“Every aspect of marketing is entirely useless unless it produces conversions.” – Jeremy Smith
As we all know, conversion marketing is about luring a poor customer into your trap and convincing them to buy things they don’t need…right? We’re kidding! We’re just kidding. Conversion marketing is about providing quality content that will draw visitors to your website, where they will (ideally) find what they’re looking for (a service or product that you provide) and taking action (making a purchase).
Scott Brinker of Search Engine Land gives content marketing this awesome definition:
Thriving at the intersection of SEO and social media, content marketing has become central to digital marketing strategy. Its objective is simple: create genuinely useful or entertaining content for many specific niches of your target audience—not to overtly promote your business, but to build rapport and brand equity—and give it away for free.
Keep the conversion funnel in mind. Awareness leads to interest. Interest leads to desire. Desire leads to action. Action leads to the light side of the marketing force.
A big part of the battle is getting folks to visit your website in the first place – and that requires quite a few foundational blocks before you can move on to the next phase. Let’s touch base on the basics:
- Optimize your website for search engines (SEO). You won’t get any traffic if they can’t find you.
- Provide compelling content. Quality ad copy and high-definition images (optimized images that won’t slow down the site!) We’ll dip into content a bit deeper later on.
- Make sure your website doesn’t suck. Any well-oiled machine requires a toolbox for regular maintenance.
To pursue a successful conversion marketing goal is to play the long game. Like any successful and healthy relationship, it will take time to develop. This is an investment in the community and in time, and it will work to your advantage in the long run. You are planting a seed that one will eventually blossom into one awesome little tree. The coolest tree. Like, Baby Groot cool.
Drew Hendricks breaks it down to 10 simple tactics that can increase conversions:
- Write quality copy. Strong and compelling content goes a long way. Make it worth the read.
- Make sure your headlines don’t suck. It’s one of the first things visitors see. Grab their attention and hold it.
- A/B split testing is a must. This will give you insight into what works. Good data leads to better business.
- Get the word out with social media. Facebook, Twitter, etc. Post frequently. Engage. Trust us – it works.
- Know thy audience. Find your target audience. Narrow it down. Refine it. That’s how you get quality leads.
- Email marketing – give it a whirl. It can be informative or sales-oriented, but it keeps you fresh in their memory.
- Don’t remain static – change things up every now and then. Gradual shifts in content show you’re invested.
- Urgency works, sometimes. “Only two days left until the sale ends!” It works surprisingly well.
- Be a traffic cop. Show your visitors where to go. Make the path from awareness to action as easy as possible.
- CTAs! Call to Action, yo! Whatever you put out there (blogs, posts, comments, etc.) – there should always be a clear call to action.
Do you know what else works exceptionally well for increasing your conversions? Being personable. Check out our blog post about building your personal brand.
Big Slate Media works with a wide and diversified client base. We know the conversion marketing funnel well, and we know what it takes to get that visitor from attention to action. Digital marketing is our bread and butter. So if you want to create or revitalize your marketing efforts, we’d love to sit down and talk with you. Give us a call at (865) 291-0005 or shoot us a contact request!