Call To Action and Professional Landing Page

Call To Action is a term in Internet Marketing reflecting techniques (wording and image suggestions combined together) used to influance visitors to participate or follow certain desirable action.

Most likely it is button “BUY”,  “SIGN UP”, “VIEW”, “TRY” etc.

I found 50 most commong phrases used as “call to action” buttons:

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Closly related to that “call to action” buttons are landing pages. It is simply page which is being displayed when you click on “call to action” buttons.

Amazon and online shops are great example as they are loaded with such buttons. Next example, reagrding its popularity, would be Google AdWords campaings. Those are “sponsored links” on the site of Google search result page (see here). Becouse those are text ads and they including website address, it is more tricky. For instance you can link ad to landing page, it just have to be withing same domain e.g.

will open NOT www.shop.com website, but

http://uk.shop.com/buy%20it%20now/products~NS-1~linkin_id-8019934

As you see there are two cells in this basic version of “getting customer attention” chain. One is the first contact, where text or image is bringing attention, second which comes after clicking on the button. It is impression and general feeling of landing page. For instance if you are online shopping site like amazon, and your landing page would look cheap and unprofessional, if you are recognised brand, people might even think it is some scam website and will not purchase. It is different subject of course with online shops and how people are relating to safety of online transactions. But quality and functionality of landing page applies to all online marketing campaigns.

Just to add few words from market leader, guru of Online Advertising – Google. Read KNOW-HOW from official Google Adwords Training document. How important call-to-action message is.

Include Clear Messaging

To ensure that your marketing message gets across to potential customers, it’s important that you include clear messaging when creating your display ads. Below are some basic best practices that can help you create a clear, compelling, and concise display ad.

* Include a strong call-to-action: Your ad should convey a call-to-action along with the benefits of your product or service. A call-to-action encourages users to click on your ad and ensures they understand exactly what you expect them to do when they reach your landing page. Some call-to-action phrases include “Buy,” “Purchase,” “Call today,” “Order,” “Browse,” “Sign up,” and “Get a quote.” While words such as “find” and “search” may be accurate verbs, they imply that the user is still in the research mode, and may not encourage the user to perform the action you’d most like them to take on your site.

* Be explicit about your call to action:Include your call-to-action as a button or somewhere else within the ad that will ensure the user understands where to click. This is especially important in display ads, because users may not know what part of the ad is clickable or, in some cases, that your ad is an ad at all. Users also want to know what they can do if they click their ad: “Learn more?” or “Buy now?” Let them know what to expect.

* Include prices and promotions: The more information about your product that a user can gain from your display ad, the better. For example, if a user sees the price of a product and still clicks the ad, you know they’re interested in a potential purchase at that price. If they don’t like the price, they won’t click your ad, and you save yourself the cost of that click.

* Include key messaging and call-to-action in final frame of animations: Some ads have animated “teaser” text which may enter and exit the ad at various points. If users miss this text, what they end up seeing may not clearly communicate your offering and what they should do. If the action they should take isn’t clear, they’ll be less likely to click. Including all key messaging and your call-to-action in the final frame of animations can help ensure that your message gets across to your users.

source: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/static.py?hl=en&topic=27457&guide=27447&page=guide.cs&answer=172644

Controversy and sex in advertising

Oldest schools of marketing know that, that is what is getting our attention. Sex and controversy, or even synergy of both in 1 ad is pretty much 100% success stories. Only mixture of fun and mystery can compete with sex and still not reaching only some of target groups. Universality of suggestive advertising is still on the top, because it is reaching most wide publicity then any other content.

There is simple explanation, any commercial targeting consciously or unconsciously human being basic instincts in the most sophisticated way legally possible is most effective one.

But is really sex presence in advertising sector necessary?

Of course no, but till science or psychology will find subject equally mass-popular it will still be dominating outdoor/internet/tv advertising.

All the cards are only about the balance what is in ‘good taste’ and what is too spicy. That is why, such terms as  ‘suggestion’ or ‘subliminal messaging‘ are coming to play. Where silk erotic scent suggestions can be found easily everywhere, and they are easy to spot, subject of subliminal messaging is more questionable. Some say it is out there, some say it is just a myth.

Where is the true?

You have to look on those 2 subject relatively close, but from different perspective. I would bravely say yes there are signs of subliminal messaging, but they are not a match for the written book form of this theory.

Taking theory of subliminal messaging it is stimulation people conscious or rather unconscious perception. Without going deeply in psychological aspects of this therm, lets say it is what you see and you think you see, and what actual message it is transmitting to your brain. It is not only about sex, it is about calling your BASIC INSTINCTS. Just sex is the most popular as it’s most effective. But subliminal messaging techniques are also playing with such feelings like fear. When? For example to make target group nervous and unsafe by presenting some dangerous picture (sometimes it is a face of the monster hidden in women hair in the poster, sometimes it is combination of small shadow with one word etc), getting into your brain unconsciously, followed by image of happiness and product. Effect? You know the answer.

But not all attempts to reach our logicality structured heads were successful.  This one maybe in another post then. Just to highlight this example of failure and importance of ads: only 1 picture and 5-word-sentence were the only reason why faithful customers left well known cigarette brand back in 60′s. One campaign failed the whole brand and trust by changing mental picture of consumers themselves with this particular brand of cigarettes, and ad meant to do the quite opposite.

Simplest example how marketers can cheat:

That is not anything major, just sourcing silky confusion around your senses. But if you will read it quickly without paying much attention, asked what is the first color written on the top you will say YELLOW.

I have attached gallery of some ads here, have a look, but spend more then 5 seconds on each picture and think what is wrong with it. Some  of them are easy to spot,  some are more hidden. Then think, how does it make you feel? Sad, angry, excited, peaceful, happy, safe? And how it will influence yourself not even next time when you will go shopping and you see this product on the shelf’s but generally your mental picture of the brand or product? Maybe not now, but next year you will go to buy a jewelry for your girlfriend, would you rather trust product such as D&G or other made by local goldsmith necklaces?

You might say, yes, but I am not paying that much attention to ads. And that is exactly what big brands ads are benefiting from in long term.

As subliminal advertising is illegal you will not find clear traces of them anywhere. It is so questionable subject as existence of UFO. It is always just a mistake of graphic designer, or just coincidence.  Sometimes it is game of words, combined in such smart way you could never figure it out.  But if company is spending such remarkable amount of money on advertising should such errors have place?

Personally my favorite ads are those which makes me laugh in ‘intelligent’ way. Is it not the true art of advertising to put smile on even the most worried face? Where old and young, easy going and very serious individual will brighten this few seconds of their day. But this is only a good wish, and harsh reality will always be different. On the end we all have targets to achieve in our lives. I am only hoping after reading this all of us will look at our lives more consciously and be more aware of the world around us.

All this was the reason why I have titled my very first publication ‘Poison of the suggestion’

Now what all this subliminal messaging theory have to do with Internet marketing?

Internet Marketing Bible – 4V

This is the model that we will accept as relevant in Internet Marketing. It is combined and adapted knowledge of 4P and 4C. If we will bring to attention facts like many industries and companies operating now didn’t exist before Internet it is obvious this adaptation is necessary. For example web developers, hosting providers, ISP’s which is currently 50% of IT sector. This is number, which cannot be ignored. In this reality 4P/4C model can be described as:

Product – Internet connection or hosting, website design

Pricing – resourced by competitors and price of Internet connection and server

Placement (or distribution) – Internet channels

Promotion – user engagement, SEO, banners, linking, social media

Looks similar as previous 4P model just with added Internet wording on the end. In ‘old market’ reality you were the manufacturer of Coca-Cola. You have built your ads, put it on TV, pay for shops, display cabinets etc. You have spent millions only on distribution and packaging. Now you are ISP company reselling hosting. Product is purely virtual and exists only in Internet, whole company and everything around it is only in Internet. It is not only communication media, it is brand new market, brand new consumers, needs, and environment. Market, which is rapidly growing and changing. Some might say, that is not the first time when new market, or new opportunities came to attention of businesses. So why is it so crucial? Let’s come back to coca-cola, well you cannot consume it via Internet, so why they need Internet campaign? To provide information, product awareness, empowering the brand, reputation, to display ads and entertain people with games and funny advertisements not available legally on TV, and implementing/programming product consciousness. All the promotion, information and distribution can be done on Internet. Additionally it provide opportunity to build something called user/consumer engagement. Internet is not only place or distribution channel, or a product itself (it is for ISP’s or for example eBay sellers). Currently it is one of the most powerful promotional tools, opening new doors to Marketing. As marketing research shows ‘word from friend’ is the best way to advertise (see below Advertising tactics graph). Attempts to do so where already taken by TV shows, like sitcoms, big brother etc where people where shown with every day product with the label of it. You might miss that fact, but it is getting into you in strange way that the product shown there is so right even for you, and it will be so obvious so you will not even wonder to choose this brand over other. Dream of any producer, marketer.

But this is what Internet marketing together with social media attempt and seems like where successful to do.
On the end fact how well the different tool performs depends not always of the tool by itself but the person who uses it. So whichever tool you choose, you should learn it thoroughly and apply it wisely

To make people to talk about product. When people decide to buy something, what they do? Research. How? Fastest and cheapest way – Internet and Google.
So how to adjust or redefine old good 4P to changing Internet reality?  Writer and editor Lers Thisayakorn took this challenge and proposed evaluated 4P/4C, the new 4V: validity, value, venue and vogue.

Validity – Product, Consumer

The old Product approach is to develop and produce a product as good as possible to market and make sales. The Consumer approach is to study consumer wants and needs, and to manufacture products in response to those needs.
Validity discover that product with great consumer needs may not be valid and need to be addressed. We have recently cases of product with great consumer demand such as toys and foods from China that needed to be moved out from the shelves due to high-risk nature of the products.
Marketing should not only consider the wants and needs of the consumers, but also other product factors of safety, environment, and social issues – Validity. Many Internet products may be of great demand to consumers but should not be marketed due to age inappropriateness.

Value – Price, Cost

Price charged to consumer is no longer a sufficient marketing parameter for it is only one part of consumer cost. If we sell product on e-bay, for example, we have to consider the cost of currency exchange lost and exchange risk to the client. Hence, a co-net work of PayPal was created to lower consumer buying cost.
Value marketing go one step further to advocate that lowest price and considerate cost are not sufficient in today’s marketing solution. As more people are getting higher up in their standard of living, people are more value conscience of what they eat, what they wear, what they drive, etc. Also, as population age distribution is shifting from the young to the old where product value is emphasised, marketing should look more to value than just the price and cost.

Venue – Place, Convenience

The whole Thai centuries old retail market is almost totally wiped out in a short time span of 3-4 years because of the shift of marketing from Place to Convenience. A distribution channel of providing just a place to buy is no longer competitive. The convenience stores such as the ubiquitous 7-Eleven or giant super stores like Tesco have seized the retails sale by providing conveniences of all kind to customers.
Convenience needs to take one step higher up to the Venue level. Venue is not only providing place for clients to come, it is sales to your home. May be we should provide our customers with a buying venue of electronic gadget of some kind instead of a place with conveniences?

Vogue – Promotion, Communication

Promotion is one way street advertisement in telling what you think is best in the promoting product. Communication, however, applies two ways traffics between the buyer and seller to advertisement. It is an “interactive” program using phone, web site, etc. to get response from advertisement.
Vogue requires more than just getting a message across and 2 ways communications. It is saying that to make an advertisement successful, it must have vogue or in trend. It must be popular, acceptable, and has great public favour. ‘

This is model that in my opinion is closest to Internet market specification. This is the more academic point of view, how it’s finding it’s reflection in reality and does it require future adjustments? Probably it does, but we need facts.  Especially if you will think of Internet as big gossip village where people are more consciousness and intelligent buyers (or they would like to think so) and where potential consumers are finding information about your company and your product. For instance if more people posting articles that they were disappointed with your product, this will build negative product image and might drastically affect sale. How to avoid it? How to build so called Online Reputation and manage complex Internet campaign?

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Raymond

Top-notch article it is without doubt. My teacher has been seeking for this content.

9 January 11 at 03:11

Pinkston

While we are taking on the topic of Internet Marketing Bible 4V | Internet exploration |, The ability of ...

25 January 11 at 15:44