A successful web site makes for a successful business. And the goal of a business web site is to convert – or to influence people to have certain behaviors. In order for your site to be successful you must think about three things:
1. Who are you trying to reach? You can define these people using Personas.
2. What content do you need to create to influence these people?
3. What is your conversion goals for the site or individual pages within the site?
Personas: Since the 1960′s account planners would create audience profiles as part of the creative brief that we (as copywriters) would write the advertising to match. Personas are very similar – just a new way to say it. Personas allow you to put a name, face, and detailed description to one audience that may very well want to purchase your product. You can have multiple personas per web site, and you can design content to reach them all. For some guides on writing Personas visit Dave Chaffey’s page, or you can visit this Pure Visibility post on personas.
Content: For your web page to be relevant you need good content. That content needs to be important to your target persona. You can put this content on your web site, and off your web site in PR, social media, and other outlets to drive traffic back to your landing page. I suggest you write content for each persona. You can optimize a page to reach a certain persona – your headline, content, message, and conversion goal should also match that persona. If you do this right, you will win a customer. Be sure to test, refine, and keep improving your content to achieve higher conversions. For some great tips on creating content click here.
Conversions: We all need to make money, and converting visitors to your web site into customers is a great way to do it. When designing your web site, or online marketing campaign – it’s important to consider your conversion goals. Do you want the person to sign up for your newsletter? Should they buy your product? Sign up for a seminar? Download your white paper? Depending on what your conversion goal is – you must use persuasion, good content, and creativity to get people to convert. Some thoughts on landing pages that convert. And here’s a great series of posts on landing page optimization from Ross Jonson of 3.7 Designs.
Tags: ann arbor · busines to business marketing · conversions · Google · internet marketing · landing pages · personas · PPC · seo · web content · Web Design · web marketing44 Comments
44 responses so far ↓
Audience persona: The type of person I expect to be interested in this kind of class, and motivated to visit the website, would typically be a college-aged student in the marketing or communication arts and sciences field interested in getting a step ahead of the competition when they go to get their first job. They would typically be creative, interested in learning new things, not afraid of technology, and familiar to some degree of the shifting role of online media.
Conversion Goal: Persuade people to click on the two links that provide further information about the class (class’s webpage/New Media Facebook page). If someone is persuaded enough by the landing page to seek further information there is a much greater chance they will sign up for the class, tell their friends about it, and just create more buzz in general about the concept of a New Media Driver’s license.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are the 50-60 year old that still need to try and keep up with the New Media, and may have found themselves with some unintended work interuption. This group still needs to figue out how to pay for the students who could really maximize the content of this class, their kids. It’s all a vicious cycle.
The goal is to appeal to both types oflstudents that might like this class. Paint a energetic and powerful portrait of this class and motivate them to sign up for this class.
AUDIENCE PERSONA: The audience persona targeted for my landing page is an 18- to 25-year-old Michigan State University undergraduate student. This student is likely hoping to pursue a career in advertising, public relations and/or marketing. While the student may have limited familiarity with social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn), he or she likely lacks the necessary experience with the majority of new media technologies and tools (SEO, SMM, AdWords). At the same time, this student is creative and wants to succeed in this new media-driven world.
CONVERSION GOAL: The conversion goal for my landing page is to increase undergraduate student enrollment in the New Media Driver’s License course. I want visitors to enroll and experience this great course! Ideally, the “Enroll Now for the Course” link would redirect visitors to a step-by-step page guiding them through the MSU registration process. I believe the content on my landing page provides a strong, persuasive and relevant message, which clearly outlines the topics and benefits associated with the course. I also put a prominent branded linked to the Facebook group for additional course information. I expect to see an increase in course enrollment!
This is great info for making websites user-friendly. David Meerman Scott’s book is a GREAT tool for this information!
I like how he centers everything around the end user. No matter what kind of flashy website we may have, if it’s not user-friendly, none of that matters. Very insightful!
persona:
college student looking for a filler class. wants something that will be light in work, not too challenging but still learn some new and interesting things
content:
needs to be light. too much info maky make it seem like the class has too much work. place in some questions that the particular student may have & then answer them. was going to put a self-descibed story but thought it might make it too long.
conversion:
added in link to get further information from main page. also added in link to the first class slide show so student can get a real sample of what the class is like.
Audience Persona: Freshman and sophomore undregraduates at Michigan State majoring in advertising or marketing. My audience is typically going to be an exceptional student looking for a way to expand his or her knowledge about new media and gain an edge against competition for employment after graduation. The tone of my post is very casual and student-to-student, while keeping it slightly comical with plenty of visuals.
Conversion Goal: Encourage readers to find more information and ultimately enroll for the class. I’ve included links to our Facebook group and the Digital Bus blog, as well as my personal email address for any questions. Hopefully, readers will gain a better understanding about the course and find that the class won’t feel like a class. They’ll see that it’s a ton of fun and incredibly valuable to take the class.
Audience Persona: GL has 5 years experience in PR consulting firms. Although she has been very successful in her career, she has been under pressure to familiarize social media communications. As an enthusiastic, highly self-motivated learner, she hopes to take a class on social media, but finds it difficult to have time between her work life and family life.
She is a very logical, detail-oriented thinker, and a quick decision maker as a always-busy person
Conversion Goal: Course enrollment
As my landing page is targeting people who already have strong needs for learning social media, but do not have enough time even to search for the information, the conversion goal
for my landing page is directly to increase in course enrollment.
I am trying to relate to the mildy burned-out rock fan. Still not too old to hear the term Social Media. But clearly not sure what it means. Likely this will be someone minimally astute enough to use a search engine. And likely someone in a marketing-related field that wants to learn more. They will be amused and perhaps even slightly embarrassed by identifying with the persona depicted in my rambling.
My hope is that they are intrigued enough to click on the link and read more about the course. Given the number of peeps that are now trolling my blog (mostly business or personal friends), I anticipate that I will drive some traffic. My high for traffic thus far is 50 visitors. My hope is that I will get a minimum of 30% hitting the link and reading more about the class. Realistically, I actually think it will be closer to 25 people.
Persona: This landing page would be aimed at a target audience of Michigan State University students, from undergraduates to masters students, majoring in all subjects who have an interest in honing their digital media skills and/or simply expanding their horizons. Special focus would be given to communications students due to the course subject matter and applicable professional skills learned. The typical student would have a working knowledge of the course material, most likely social networking and basic search engine abilities, but has a desire to dig deeper and use the Web for more than just entertainment and leisure.
Conversion goals: The objective of the site would be to act as a lead to the ultimate goal of students registering for the “New Media Drivers License” class and it being available every semester at MSU. This goal is simple yet effective and far-reaching due to it’s cyclical effects. Once a semester or two more of students take the course, it will be become the type of class that spreads via of word-of-mouth and will eventually act as its own promoter. Besides a link to the NMDL page on The Digital Bus site, there would also ideally be a link connecting visitors to an official MSU course description page with criteria and instructions on how to register.
Persona: public relations student across the country who are trying to figure out “why digital?” I want to promote the class not only to MSU but to other students and professionals.
Conversation goal: I want my friends across the country to talk about starting a New Media Drivers License course at their own college, so a conversation is the start of that.
Audience Persona: I was trying to reach professionals that are looking to brush up on Internet skills and stay current with technology.
Conversion Goal: I wanted to help career savvy people understand that is always good to stay current with their skills so they are never out of touch with potential clients and customers.
So I’m appealing to those who already think they are technology-savvy. You know, trying to get them to do some extra learning and reminding them that there are so many new things out there that they can’t possibly be on top of the game at all times. Although, I said that in much nicer terms, I promise. And I think I have a double-purpose conversion goal. 1) To get people, obviously, to consider taking the class, but 2) To open up their eyes to all the new social networking mediums out there. I mean, there’s a ton!
Persona: I will be directing my blog toward college students between the ages of 18-23, mainly those in the college of Communication Arts and Sciences who want useful information that will help them stand out when it comes time for interviews.
Conversion Goal: The main goal is to get students to sign up for the New Media Drivers License class. I will encourage the viewers of the blog to click multiple links showing off what the class is all about, and tell them they can have fun doing what they probably are already doing, online networking, and learn new things.
Persona: I will be directing my blog toward college students between the ages of 18-23, mainly those majoring in a field within the college of Communication Arts and Sciences and wish to learn something new and fun that will help them stand out when it comes time for interviews.
Conversion Goal: I will encourage students to learn more about doing what they probably are already doing, online network. My blog will enclude links to the course website and facebook group, to give the reader a little more background information about the class.
Audience Persona: Current college students studying advertising, marketing, or communications looking for a competitive edge in their job search.
Content: Why staying on top of new technology is important. And also how this class can help them.
Conversation Goal: Check out the website! They may find this course of use to them in their future career, or even uncover a new passion!
Audience persona: An undergraduate student at Michigan State, majoring in Marketing, Advertising, Communication, or Public Relations. This person should be looking for an elective that won’t necessarily be very difficult and filled with pointless assignments, but will have a lot to offer him or her in terms of “getting ahead” of other students of the same major, who will someday become his or her competition in the job market.
Conversion Goal: Persuade people to go to both the class Facebook group and the class Webpage, so they can see what types of assignments are done and how we interact with one another. I plan on also providing enrollment deadlines for the fall and spring, as well, which will help those who are interested in the class take it a step further and enroll.
Audience Persona: I am targeting marketing and advertising professionals in their late-20′s and early-30′s who are looking to get ahead in their career. These professionals have the industry experience they need to get ahead in their career, however, they are not as technically savy as their younger co-workers.
Conversion Goal: Persuade these professions they NEED to enroll in the New Media Drivers License course in order to stay relevant and competitive in an ever-changing industry.
http://stacydanna.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/enroll-to-obtain-your-new-media-drivers-license-now/
Persona:
The undergraduate advertising or marketing degree candidate looking to bolster their resume. The reason I know this persona would appreciate this class/opportunity is because I AM this persona! From looking at other people’s comments, I see an array of different personas identified and attribute this to the diversity of our class. However, as a soon-to-be advertising graduate, this class drew me in as a potential to get ahead of the new media curve once I graduated.
Conversion Goal:
At Michigan State University there is only one class that offers a “New Media Drivers License”. Therefore, to increase enrollment for undergrads, the key is to increase exposure of the program. Getting people to the digital bus website and seeing an outline of what is covered in the course is essential for selling the course as a product. Once the students are aware of the product, enrollment is easier because there is no competition in terms of students taking similar classes. Position the course as a positive resume enhancer and people will be intrigued at the thought of the drivers license. Therefore, my plan is to incorporate the website link into MSU department e-mail bulletins, create viral buzz via facebook networks, and gain exposure by linking from http://www.msu.edu.
If you link it, they will come.
Persona: The college student (upper level undergraduate to graduate). The landing page will aim its content to the professional student interested in the business sector of career development.
Content: The landing page will consist of information letting students know that getting ahead in internet experience is beneficial to getting a good job. That is, I am planning on using a Fear Appeal approach. Scare the tar out them by showing the difficulties of getting a job, but giving them tools to achieve their dream job – giving them skills in new media design.
Conversation: The goal is to get students to register for the class, this includes providing them with ways to get more information, to register, etc. That is, I will include links to help guide the students to the registering point.
Audience Persona: The market of people that I feel would be interested in this class would be college students in the advertising, marketing, or public relations majors with an increased desperation for trying to find a job. Students who are looking for something to separate themselves from others in their respective college, and don’t know how to do so. The tone of my landing page is very down to earth, with simple realizations about what is going on in the job market.
Content: The content of the message with be straight forward, and pretty much in the face of the one reading it. There will be some data presented that show how much social media is being used and why one may find taking this class a beneficial thing for future employment.
Conversation Goals: My conversation goal is to get students to enroll in this class because it actually gives the student an opportunity to get hands on experience with fresh industry practices in the marketing/advertising/public relations fields.
Audience persona: Students familiar with the internet and various advancements in digital communication. Graduating, looking for a job, interested in technology. Looking for extra college credit. Creative. Fun.
Conversion Goal: Get students to join the course or at least look for more information about the course. Get a buzz going, and make the class more appealing by introducing the instructor (students often evaluate the professor before taking a course).
Audience Persona:
MSU undergrads looking for employment who want to distinguish themselves from the rest. While they are most likely active on Facebook and Twitter, he/she does not know much else about social media other than what they need to know to “get by” on the sites.
Conversation Goal:
Raise awareness about the importance and value of social media, how it’s changing communication, and how they can increase their “brand” by being educated in this field. I hope to persuade the audience to click on the links providing more information about the class and consider learning more about social media.
Persona: Rachelle Anthony is a 29-year-old new professional in marketing communications. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in communications with a concentration in public relations from Western Michigan University in 2002. She is currently working for Plante & Moran as a marketing and PR manager. Aspiring to advance in her career, she is investigating graduate programs at Michigan State University.
She is known as a hard working, Type A young professional who desires to contribute to her company’s success. The partners have recognized her drive to succeed with a promotion from specialist to manager last year, before the economy went south.
Although she is well liked and well respected at Plante & Moran, Rachelle knows the economy is tough and no one is safe during these times. Some of Plante & Moran’s clients have gone bankrupt and closed, reducing revenues for the office. She is trying to help the partners strengthen their relationship with current clients and develop new business to replace the lost revenue. The partners are looking to her for new ideas to market the business, but the new ideas need to stay within the reduced marketing budget. Rachelle loves the challenge and is looking to expand her knowledge base to help her company be profitable.
Rachelle considers herself computer savvy, although she admits the new college graduates are savvier than her. Rachelle communicates on a personal level with her friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, but has never used these social media outlets for professional use. In her professional association’s magazine Communication World, Rachelle read an article about how new media could transform the way companies communicate with customers. This intrigued her and she has been researching ways new media can help Plante & Moran.
My conversion goal is to encourage web visitors to fill out the form to receive the course syllabus, and ultimately, to sign up for the course. The first email response would come from a fellow student who took the course. This student would share how he applied what he learned to help his company’s sales and how they even paid for the course. It would include a link to the course syllabus and a link to sign up for the next course offered. Two weeks later, if the person did not sign up for the course, Rick Cole would send another email with information on Derek Mehraban’s credentials and a link to scholarship information.
http://reneeshimmel.wordpress.com/
Rachelle Anthony is a 29-year-old new professional in marketing communications. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in communications with a concentration in public relations from Western Michigan University in 2002. She is currently working for Plante & Moran as a marketing and PR manager. Aspiring to advance in her career, she is investigating graduate programs at Michigan State University.
She is known as a hard working, Type A young professional that desires to contribute to the company’s success. The partners have recognized her drive to succeed with a promotion from specialist to manager last year, before the economy went south.
Although she is well liked and well respected at Plante & Moran, Rachelle knows the economy is tough and no one is safe during these times. Some of Plante & Moran’s clients have gone bankrupt and closed, reducing revenues for the office. She is trying to help the partners strengthen their relationship with current clients and develop new business to replace the lost revenue. The partners are looking to her for new ideas to market the business, but the new ideas need to stay within the reduced marketing budget. Rachelle loves the challenge and looking to expand her knowledge base to help her company be profitable.
Rachelle considers herself “computer savvy,” although she admits the new college graduates are savvier than her. Rachelle communicates on a personal level with her friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, but has never used these social media outlets for professional use. In her professional association’s magazine Communication World, Rachelle read an article about how new media could transform the way companies communicate with consumers. This intrigued her and she has been researching ways new media can help her company.
My conversion goal is to encourage web visitors to fill out the form to receive the course syllabus, and ultimately, to sign up for the course. The first email response would come from a fellow student who took the course. This student would share how he applied what he learned to help his company’s sales and how they even paid for the course. It would have a link to the course syllabus and a link to sign up for the next course offered. Two weeks later, if the person did not sign up for the course, Rick Cole would send another email with information on Derek Mehraban’s credentials and a link to scholarship information.
http://reneeshimmel.wordpress.com
Persona:
28 year old female named Kristin
PR and Marketing Specialist
Graduated college with a degree in Public Relations in 2003
Began pursuing Master’s Degree in Advertising in 2008
Been in the workplace for 6 years
Works at Barton Malow Construction Company:
The corporation employs over 1,000 full-time staff.
Revenue for the past five years was $50 million annually
Consistently ranked among the top 10 builders in its niche markets
The headquarters office is in Southfield, MI, with regional offices in Maryland, Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, Illinois and Georgia
The marketing team is relatively small with 7 people
Kristin enjoys her job and likes her coworkers
She is detail oriented and a diligent, yet flexible worker
Considers herself to be computer savvy –uses mainly Microsoft at work and used the internet at home
Somewhat familiar with social media, but over the “college stuff” like Myspace and Facebook
Wants to get ahead at work and move up the corporate ladder
Wants to offer fresh ideas and prove her continually prove her abilities to her boss
Suspects the younger interns are more knowledgeable about the latest technology than then she is
Married with no kids, her husband is a journalist
Considers herself to be hip, listens to pop music and watches popular TV shows
Conversion goal:
For 10 people to click for more information and get linked to the New Media Driver’s License Website
Blog post:
http://juliedahl.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/the-rules-of-marketing-and-pr-have-changed/
Words of wisdom from Derek once again!
Thanks Derek, I used these tips and those in David Meerman Scotts book to develop my landing page for the NMDL class.
I chose to attack others out there like myself that are caught in the recession. Those job seekers that are stuck in a slump and need to differentiate themselves from the masses. I do believe the skills from this class are helping me do this, and I hope to encourage others like me to do the same!
Check it out, I am always open for some constructive criticism!
http://deeptidewan.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/recession-sucks/
Persona: My audience is 18-24 year old undergrad college students enrolled at Michigan State University. They will be a part of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences (Retailing, Communication, Advertising, PR, Telecommunications, etc. majors) Most will have a working knowledge of the Internet and an account on Facebook already established.
Conversion Goal: The goal is to get students to sign up for the New Media Drivers License course. Before signing up they will find more information on the class Web site (http://www.thedigitalbus.com/new-media-drivers-license/) and the Facebook group. I will push this class as a resume booster and knowledge needed in the current PR profession.
Audience persona: Other college students who are not graduating this semester, they are really good at sniffing out opinions that aren’t genuine, they have very short attention spans, and many of them are surprisingly set in their own ways.
Content: Content should be entertaining, genuine and to the point. If at all possible playing specifically on their culture.
Conversion Goals: Get more and more people into this class in the hope that it will grow and eventually be required for all Com Arts and Sciences students.
Persona: the undergraduate student who wants to learn about new emerging technologies and social media but who feels like they are too burdened by a heavy class load to start on their own.
Conversion: For them to seek out more information about the class by either visiting one of the two links I have posted or, ask their adviser about the class
Persona: The person I see reading my page is an already in the workforce industry professional who is feeling out of touch, and looking for a respected location to learn about new marketing trends and web 2.0 applications in business.
Conversation goal: provide over-view with enough links to answer most if not all of the relevant questions.
Audience persona: I am targeting those who are interested in digital media. Majority of the audience is college students age 18-27 years old, however there will be professionals who are in that age range or older.
Conversion Goal: The goal is to get people excited about new media and to remove any fears or confusions. In addition, I would like to get people to go to the Web site and learn more about the class. The final step is to get them to sign-up for class, eventually having to increase the number of seats available in the class because everyone wants to get in it.
Persona: I was hoping to provide information to ANY current MSU student. I think that this coursework is so valuable on a wide scale that anyone could benefit from taking it.
Conversion Goal- I filled the blog post with links to not only the course website,but Derek’s linkedin and Ingenex’s homepage. This will create buzz for not only the course but the company as a whole.
Persona: i would tend to think that the person who visited the site would be an undergraduate student or a young graduate student. i think this because with all the new types of media out there the younger generation is usually at that forefront of change and tend to use these outlets more than others. most of these people i feel would be creative minds and somewhat technically savvy, but not an expert by any means.
Conversation Goal: if someone is already at the landing page then you have sparked some interest but you haven’t hooked ‘em yet, so thats what you need to accomplish here. you need to go beyond the initial spark and move on to intrigue. once acquiring intrigue they will openly seek more information about the class by following the links and/or maybe seeking contact information of a past student.
My persona was for a 21 year old senior in college. My goal was to get the reader to join the Facebook group and inquire more about the course.
Persona: I am basically targeting every college student who is expected to be job hunting. While my target doesn’t particualerly discriminate a type of major at all, they are likely to be early 20s to late 20s.
Communication Goal: My goal is to let students know that there is actually something that you can learn while they’re in school, which will have a good positive effect on their future.
The audience persona is confused by all the newest changes in the Internet and feels that he/she isn’t familiar with how to utilize them all.
The New Media Driver’s License is then used as an ANSWER to their PROBLEM. This is a new media course not taught in schools, and thus so revolutionary that when getting a job, it can then place them ahead of all their colleagues.
Now, I made sure to focus on BENEFITS not FEATURES of this course. No one cares about what this course offers, but only that it will SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM. I focused on how awesome and Important they will become at their new jobs as an expert of cutting edge technologies that their colleagues won’t even know anything about.
(that’s what makes good copywriting, am I right?)
CONVERSION GOAL: become a fan or member of the NMDL facebook page.
persona-
my audience consist of 18-36 year olds interested in learning about new media. It will attract bloggers, and communication professionals such as advertisers and public relations specialist eager to enhance their business.
content-
It will focus on new media. It will allow access to new avenues in social media. Such as facebook, tweeter,and wordpress.
conversion goal:
The ultimate goal is to get people to sign up for the class. Also to click on links to get a sneak peek on what to expect regarding the class.
Persona: College students near graduation that are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the competition and add value to their skill set. This group is worried about not being able to find a job after graduation and knows they have to set themselves apart in a way that is relevant to what businesses need in this economy.
Conversion goal:
To get students to visit not only the webpage of the class and of MSU, but also to click on the links of some of the new media terms I have included that they may or may not be familiar with. I find a lot of people in this age demographic don’t realize they are falling behind technology (i.e. blogs, social networks, bookmarking sites) and get motivated to learn about it when they find themselves behind the typical learning curve.
Persona:
• Communications Professional
• PR, Advertising, Marketing, in-house Wellness Department
• age range: 30 to 45
• has a Bachelors or Masters degree in their field but achieved their degrees after digital and social media were a factor in business
• knows they need the knowledge but cannot put career on hold to go back to school
• has many things vying for their non-work time
• very motivated person who always wants to be on the leading edge of what is new in their field
• their only experience of digital social networks is the idea that it is just a loose group of 20-somethings looking to “hook up”
• personally interested in what is new and wants to be involved in the social networks on a more professional level
• has thought that they might like to start a blog but does not know where to start
Conversion
Enroll; Read a student’s blog; link to web site for more information
View assignment at:
http://meribethtyszkiewicz.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/enroll-now/
The audience persona is a typical college student looking for interesting classes with real world experience.
The conversion goal is to get students to join the facebook group and sign up for the class.
Persona: College student, may be undergraduate, graduate or professional student, any major, looking to increase knowledge of new media and to digital skills, little computer experience required.
Content: Course information, requirements, skills that the course will provide and the benefits of the course.
Conversation: To encourage individuals to enroll in the course, explain the importance of the information that the course teaches and to provide them with information about what the course involves.
I am going to target the past-professional who left the workforce and/or industry for a variety of reasons, but now find themselves preparing to re-enter. The rules have changed dramatically, and the marketing/advertising world is much different today than it was eight or ten years ago. Sites like MySpace, LinkedIn and Face Book didn’t exist – now they have gone beyond the social network aspect and entered the business network. For those who are not familiar with these types of sites it can be scary and intimidating. It can also be the deal breaker for potential employers.
My conversion goal will be to get these individuals to enroll in the NMDL class – regardless of whether they seek a formal degree or not. I will explain how it will help put them back in the running in this tough, competitive employment environment.
Persona:
My target audience is Michigan State students who are interested in learning about new media but don’t really know where to start. They would be familiar with courses at MSU and also how to enroll in courses and also be actively working to improve their marketable skills for entering the business world.
Content:
My content is the basic facts about the NMDL class with a few persuasive points. I also included external links where they can get more information about the course and also enroll or check future schedule of courses.
Conversion:
My ultimate goal of this page is to get people interested in the class and to persuade them to click on the links to the Digital Bus and to join the facebook group.