Experts say we weigh up whether to stay or leave a webpage every three seconds. This means it’s essential you create a strong impression from the word go. A properly focused homepage is what’s going to get them to keep on browsing. If you’ve engaged with a consumer, you’ll stand a much higher chance of converting the online visit into a sale.

If you’re thinking about redesigning your company homepage to pull in more customers there are several important things you need to know. The tips below will get you off to a great start but if you find you need more detailed info or want to learn how to develop effective sales strategies based on content marketing, join our community!.




Say it with images


Nowadays, nobody can dispute the power that moving images have on us. Videos have become the central tool of any marketing plan, because aside from instantly hooking our attention they’re a much more effective vehicle for messages than a text or static image.

So if you want to keep hold of visitors to your website, start by making a full-screen video that will automatically play when your homepage opens. Faster connections have smoothed out technical difficulties, providing us with higher quality viewing of audiovisual content online and via mobile devices.

Remember that loudspeakers will often be switched off, so your video shouldn’t be centred on sound or a voiceover. Using subtitles isn’t such a great idea either as the audience will quickly stop reading.





Focus on your customer


Shouting about your company or the products you want to sell rarely generates much interest. In fact, it usually does just the opposite of that; it puts potential buyers on guard and often pushes them away.

First make sure you know who your target audience is. What are their aspirations, interests and needs? How can you help them? Give these aspects preference on your site. Your products should initially take a back seat. Later, they’ll become essential tools to fulfil your customers’ desires or solve their problems.

Take the hospitality sector, for example. Marketing directors of hotels are well aware that they're not selling rooms. They know they're selling unique experiences, social status, the chance to sweep your partner off their feet all over again, etc. And yet, 90% of hotel websites make the mistake of basing their homepage on photos of the empty facilities, devoid of any human presence!



Example of content marketing production

Tell a story


Everyone loves a good story, don’t they? Since the beginning of time, humans have been fascinated by stories. They’re metaphors for life, they prepare us for unfamiliar situations and they can create strong emotional bonds. So when we sense a story coming we tune in.

Other than sparking the interest of your audience, storytelling encourages customers to engage on an emotional level with your company. If a potential customer identifies with a look, lifestyle, set of values or ethos contained in your storytelling, you’ve established a powerful connection. You’re a step closer to a sale.



Add value and surprise


It’s really important that you surprise your audience. This doesn’t mean surprise at any cost. The surprise needs to be intimately related to your product. It's not about including a whole bunch of special effects in your production, it's about thinking and coming in with creative solutions that set you apart from your competitors. Add value by saying something that the others don’t, or simply by saying it in a different way.

Related to this last point, there’s another aspect you should consider. Many companies turn to stock images or stock footage as content for their videos because it brings production expenses down and therefore boosts financial return. Right? .... Wrong! Audiences are very good at discerning non-authentic, generic images and will rapidly tune out, making the investment useless.





Example of content marketing case sutdy


Keep videos short


The YouTube experience tells us that there are on average two moments when a viewer may switch off a video: in the first 3 seconds and around 40 seconds. So, keep your video to under 40 seconds, or at least make sure the key message comes across within that time frame!

Another very good reason to be brief is that the final quality of your video will depend largely on the resources you invest in production: actors, technicians, locations, props, costumes, music, special effects, and so on. As economical resources are usually limited, they’ll be put to best use by spending them on a shorter clip. Aim for quality not quantity.

If you’re able to make an attractive video clip, you’ve got a captive audience for at least 40 seconds: just enough time to take them on to the next step of the purchasing process.

Join our community to receive exclusive information on how to use content marketing to sell your products!

Written by Guillermo Asensio & Emma Darby
©Copyright 2018






Would you like to receive exclusive information on how to use content marketing to sell your products?