Time to get back on the wagon and write about developing a quality digital media strategy. This time in our series on digital media strategy, we will focus on best practices for landing page and form designs. You've developed your KPIs and CTAs. Now you need to create within your CMS a landing page for your website that effectively converts your prospects that land there into leads. (can we have more acronyms in marketing, please?) There are certain things you should do and not do in designing these pages and the forms found there to make them most effective with high conversion rates. In this post, I will share just a few high-level best practices on this topic - all that we have learned from Hubspot, the CMS we use.
It's important to keep in mind all elements of this page - from layout and copy - should be designed with the desired action in mind - to fill out the form so this anonymous site visitor becomes a lead. So at this point, when you start to create your landing pages, many of the tough work is out of the way. Why? Because you've already determined your offer when you developed your CTA. The offer tells you the purpose of the page, which helps you write a compelling headline on your page. It also helps you select a template in your CMS that helps make that offer even more appealing. When it comes to laying out this page, let your offer be your guide.
With that in mind, the next thing you should do on the page is explain the offer in 1-3 short paragraphs. Make sure this includes the benefit to the visitor - what's in it for them? Will your eBook on bovine udder cream change their life? Tell them so! Showcasing just how appealing that offer is gets them thinking on that so they share their information and submit that form to get it.
Speaking of that, the length of your form is vital for optimal conversion - and guess what? Your offer helps determine that as well. The number of fields on your form should be in line with the value of your offer. For example, if you are offering valuable content like a white paper, then you can ask for more than just name, email and phone number. But if you are just offering 10% off a consultation, then you should limit it to just the basics. No matter the offer, the maximum number of fields you should have is 7. Any longer and the prospect will abandon the page. Also, limit the number of fields that you make mandatory as well.
And the last best practice I'll share: make sure your landing page does not have a navigation bar or menu like other pages on your site. Remember, the point of the page is to convert that visitor into a lead by getting them to submit the form. All of the content on the page should be geared towards them taking that action. If they can navigate to other sections of your site, then they are likely to do that instead of taking the action you want. It is not that it is necessarily bad to make it easy for a visitor to learn more about your company -- it's just not good strategy if lead generation is your goal.
There is much more to say on the subject, but that's all for now. If we can help you think through your digital media or lead generation strategies, let us know. And if you would have any digital strategy best practices you would like to share with us, leave them in the comments or share them with us on social media. You can follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for reading!
