Preparing for Landing

Do you know the difference between a website's home page and landing page? Prior to a few days ago, I thought they were the same thing. However, similar to other common tech terms that are used interchangeably when they shouldn't be (I'm looking at you, UX/UI), landing pages are actually distinctly different than home pages. They have their own purposes, rules, and strategies.

So, what does a landing page do?

• Landing pages have one purpose: Conversions. They are different from the rest of your website in that they are crystallized, hyper-concentrated experiences where every single element is guiding you to click the button that leads to a conversion.
• Each type of conversion should have a different landing page. For example, if the desired conversion is an email sign-up, there should be a page dedicated to that. An entirely separate landing page should be built if the desired conversion is to purchase a product.
• Landing pages should be simple, with nothing to distract from the call to action. Every element of the page needs to serve the purpose of guiding a user towards a conversion. Some digital marketing experts even suggest removing all other navigation from the page to avoid giving users ways to exit before converting.
• The placement of elements and use of design, color, and copy is of top importance. Everything that the user needs to know to convince them to convert needs to be clear and accessible.
• A proper landing page can significantly increase conversions. Neil Patel says that for certain types of calls to action, a good landing page can increase your conversion rate up to 40%.

With all of this in mind, you can draw the conclusion that a home page could be a landing page, but not all landing pages are home pages. For a company running a variety of changing promotions, there could be many different landing pages in use (and none of them could be accessible from the main site's navigation). Now, can you think of some landing pages you've seen? Here are a few examples:

Hint: If you're having a hard time finding examples of promo-specific landing pages (ie: ones that aren't doubling as a website's home page), check out the sponsor list of a podcast that you like to find a list of affiliate links.

If you want to supercharge your conversions, Neil Patel offers his own five tips for creating an effective landing page in this YouTube video:

1. Use websites like InstaPage and ClickFunnels for landing pages that are proven to be effective. These websites are backed with expansive data showing that their designs improve conversion rates.
2. Have an amazing value proposition. A user is much more likely to give you their contact info if they receive something valuable in return. This could be a discount code, an informative e-book, a song download, etc.
3. Keep it simple. Does your form ask for phone number and zip code, when you really only need to know a name and email? Does the copy on your page distract the user in any way from making a conversion? Cut the fluff and get to the point.

1. Show social proof. This can include testimonials, case studies, videos, or user-generated content, to name a few. Exhibiting social proof on your landing page is a great way to build trust in the value that you'll be providing.
2. Create a video. Some people like to read, some people like to watch. Including a video can increase conversions and the quality of your leads.

Creating an effective landing page requires a bit of design knowledge, an understanding of your ideal customer's journey, and a heavy dose of empathy for your user. This is why understanding the basics of UX/UI design is useful for any digital marketer.

Ok, explain UX/UI.

UX (User Experience) design takes into account the full experience of a user with a product. It's about whether the product can functionally provide it's value to a user in an enjoyable way. This can apply to both physical and digital products.

UI (User Interface) design focuses on the aesthetic elements of the interface that a user of a digital product interacts with. It's about whether the interface looks good and is easy to understand.

The two fields are not interchangeable, but they do work in tandem. For example, a website may be easy to use but the fonts, colors, and graphics may be off-putting because they feel dated or kitchy. This would be an example of good UX and bad UI. On the other hand, a website may have the *chef's kiss* aesthetic, but include broken links and a confusing layout that make the site aggravating to use. That's good UI and bad UX.

This graphic from Career Foundry does a great job breaking it down:

Both UX and UI have a foundation in design thinking. IBM currently offers a free Open P-Tech course on design thinking, which teaches concepts that can be utilized by people in almost any profession. Here are a few of the foundational elements:

The Principles:

• Focus on user outcomes
• Restless reinvention
• Empower diversity in teams

The Loop:

• Observe
• Reflect
• Make
• (And repeat, and repeat, and repeat)

The Keys:

• Hills illuminate the big problems to be solved, aligning your team's focus (who, what, wow)
• Playbacks, delivered in the form of stories, align the team around the value that is being created for users
• Sponsor users help close the gap between your team's assumptions and the user's day-to-day reality

Why is UX/UI useful for marketers?

Have you heard the term 'T-shaped marketer?' A T-shaped marketer is someone who has general knowledge on a wide breadth of marketing skills to complement deeper, more specialized knowledge on one our two skills. If you're not quite catching the 'T' reference, this graphic from Moz explains it pretty clearly

Having a T-shaped skillset is beneficial because diving deep on one or two skills is absolutely necessary to become an innovator or thought-leader in that area, but knowing the basics of many adjacent disciplines allows for more seamless communication, collaboration, and connection-building.

Marketers need to understand UX/UI because it gets at a deeper, more foundational ethos than the typical elements of digital marketing. I would even go so far as to say that understanding design thinking is just as important as understanding consumer behavior.

Some foundational principles of design thinking that all marketers should embrace:

• Empathy for the user. A prioritization of their needs above all else.
• Continuous iterations, prototyping, and reinvention
• Diversity in perspectives, teams, and solutions.

Next step: Integration

Can you think of a few ways that a landing page could be utilized for your website? Or, do you already have one that you're now thinking needs some edits? Personally, my mind is racing with ways to integrate this new information into my websites. Let me know if you use any of this info, and I'll report back with what I create!