Marketing budget is routinely wasted without generating any sales leads. That’s the quintessence of a study by LUMITOS in the course of which the ads appearing in the German magazine “Laborjournal” (3/2015 edition) were scrutinised.
In this blog article I will demonstrate how landing pages are used properly to avoid typical mistakes in print media advertising. They offer a way to convert print media advertising into an engine that generates sales leads, thereby giving you a positive return on your investment. Based on a real-life examples, you will see the difference between a poor landing page that does not generate sales leads and a good one that succeeds in bringing you leads.
Blunders that prevent success
An advertisement’s core function is to create a basic interest in the advertised product. Once that has been achieved, the reader should be encouraged to take up contact. In the past, providing a phone number was good enough. These days, a link to a web page is usually given. This is where the critical issues begin: if that web page is not tailored specifically to the contents of the advertisement, like a landing page should be, the potential customer is likely to leave immediately after visiting the page. Why? There is too much irrelevant information on non-specific pages, such as the company’s homepage. What’s even worse is if the web page is so generic that the product advertised in the ad cannot be found at all.
What is a dedicated landing page?
A dedicated landing page is a single web page tailored to the advertising medium and the target group. The landing page is accessed by entering a short URL into a browser.
The purpose of a dedicated landing page is to place the product (or whatever else is offered) into the centre of attention, free of any distractions, in order to gain potential customers. This is best achieved if the landing page is concise and contains only a single call to action (CTA). Such a CTA could be to request a brochure via an online contact form.
Example of a print advertisement with a poor landing page
The print media ad below advertises the Multimode Microplate Reader TriStar² LB 942. It contains a single contacting option for further information, the URL www.berthold.com/bio. Readers who want to find out more about the product will enter the URL in their internet browsers.
Clearly structured print ad for a product
But what comes up certainly does not meet readers’ expectations: a generic web page on which the advertised product is nowhere to be seen! It takes some tedious searching to find any useful information about the TriStar² LB 942.
Generic landing page on the website
Would a potential customer do so? Hardly. That’s not how people use the internet in our day and age. The print ad is thus not destined to generate any sales leads, making the investment into this marketing campaign a failure.
Example of a print advertisement with good landing page
A New England Biolabs (NEB) print media ad promotes a compendium which they make available for free. The URL leads readers directly to a dedicated landing page containing only a single call to action: request your personal edition of the free compendium!
Print ad with a clear call to action
Professional landing page with a CTA
Thus, reader expectations are fully met by a landing page that is suitable to generate sales leads.
The bottom line
The landing pages of print media advertisements should
- be tailored to the marketing campaign’s objective,
- get a clear message across and
- contain a call to action (CTA).
What is your experience with landing pages? Why are so many poor landing pages being used? I’m keen to know what your think.
Great post! Using dedicated landing pages is an effective way to make print media advertising more successful. Here are a few actionable tips to help you do just that:
Make sure the landing page is relevant: Make sure the landing page is relevant to the ad and provides more information about the product or service being advertised. This will help keep visitors engaged and increase the chances of them converting.
Keep the landing page simple: Keep the landing page simple and focused on the offer. Avoid adding too many links or distractions that could take away from the main message.
Include a clear call to action: Make sure the landing page includes a clear and compelling call to action that encourages visitors to take the next step. This could be to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or fill out a form.
Optimize for mobile: Optimize the landing page for mobile to ensure a positive user experience for visitors on mobile devices.
Test and optimize: Test and optimize the landing page to see what works best and make changes as needed. Try different headlines, images, and call to action buttons to see what resonates with your target audience.
By making the landing page relevant, keeping it simple, including a clear call to action, optimizing for mobile, and testing and optimizing, you'll be well on your way to making your print media advertising more successful with dedicated landing pages.
Post Comment