

Mashable offers a useful step-by-step tutorial for creating a Google+ brand page if you haven’t already done so. And speaking of Mashable, they’ve wasted no time getting their sharp-looking brand page published:

Mashable’s roundup of the top ten Google+ brand pages is a good place to search for inspiration. If you’re not convinced of the importance of early adoption, the article points out that Coca-Cola, a brand with one of the largest Facebook followings, was slow to create its Google+ brand page. America’s favorite cola has since stepped up with its own brand page, but it lagged behind competitors in building an audience on Google+.

Google+ is offering some cool analytics features that allow brands to quickly see how viral their content is. For example, you can check out the “Ripple” effect to view who is sharing your content, how influential they are and who is in their network. Once you’ve identified influencers who are sharing your stuff, you can add them to your own circles and start communicating with them.

Other Google+ brand page features:

• Quickly share your brand page with anyone in your network (including email contacts), even if they don’t have a Google+ account.
• Code (to embed in your website) that connects your business website to your Google+ brand page, even including analytics illustrating the relationship between the two.
• Creative kit to help you move photos and images from your profile to your brand page, so you can easily spice up your page.

Bummers:

• Pages can’t add people until a person adds a page first.
• Pages can’t share to extended circles.

2. The Google +1 Button

The plus-one button appears on brand pages automatically, and it’s a quick and painless way for customers and prospects to recommend your business. How much easier can it get than a simple click? To maximize your results, encourage customers to plus-one your page or your website. You can go so far as to offer them a discount or free product if they do so. Even better: If you’ve written an extremely popular blog post that earns hundreds of +1s, Google search users can quickly see the popularity of the article and are more apt to click on your link.

The +1 button also appears in Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), meaning that any internet user can immediately give your website, blog or social profile a thumbs-up with a single click. SEODesk.org reports that Google has confirmed that the plus-one button will affect search rankings. How, exactly, is up for interpretation. According to the article, Google execs will be analyzing plus-one usage and how it’s impacting website rankings, but it’s safe to assume that the more plus-ones your website has, the more your readers are indicating that your content is useful: A key indicator for Google as it seeks to show the most relevant and helpful results.

Finally, you’ll want to add the plus-one button alongside your other social sharing buttons that appear on static web pages and blog posts. You can do this easily using a free service such as AddThis, or you can get the code directly from Google and insert it into a WordPress widget area or anywhere on your site you want it to appear.

3. Google+ Circles

Circles are a convenient way to organize contacts by interest or other segment. For marketers, this is a highly effective way to target messages that are geared to specific consumer groups. For example, if your business offers multiple products or services, you can send a message or announcement to those contacts who have expressed an interest in a certain area, without alienating those that are interested in other aspects of your service.

4. Sharing Photos, Graphs and Charts for Visual Appeal

Any search on Google+ will reveal that images are extremely popular. Images, such as infographics, are user-friendly because they convey complex information in an easy-to-understand format. Who wants to read 2,000 words when a quick glance at a graphic will provide the same level of understanding?

5. The Recommended Links Feature

One useful feature that makes Google+ stand out from the social competition is the recommended links feature. This component, available under the “About” section on a Google+ brand page, allows you to add important links directing users to relevant pages on your website. It’s a useful way to encourage click-throughs to landing pages or helpful articles.

6. Google+ Hangouts

Yet another standout feature of Google+ is the hangouts option. This is a powerful tool for videoconferencing, holding meetings, solving customer service concerns and even hosting group chats or workshops. Another plus: You can see who was present after the event, so you can provide targeted follow-ups to current or prospective customers.

The Challenge

Nearly all good things come with a catch, and Google+ is no exception. Similar to Facebook, the biggest challenge users encounter is building a network of followers. That said, finding your audience can be tough because Pages can’t add individuals to circles without the individual user adding the page first. In other words, the individual audience members must find you first, before you can engage them.

The solution? Promote your Google+ page as often as you can on your other social networks and through your website and blog. And make sure current followers in your network are sharing your content. Add other relevant pages to your circles. Invite current business contacts to add your brand page. Offer an exclusive deal to new prospects who add your page. There’s no turn-key solution to develop an audience on any social network, but those who leverage their other marketing expertise and channels will have the greatest success on Google+.

The best thing about Google+ is its connection to the Google search engine. Google, which has long been the holy grail of SEO, is using information and statistics obtained from Google+ to affect search results. So using the platform to the fullest advantage will absolutely benefit your SEO campaign.

BONUS – Google+ Infographic: Who’s Using Google Plus?

Let us know in the comments how you’re using Google+ and if you think it’s a 3rd sock or not…

And remember to click the Google +1 button at the top, It’ll be a great test of it’s effectiveness – and Oli will give you a free hug if you meet him :)

What to read next: 7 Google+ Tricks That I Know and You Don’t…

– Angela Stringfellow

Some would argue that creative content and using it as a marketing device (i.e. Content Marketing) is the only way to market a business. Without it, you’re like the wallflower at the prom. And seriously, who even uses the word wallflower these days?

Which proves our point. If you’re not using content marketing, you’re dated. (Or without a date… at the prom). Get on board. Fast.

“Content marketing is the only marketing that’s left,”
claims Seth Godin, blogging phenomenon and marketing guru.

In 2011, this certainly seemed to be the case, with a study released by Hubspot that showed that businesses with more than 200 blog posts generated 3.5 times more leads than blogs with fewer than 20 posts.

So if 2011 laid the groundwork for content marketing, then 2012 will be the year of it, with businesses switching from older, more expensive models of marketing, to free mediums like blogs. “Content is certainly the name of the game in digital marketing today,” argues Alissa Leonard on ClickZ.

What is Content Marketing?

But what is content marketing, and why would anyone care about you blog? If you’re providing interesting, engaging content – which is the essence of content marketing – and you have 10 customers who are consistently reading it, those 10 customers become your biggest fans. They’ll bring you more business than any of the thousands of other people who visit your site. If you keep them coming back, by posting frequently and engagingly, they’ll bring others with them, until you have a tightly knit network of cheerleaders for your brand.

In other words, making free content that doesn’t suck benefits everyone. It’s a consumer-producer marriage made in heaven. “The average blog, article, anything, gets average results,” says Dharmesh Shah in a lecture at Saleforce.com’s Dreamforce conference. “And average results will kill companies.”

So how to produce engaging content? First start by being real. Consumers are jaded after years of feeling tricked into buying things based on misleading advertising. They want to be talked to directly, and they want to be treated with respect.

They also want to read personal stories. In the age of Facebook and Twitter, people are accustomed to sharing intimate narratives. They relate best to information coming from Facebook friends, whose personal lives are laid out for them to explore. They don’t want to be told to do something indirectly. They want personal contact with a brand, and they want to feel like they can relate to it.

Finally, they want the information to come to them easily. If they follow a blog, they want that blog to post its content on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and any other social media they may follow. They want the language you use to update them to be funny and engaging. And they want to they want to be able to read it all in one click.

Finding the right type of content

Once you master the language of speaking informally and truthfully, all that’s left is to figure out what your readers want. Are they interested in your infographics? Or do they love the content that is broken down into lists? Can you produce some kind of content – an advice column, an expert tip book – that just doesn’t exist anywhere else? If so, then give them more of what they want, and less of what doesn’t get any hits.

As your followers blossom on Twitter, and your Google Analytics spike on your blog, make sure that you’re always drawing in new customers by finding similar sites in your arena, and speaking directly to them. Comment and follow those who follow you. And if you write something, and someone responds to it directly, give them the respect of responding back. Doing so forms symbiotic Internet relationships.

Great Examples of Content Marketing

There are countless examples of great content being produced every day – but here are a couple to give you a sense of what can be used to create a stir. Tip: Always make it your best work.

The N00B Guide to Online Marketing Infographic

Oli Gardner of Unbounce spent weeks designing and writing the now infamous and epic Noob Guide to Online Marketing. Yes, it took a while, but it’s also resonated around the world (translated into at least 7 languages and been read over a hundred thousand times). The best thing you can do with content marketing is to think longevity. Don’t spend an eternity on something that will disappear in a week – think evergreen – something that never dies.

The Anatomy of a Perfect Landing Page

Another great example is The Anatomy of a Perfect Landing Page which spurred a lot of inbound links (exactly what you’re looking for) and generated a lot of buzz and is helping to accelerate the production of better landing pages. That’s great content done awesome! While benefiting business and marketers at the same time – which is what all great content should do.

How effective is your content marketing?

The last thing you need to do is measure whether or not you have effective content marketing. All you need to do is ask yourself four questions:

1. Is my content compelling?
2. Can it be integrated cleanly into the site?
3. Is it discoverable?
4. Is it promotable?

If the answers to these four questions are yes, then you’re well on your way to building a successful marketing plan for 2012.

Go get ‘er done!

– Brienne Walsh (and a little from Oli Gardner)