Building a CTA Button Your Leads Can't Help But Click

It's the great marketing paradox. We spend hours brainstorming and months testing the copy of our calls-to-action, but whether we ask our users to Sign Up Now, Start a Free Trial, Get Started, Request Access, or Learn More, all we really want them to do it click the button.

Just click the button.

So why do so many of our quality leads fail to comply with our simple request? The way your CTA button is set up on a landing page is just as important as the CTA itself. Otherwise, it's a button to nowhere.

Make your CTA pop on a pretty page

Visual appeal is everything. Before they see your CTA button, your landing page is the first impression your potential customers will have. Choose attractive, simple imagery – if your page is cluttered, your visitors won't know where to look. Color scheme also is important: Using complementary but contrasting colors help a page to pop.

Notice how the below example from PopSurvey is coordinated with shades of blue, allowing the pink in the logo and CTA to pop out on the page. The secondary CTA, “Pricing & Sign Up” in the header is a slightly duller pink that still stands out but doesn't distract from the main call-to-action button.

Ensure your page is easy to read and draws the attention of your customers' eyes – don't make them strain to read the text. The following landing page from Website Magazine is cluttered, has too many distracting colors, and small text. It's impossible to know where to look!

Get to the point

Customers won't have the patience to stay on your page if they don't know what you're offering. Use clear, strong wording to elicit the quick reactions that all good Calls-to-Action invoke.

Active verbs like “join” or “discover” can make people feel like they'll be a part of something or learn something new. Negative questions like “worried?” and “confused?” can tap into human fears – always an attention-getter. And make it personal and urgent – use pronouns like “your” or “my” to convey ownership, as well as time-sensitive words, as in “Get my free newsletter now.”

Dollar Shave Club is the perfect example of this. They speak to men (notice the “No commitment”) in a take-it-or-leave-it offer. Do it or don't. Either way, it's impossible to miss that big CTA.

The copy here is also fantastic. It flows well, the value proposition is clear, and each sentence subsequently gets shorter up to the CTA.

At Socedo, one of our landing pages, is frill-free. We're still A/B testing variations around “Start My Free Trial” or “Start My 14-Day Free Trial.” Regardless, previous testing has confirmed that the phrase “Free Trial” is crucial to our CTA buttons. It's simple and to the point, and users know exactly what will happen when they click the button. No matter where you look on our site–the landing page, the navigation, or the blog–you'll see a blue button with the “Free Trial” copy.

But just like any marketing strategy, you should always be A/B testing. What works for one brand might not work for another, and things can change over time.

Lead to the button with benefits

Drive more leads by offering your unique selling point. When a customer clicks on your CTA button, they should know why it will benefit them. Start with a confident headline on the page that conveys a key value you offer, and support it with a subhead that explains it. Follow with clear button copy that encourages users to claim these benefits.

If you're like everyone else – boring and wordy – you won't get your customers to pay attention or even to think about clicking your CTA. Add personality, emotions and enthusiasm to help draw in customers.

This landing page from Manpacks is fantastic and hilarious. It has a header with a clear benefit, in this case convenience on men's essentials. Then the subhead explains exactly what Manpacks offers. By the time the user reaches the CTA button, they already know what they are going to “Get Started” with.

Sqord is a fitness and game tracking wristband for kids. Their landing page isn't bad. It has a coherent color theme that reflects the audience and the product, the button pops, and it gets to the point. The headline is catchy but not very specific, and the subhead only provides a few more surface-level details: “Sqord is your online world, powered by real world play.”

By the time the user reaches the button text “Buy Sqord Membership & Gear” it's hard to know what they're actually buying. Is it the wristband, the app, or both? And why should I care?

Instill fear of missing out

You always want what you can't have, right? It's all about urgency. Customers hate missing out on a short-term offer. Focus on deadline phrases such as “limited time” or give them and end date. Add exclusivity to your product, when appropriate, with phrases like “while supplies last.” And CTAs that save money will always be a winning tactic. Customers can't ignore it.

This landing page from Slope, a visual marketing platform, creates FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) by implying only a limited number of people will be allowed access to the beta. In addition to avoiding this negative, the button creates a positive experience of exclusivity. If you're one of the select few who request early access, you'll be part of the inner club–the talk of the town at your next marketers' get-together.

Be creative

You'll probably notice a pattern to the successful landing page CTAs mentioned here. They all have a high-benefit header, an explanatory subhead, and a button with active verbs. They all have a coordinated color palette, with the button standing out. They all get right to the point.

Most importantly, they all have some level of creativity. You can read as many prescriptive tips for CTA buttons as possible, but at the end of the day, it's the unexpected element of your page that will give you the edge for higher conversion rates.

About the Author: Aseem Badshah, Founder and CEO of Socedo. Socedo helps sales and marketing professionals leverage social media data to discover, qualify, and nurture leads, automatically.

Building a CTA Button Your Leads Can't Help But Click

It's the great marketing paradox. We spend hours brainstorming and months testing the copy of our calls-to-action, but whether we ask our users to Sign Up Now, Start a Free Trial, Get Started, Request Access, or Learn More, all we really want them to do it click the button.

Just click the button.

So why do so many of our quality leads fail to comply with our simple request? The way your CTA button is set up on a landing page is just as important as the CTA itself. Otherwise, it's a button to nowhere.

Make your CTA pop on a pretty page

Visual appeal is everything. Before they see your CTA button, your landing page is the first impression your potential customers will have. Choose attractive, simple imagery – if your page is cluttered, your visitors won't know where to look. Color scheme also is important: Using complementary but contrasting colors help a page to pop.

Notice how the below example from PopSurvey is coordinated with shades of blue, allowing the pink in the logo and CTA to pop out on the page. The secondary CTA, “Pricing & Sign Up” in the header is a slightly duller pink that still stands out but doesn't distract from the main call-to-action button.

Ensure your page is easy to read and draws the attention of your customers' eyes – don't make them strain to read the text. The following landing page from Website Magazine is cluttered, has too many distracting colors, and small text. It's impossible to know where to look!

Get to the point

Customers won't have the patience to stay on your page if they don't know what you're offering. Use clear, strong wording to elicit the quick reactions that all good Calls-to-Action invoke.

Active verbs like “join” or “discover” can make people feel like they'll be a part of something or learn something new. Negative questions like “worried?” and “confused?” can tap into human fears – always an attention-getter. And make it personal and urgent – use pronouns like “your” or “my” to convey ownership, as well as time-sensitive words, as in “Get my free newsletter now.”

Dollar Shave Club is the perfect example of this. They speak to men (notice the “No commitment”) in a take-it-or-leave-it offer. Do it or don't. Either way, it's impossible to miss that big CTA.

The copy here is also fantastic. It flows well, the value proposition is clear, and each sentence subsequently gets shorter up to the CTA.

At Socedo, one of our landing pages, is frill-free. We're still A/B testing variations around “Start My Free Trial” or “Start My 14-Day Free Trial.” Regardless, previous testing has confirmed that the phrase “Free Trial” is crucial to our CTA buttons. It's simple and to the point, and users know exactly what will happen when they click the button. No matter where you look on our site–the landing page, the navigation, or the blog–you'll see a blue button with the “Free Trial” copy.

But just like any marketing strategy, you should always be A/B testing. What works for one brand might not work for another, and things can change over time.

Lead to the button with benefits

Drive more leads by offering your unique selling point. When a customer clicks on your CTA button, they should know why it will benefit them. Start with a confident headline on the page that conveys a key value you offer, and support it with a subhead that explains it. Follow with clear button copy that encourages users to claim these benefits.

If you're like everyone else – boring and wordy – you won't get your customers to pay attention or even to think about clicking your CTA. Add personality, emotions and enthusiasm to help draw in customers.

This landing page from Manpacks is fantastic and hilarious. It has a header with a clear benefit, in this case convenience on men's essentials. Then the subhead explains exactly what Manpacks offers. By the time the user reaches the CTA button, they already know what they are going to “Get Started” with.

Sqord is a fitness and game tracking wristband for kids. Their landing page isn't bad. It has a coherent color theme that reflects the audience and the product, the button pops, and it gets to the point. The headline is catchy but not very specific, and the subhead only provides a few more surface-level details: “Sqord is your online world, powered by real world play.”

By the time the user reaches the button text “Buy Sqord Membership & Gear” it's hard to know what they're actually buying. Is it the wristband, the app, or both? And why should I care?

Instill fear of missing out

You always want what you can't have, right? It's all about urgency. Customers hate missing out on a short-term offer. Focus on deadline phrases such as “limited time” or give them and end date. Add exclusivity to your product, when appropriate, with phrases like “while supplies last.” And CTAs that save money will always be a winning tactic. Customers can't ignore it.

This landing page from Slope, a visual marketing platform, creates FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) by implying only a limited number of people will be allowed access to the beta. In addition to avoiding this negative, the button creates a positive experience of exclusivity. If you're one of the select few who request early access, you'll be part of the inner club–the talk of the town at your next marketers' get-together.

Be creative

You'll probably notice a pattern to the successful landing page CTAs mentioned here. They all have a high-benefit header, an explanatory subhead, and a button with active verbs. They all have a coordinated color palette, with the button standing out. They all get right to the point.

Most importantly, they all have some level of creativity. You can read as many prescriptive tips for CTA buttons as possible, but at the end of the day, it's the unexpected element of your page that will give you the edge for higher conversion rates.

About the Author: Aseem Badshah, Founder and CEO of Socedo. Socedo helps sales and marketing professionals leverage social media data to discover, qualify, and nurture leads, automatically.

Here's How Millennial Entrepreneurs Approach Business Differently

Over the last several years, Millennials have taken a lot of flack for being different than their Boomer or Gen X predecessors. In a recent interview, Peter Bolin, Experian Director of Consulting and Analytics, shared some pretty insightful data regarding Millennials (Gen Y), their entrepreneurial aspirations, how they approach business credit, and why being different could be very good for the economy.

His comments aren't an indictment of the Boomers, Gen X, or the way they approach credit decisions, but Millennials seem to approach entrepreneurship and business credit differently; the data speaks well to the future of small business, Main Street, and the economy.

From a credit perspective, the data suggests this generation is more like the Greatest and Silent Generation than their Boomer and Gen X counterparts. They appear to be much better at recognizing key distinctions between personal credit and business credit.

Millennial Entrepreneurs: Separation of Personal and Business Credit

“The Millennials tend to maintain smaller personal balances and higher business credit balances,” says Bolin. This is important because separating personal and business credit is a good strategy for building a strong business credit profile-incredibly important for younger, early-stage businesses.

It's very tempting for startup business owners to use their personal credit when they first start out-the credit is easily accessible and it's there. Nevertheless, using personal credit cards for business expenses can actually lower your personal credit score if you are carrying large balances and it doesn't do anything to help you build a strong business credit profile.

Making a distinction between personal and business credit early in the life of a small business can make a difference two or three years down the road when applying for a small business loan to facilitate growth or to cover working capital needs.

Length of Credit File Matters

The Millennials do have some challenges to overcome. “Their time on file hurts their credit profile today, and they don't have a very broad credit mix,” says Bolin. “For example, many of them don't have a mortgage. A mortgage can help [a] personal credit score.”

Whether we're talking about business credit or personal credit, “time on file” or the length of your credit profile matters. Basically, the age of your oldest credit accounts-the older the better-helps establish a history creditors use to evaluate your creditworthiness. For this reason, Bolin encourages early-stage entrepreneurs to start establishing business credit accounts as early as they can in their businesses.

Bolin also stresses the importance of lenders offering financing to the owners of early-stage businesses. “While their credit scores will naturally be lower because their credit history is short, there are often other factors that make these business owners potentially good borrowers,” he says. “New businesses might equal lower scores, but the average small business owner is creating 1-1/2 trade credit relationships each year and using smaller loans to build their credit profiles over the first few years–ultimately indicating to us that many of these businesses are great borrowers.”

The above statement isn't directed specifically to Millennials, but rather early-stage businesses in general; nevertheless, Bolin suggests that once younger entrepreneurs get a couple more years under their belts, he expects to see great things. “Look out in five to 10 years,” he says. “This generation is very tech savvy and very entrepreneurial-over half of them want to start their own businesses. It won't take long before they are fueling small and mid-size business growth.”

A Resurgence in Main Street Businesses?

The data also reveals that many Millennials are choosing entrepreneurship over academic pursuits. “[They] are jumping right into business ownership,” says Bolin. “They're starting Main Street type businesses-construction companies, cleaning companies, auto repair businesses, photo studios, and supply businesses. While this group is very tech savvy, they don't appear to be interested in tech businesses.”

I'm a firm believer in the value a thriving Main Street plays in the health of a community. In an environment where the media popularizes high-tech companies with multi-billion dollar valuations, the value of the businesses most of us rely on to fix our cars, do our dry cleaning, or provide a nice meal on a Saturday night sometimes gets forgotten. I hope I get to revisit this topic in a few years to acknowledge Mr. Bolin's predictions about Gen Y.

The post Here's How Millennial Entrepreneurs Approach Business Differently appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post Here's How Millennial Entrepreneurs Approach Business Differently appeared first on AllBusiness.com.

Here's How Millennial Entrepreneurs Approach Business Differently

Over the last several years, Millennials have taken a lot of flack for being different than their Boomer or Gen X predecessors. In a recent interview, Peter Bolin, Experian Director of Consulting and Analytics, shared some pretty insightful data regarding Millennials (Gen Y), their entrepreneurial aspirations, how they approach business credit, and why being different could be very good for the economy.

His comments aren't an indictment of the Boomers, Gen X, or the way they approach credit decisions, but Millennials seem to approach entrepreneurship and business credit differently; the data speaks well to the future of small business, Main Street, and the economy.

From a credit perspective, the data suggests this generation is more like the Greatest and Silent Generation than their Boomer and Gen X counterparts. They appear to be much better at recognizing key distinctions between personal credit and business credit.

Millennial Entrepreneurs: Separation of Personal and Business Credit

“The Millennials tend to maintain smaller personal balances and higher business credit balances,” says Bolin. This is important because separating personal and business credit is a good strategy for building a strong business credit profile-incredibly important for younger, early-stage businesses.

It's very tempting for startup business owners to use their personal credit when they first start out-the credit is easily accessible and it's there. Nevertheless, using personal credit cards for business expenses can actually lower your personal credit score if you are carrying large balances and it doesn't do anything to help you build a strong business credit profile.

Making a distinction between personal and business credit early in the life of a small business can make a difference two or three years down the road when applying for a small business loan to facilitate growth or to cover working capital needs.

Length of Credit File Matters

The Millennials do have some challenges to overcome. “Their time on file hurts their credit profile today, and they don't have a very broad credit mix,” says Bolin. “For example, many of them don't have a mortgage. A mortgage can help [a] personal credit score.”

Whether we're talking about business credit or personal credit, “time on file” or the length of your credit profile matters. Basically, the age of your oldest credit accounts-the older the better-helps establish a history creditors use to evaluate your creditworthiness. For this reason, Bolin encourages early-stage entrepreneurs to start establishing business credit accounts as early as they can in their businesses.

Bolin also stresses the importance of lenders offering financing to the owners of early-stage businesses. “While their credit scores will naturally be lower because their credit history is short, there are often other factors that make these business owners potentially good borrowers,” he says. “New businesses might equal lower scores, but the average small business owner is creating 1-1/2 trade credit relationships each year and using smaller loans to build their credit profiles over the first few years–ultimately indicating to us that many of these businesses are great borrowers.”

The above statement isn't directed specifically to Millennials, but rather early-stage businesses in general; nevertheless, Bolin suggests that once younger entrepreneurs get a couple more years under their belts, he expects to see great things. “Look out in five to 10 years,” he says. “This generation is very tech savvy and very entrepreneurial-over half of them want to start their own businesses. It won't take long before they are fueling small and mid-size business growth.”

A Resurgence in Main Street Businesses?

The data also reveals that many Millennials are choosing entrepreneurship over academic pursuits. “[They] are jumping right into business ownership,” says Bolin. “They're starting Main Street type businesses-construction companies, cleaning companies, auto repair businesses, photo studios, and supply businesses. While this group is very tech savvy, they don't appear to be interested in tech businesses.”

I'm a firm believer in the value a thriving Main Street plays in the health of a community. In an environment where the media popularizes high-tech companies with multi-billion dollar valuations, the value of the businesses most of us rely on to fix our cars, do our dry cleaning, or provide a nice meal on a Saturday night sometimes gets forgotten. I hope I get to revisit this topic in a few years to acknowledge Mr. Bolin's predictions about Gen Y.

The post Here's How Millennial Entrepreneurs Approach Business Differently appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post Here's How Millennial Entrepreneurs Approach Business Differently appeared first on AllBusiness.com.

How to Idiot Proof Your Ad Campaigns

Marketing promotion sucks when you treat people the same.

That goes for conversions, and it goes for advertising too.

But the minute things start to go awry, people start messing with their landing page headline or ad descriptions.

As if those tiny, miniscule elements are the primary reason traffic's not comin' or visits aren't convertin'.

The best landing page, optimized 100% correctly, can't make up for the wrong audience seeing that message.

Ad campaigns are already difficult. But the good news is that you don't need to possess ninja PPC skillz.

Instead, here is a dead simple way you can isolate where problem areas might pop up and stop them dead in their tracks.

When 'Best Practices' are Good Enough

Commonly accepted best practices are a starting point. The tip of a metaphorical iceberg.

They get all the attention and ink online. But there's a mountain below just waiting to sink your campaign.

On a GREAT day, landing pages convert around 10% of visitors (and those are the 'uncommon', special ones that vastly outperform all the rest). That means the majority of page visitors are doing, well, anything else besides converting.

Slapping on a different ad-description isn't going to budge that number. It won't change the fact that those people simply aren't ready to buy. It might get you from 6-7%. Which is great!

But in a world where over 50% of all customers interactions follow a 'multi-event, multi-channel' journey that takes various touch points prior to converting, we should look beyond tactical 'best practices' to make sure the entire funnel aligns to deliver the best conversions for our buck.

Managing the growing complexity is a top priority for marketers, with most juggling anywhere from 5 – 31 separate tools to manage messaging in a multi-channel marketing environment.

This can be best illustrated with the help of Google's Customer Journey to Online Purchase, which shows how a typical customer's journey might look (including which channels influence which parts) for most industries. Yay visuals!

The point is, there are many things involved in a single conversion. Whether we're talking about a product purchased or lead generated.

Unfortunately, ad campaigns today can't be simple, static paths from New Visitor -> Conversion. Not in a world where it takes a minimum of 6-8 customer touch points prior to conversion. Or when your most profitable customers are NOT the ones who visit your site 1-3 times, but 14-20 before signing up.

Today's ad campaigns are more like a delicate system of variables that depend on each other for success. (Enter your best 'synergistic' MBA speak here.)

Making sure those things come together harmoniously is the best way to boost conversion rates for the long-term.

Here's how.

1. Create Different Ad Campaigns for Each Customer Journey Stage

Ad campaigns should align with an appropriate stage of the sales funnel. Same as any inbound deliverable like an infographic, offline tradeshow, or other campaign.

You know, that whole Awareness, Consideration, Decision bit?

(If you have NO idea what I'm talking about, read about the buying cycle and triggers from David Skok. And then spend another 20 minutes reading everything else he writes – it's worth it.)

Ad channels (and even different campaigns on the same channel) can then be used for different purposes, whether that's driving new sales to generating leads or simply boosting awareness. The opportunities are vast, but the execution needs to be precise.

Let's start with generating initial awareness to see how this works.

Demand Generation

The goal here is to bring in new, targeted visitors. Obviously.

Problem? Nobody knows who you are. And frankly, they don't really care. They haven't yet become aware that they have a need for you yet.

So help them. Literally.

Start with their daily life. What issues pop up, take too long, or cause them frustration (that can also possibly tie back into your widgets)?

Listen:

Consumers ignore 86% of display ads. And those average banner ad click through rates are a dismal 0.1%. It ain't easy out there.

Botching this jeopardizes everything else. So your value proposition needs to be awesome. Not good, or great. But, “Holy s$*% I need to [click this link / read this post] right now”.

Typical display ads, AdWords, and Facebook are well tread options. So let's look at new, fresh examples like Twitter and Instagram. Less competition typically = less expensive = higher return on ad spend. And the principles are the same, regardless of channel.

For example, let's say you're trying to get the attention on Twitter. Instead of simply promoting your account (and making it all about you), solving a huge pain point or even providing a fun distraction can be enough to start introducing your brand to consumers.

The best social ads at this stage also 'blend' in with the content people are already consuming. You know, like that whole native advertising thing. For example, this one from I.D. Sarrieri is very Instagram-ish – selling a mood or theme featuring their products.

Find this one, and many more great Instagram ad examples here.

Last but certainly not least, is your headline.

The best headlines are a crystallized version of your value proposition, and they tap into some deeper primal motivation to grab maximum attention. Bnonn's SHINE headline formula is a great way to get started, giving you the 'essential' ingredients like Specificity and Immediacy that are critical to getting people to take action.

You can also study the masters like BuzzFeed, who crank out brilliant headlines day-after-day that can be templated for re-using later. For example:

This one might look like:

• # + [Perfect Adjective] + [Noun/Keyphrase Solution] + [To/For/Like] + [Fix Your Undesirable Thing]

Lead Generation

Once you've captured attention, the next step is to get them interested.

You do that by constructing a 'bridge' between their problems or pain points, and your widget which can ultimately solve those things for them.

One of the most popular techniques here is some kind of 'lead magnet' to generate a micro-conversion like a basic email address. Chances are, you're familiar with all the usual suspects like eBooks, webinars, checklists, and more.

But 'content' based offers can mean much more.

For example, most designers are starved for stock photos, especially with the exorbitant costs at the well known sources.

Here, Bigstock is providing 35 free!

(Here are a few more Twitter ad examples to browse for inspiration.)

Even something as simple as a recipe could work wonders because it blends (pun intended) an offer to get attention with the products they'll need (and can purchase from you).

Smirnoff's example below is a perfect example of bridging the gap between those two worlds.

Closing Customers

By this point, prospects should know who you are and at least have some interest in your product.

Otherwise, we run into that original problem of trying to convert cold, unaware leads (which all of the best tactical practices in the world can't help).

The key? Make them an offer they can't refuse. Especially if switching costs are an issue.

For example, MailChimp executes brilliantly by running a competitive offer to Constant Contact peeps with a free three month offer. That should help soften the blow of having to move all email templates and contact records, while also giving those people enough time to settle in with the service.

(The actual content and CTA looks a little sloppy, but the overall offer is great.)

Admittedly, selling on Instagram is a, well, tough sell. It's still early days, and the channel is mostly known for brand awareness.

But still, the Cromwell in Las Vegas does as good a job as any, highlighting their attractive property in a multi-ad set with an appropriate CTA.

If you've done all the hard work up to this point (like getting awareness, building interest, and developing trust), the sales offer should be simple and straightforward.

A great offer or promotion can help, but shouldn't be required to get people to open up their wallets.

But if it is still difficult or damn near impossible, this next section can help.

2. Pinpoint & Upgrade Underperforming Stages

Creating different ad campaigns for specific sales funnel stages can help illustrate potential gaps, making it easier to break down exactly where you're excelling (or falling short).

That way instead of overreacting and making rash conclusions, you can start measuring those micro-conversions between stages or steps to find leading indicators of success.

For example, experiencing low sales but demand seems to be there? Insert more lead gen and nurturing campaigns into the mix to bridge that gap. The end result, should resemble a complete 'customer journey' that seamlessly moves people from one step to the next.

But what if those things check out, and still nothing. You've got ad campaigns targeting each step, and they seem to be performing well. Except for that whole sales thing.

Break your ad campaigns down even further into the individual variables that dictate success.

Google AdWord's Quality Score is kinda the gold standard for using algorithms to award and set pricing in an auction based ad system. Facebook has also been testing different algorithms that act similarly.

What's unique, is that these algorithms use factors like ad relevancy from the ads you're running, to the keyphrases or audiences, and even through the landing pages. They factor all of these details, and then create a holistic score that dictates (a) how often your ads show and (b) what you're going to pay.

Algorithms like these force advertisers to consider how every single ad campaign element works together to produce the best ROI (instead of simply focusing on the single ad creative you're working on).

So let's start with the tactics, and work backwards to see if we can get any quick wins.

Addressing or changing elements like the ad creative and landing page are far easier than ripping up the offer and starting from scratch. You can A/B test these elements according to commonly accepted best practices (which take all of 5 minutes Googling).

And it's the easiest, 'low hanging fruit' to quickly improve your Quality Score (or similar relevancy scores in other social ad platforms) that deliver fast results.

If issues still persist, take another step back to address the audience you're targeting (or keyphrases in AdWords which inherently have a certain type of audience searching). Chances are, improving audience targeting could give you that breakthrough.

For example, custom audiences on Facebook help you get more specific by targeting segments of past customers, retargeting website visits, or even the individual product page visited. Target saw a “20% increase in conversion [using Facebook's Dynamic Product Ads] compared to other Facebook ads”, according to Senior Vice President Kristi Argyilan.

Assuming your offer or value proposition is sound and that the channel is appropriate, iterating on the audience, ad creative, and landing pages should deliver something at the end of the day.

Otherwise, you have bigger issues (beyond advertising) that are holding you back.

Conclusion

The tactical best practices you read about all over the interwebs are important.

But only to a point.

Breaking things down by sales funnel stages can help you determine where you're excelling or falling short in key categories. They alert you to gaps in the customer journey that can cause breakdowns in driving new sales.

Once that's completed, you can get even more granular by looking at each independent variable within a single ad campaign to see where further bottlenecks are choking results. Working backwards from the ad creative and landing pages to your audience will give your campaigns a quick lift (assuming your offer or value proposition + channel selection check out).

Big conversion increases don't happen overnight by swapping out your headline or button color. They come from iterating on these tiny details along the way, making small improvements at each little step.

And best of all, isolating different variables helps assign priority, keeping execution focused and simple in an increasingly complex world.

About the Author: Brad Smith is a founding partner at Codeless Interactive, a digital agency specializing in creating personalized customer experiences. Brad's blog also features more marketing thoughts, opinions and the occasional insight.

How to Idiot Proof Your Ad Campaigns

Marketing promotion sucks when you treat people the same.

That goes for conversions, and it goes for advertising too.

But the minute things start to go awry, people start messing with their landing page headline or ad descriptions.

As if those tiny, miniscule elements are the primary reason traffic's not comin' or visits aren't convertin'.

The best landing page, optimized 100% correctly, can't make up for the wrong audience seeing that message.

Ad campaigns are already difficult. But the good news is that you don't need to possess ninja PPC skillz.

Instead, here is a dead simple way you can isolate where problem areas might pop up and stop them dead in their tracks.

When 'Best Practices' are Good Enough

Commonly accepted best practices are a starting point. The tip of a metaphorical iceberg.

They get all the attention and ink online. But there's a mountain below just waiting to sink your campaign.

On a GREAT day, landing pages convert around 10% of visitors (and those are the 'uncommon', special ones that vastly outperform all the rest). That means the majority of page visitors are doing, well, anything else besides converting.

Slapping on a different ad-description isn't going to budge that number. It won't change the fact that those people simply aren't ready to buy. It might get you from 6-7%. Which is great!

But in a world where over 50% of all customers interactions follow a 'multi-event, multi-channel' journey that takes various touch points prior to converting, we should look beyond tactical 'best practices' to make sure the entire funnel aligns to deliver the best conversions for our buck.

Managing the growing complexity is a top priority for marketers, with most juggling anywhere from 5 – 31 separate tools to manage messaging in a multi-channel marketing environment.

This can be best illustrated with the help of Google's Customer Journey to Online Purchase, which shows how a typical customer's journey might look (including which channels influence which parts) for most industries. Yay visuals!

The point is, there are many things involved in a single conversion. Whether we're talking about a product purchased or lead generated.

Unfortunately, ad campaigns today can't be simple, static paths from New Visitor -> Conversion. Not in a world where it takes a minimum of 6-8 customer touch points prior to conversion. Or when your most profitable customers are NOT the ones who visit your site 1-3 times, but 14-20 before signing up.

Today's ad campaigns are more like a delicate system of variables that depend on each other for success. (Enter your best 'synergistic' MBA speak here.)

Making sure those things come together harmoniously is the best way to boost conversion rates for the long-term.

Here's how.

1. Create Different Ad Campaigns for Each Customer Journey Stage

Ad campaigns should align with an appropriate stage of the sales funnel. Same as any inbound deliverable like an infographic, offline tradeshow, or other campaign.

You know, that whole Awareness, Consideration, Decision bit?

(If you have NO idea what I'm talking about, read about the buying cycle and triggers from David Skok. And then spend another 20 minutes reading everything else he writes – it's worth it.)

Ad channels (and even different campaigns on the same channel) can then be used for different purposes, whether that's driving new sales to generating leads or simply boosting awareness. The opportunities are vast, but the execution needs to be precise.

Let's start with generating initial awareness to see how this works.

Demand Generation

The goal here is to bring in new, targeted visitors. Obviously.

Problem? Nobody knows who you are. And frankly, they don't really care. They haven't yet become aware that they have a need for you yet.

So help them. Literally.

Start with their daily life. What issues pop up, take too long, or cause them frustration (that can also possibly tie back into your widgets)?

Listen:

Consumers ignore 86% of display ads. And those average banner ad click through rates are a dismal 0.1%. It ain't easy out there.

Botching this jeopardizes everything else. So your value proposition needs to be awesome. Not good, or great. But, “Holy s$*% I need to [click this link / read this post] right now”.

Typical display ads, AdWords, and Facebook are well tread options. So let's look at new, fresh examples like Twitter and Instagram. Less competition typically = less expensive = higher return on ad spend. And the principles are the same, regardless of channel.

For example, let's say you're trying to get the attention on Twitter. Instead of simply promoting your account (and making it all about you), solving a huge pain point or even providing a fun distraction can be enough to start introducing your brand to consumers.

The best social ads at this stage also 'blend' in with the content people are already consuming. You know, like that whole native advertising thing. For example, this one from I.D. Sarrieri is very Instagram-ish – selling a mood or theme featuring their products.

Find this one, and many more great Instagram ad examples here.

Last but certainly not least, is your headline.

The best headlines are a crystallized version of your value proposition, and they tap into some deeper primal motivation to grab maximum attention. Bnonn's SHINE headline formula is a great way to get started, giving you the 'essential' ingredients like Specificity and Immediacy that are critical to getting people to take action.

You can also study the masters like BuzzFeed, who crank out brilliant headlines day-after-day that can be templated for re-using later. For example:

This one might look like:

• # + [Perfect Adjective] + [Noun/Keyphrase Solution] + [To/For/Like] + [Fix Your Undesirable Thing]

Lead Generation

Once you've captured attention, the next step is to get them interested.

You do that by constructing a 'bridge' between their problems or pain points, and your widget which can ultimately solve those things for them.

One of the most popular techniques here is some kind of 'lead magnet' to generate a micro-conversion like a basic email address. Chances are, you're familiar with all the usual suspects like eBooks, webinars, checklists, and more.

But 'content' based offers can mean much more.

For example, most designers are starved for stock photos, especially with the exorbitant costs at the well known sources.

Here, Bigstock is providing 35 free!

(Here are a few more Twitter ad examples to browse for inspiration.)

Even something as simple as a recipe could work wonders because it blends (pun intended) an offer to get attention with the products they'll need (and can purchase from you).

Smirnoff's example below is a perfect example of bridging the gap between those two worlds.

Closing Customers

By this point, prospects should know who you are and at least have some interest in your product.

Otherwise, we run into that original problem of trying to convert cold, unaware leads (which all of the best tactical practices in the world can't help).

The key? Make them an offer they can't refuse. Especially if switching costs are an issue.

For example, MailChimp executes brilliantly by running a competitive offer to Constant Contact peeps with a free three month offer. That should help soften the blow of having to move all email templates and contact records, while also giving those people enough time to settle in with the service.

(The actual content and CTA looks a little sloppy, but the overall offer is great.)

Admittedly, selling on Instagram is a, well, tough sell. It's still early days, and the channel is mostly known for brand awareness.

But still, the Cromwell in Las Vegas does as good a job as any, highlighting their attractive property in a multi-ad set with an appropriate CTA.

If you've done all the hard work up to this point (like getting awareness, building interest, and developing trust), the sales offer should be simple and straightforward.

A great offer or promotion can help, but shouldn't be required to get people to open up their wallets.

But if it is still difficult or damn near impossible, this next section can help.

2. Pinpoint & Upgrade Underperforming Stages

Creating different ad campaigns for specific sales funnel stages can help illustrate potential gaps, making it easier to break down exactly where you're excelling (or falling short).

That way instead of overreacting and making rash conclusions, you can start measuring those micro-conversions between stages or steps to find leading indicators of success.

For example, experiencing low sales but demand seems to be there? Insert more lead gen and nurturing campaigns into the mix to bridge that gap. The end result, should resemble a complete 'customer journey' that seamlessly moves people from one step to the next.

But what if those things check out, and still nothing. You've got ad campaigns targeting each step, and they seem to be performing well. Except for that whole sales thing.

Break your ad campaigns down even further into the individual variables that dictate success.

Google AdWord's Quality Score is kinda the gold standard for using algorithms to award and set pricing in an auction based ad system. Facebook has also been testing different algorithms that act similarly.

What's unique, is that these algorithms use factors like ad relevancy from the ads you're running, to the keyphrases or audiences, and even through the landing pages. They factor all of these details, and then create a holistic score that dictates (a) how often your ads show and (b) what you're going to pay.

Algorithms like these force advertisers to consider how every single ad campaign element works together to produce the best ROI (instead of simply focusing on the single ad creative you're working on).

So let's start with the tactics, and work backwards to see if we can get any quick wins.

Addressing or changing elements like the ad creative and landing page are far easier than ripping up the offer and starting from scratch. You can A/B test these elements according to commonly accepted best practices (which take all of 5 minutes Googling).

And it's the easiest, 'low hanging fruit' to quickly improve your Quality Score (or similar relevancy scores in other social ad platforms) that deliver fast results.

If issues still persist, take another step back to address the audience you're targeting (or keyphrases in AdWords which inherently have a certain type of audience searching). Chances are, improving audience targeting could give you that breakthrough.

For example, custom audiences on Facebook help you get more specific by targeting segments of past customers, retargeting website visits, or even the individual product page visited. Target saw a “20% increase in conversion [using Facebook's Dynamic Product Ads] compared to other Facebook ads”, according to Senior Vice President Kristi Argyilan.

Assuming your offer or value proposition is sound and that the channel is appropriate, iterating on the audience, ad creative, and landing pages should deliver something at the end of the day.

Otherwise, you have bigger issues (beyond advertising) that are holding you back.

Conclusion

The tactical best practices you read about all over the interwebs are important.

But only to a point.

Breaking things down by sales funnel stages can help you determine where you're excelling or falling short in key categories. They alert you to gaps in the customer journey that can cause breakdowns in driving new sales.

Once that's completed, you can get even more granular by looking at each independent variable within a single ad campaign to see where further bottlenecks are choking results. Working backwards from the ad creative and landing pages to your audience will give your campaigns a quick lift (assuming your offer or value proposition + channel selection check out).

Big conversion increases don't happen overnight by swapping out your headline or button color. They come from iterating on these tiny details along the way, making small improvements at each little step.

And best of all, isolating different variables helps assign priority, keeping execution focused and simple in an increasingly complex world.

About the Author: Brad Smith is a founding partner at Codeless Interactive, a digital agency specializing in creating personalized customer experiences. Brad's blog also features more marketing thoughts, opinions and the occasional insight.