Convince and Convert Blog: Where Social Media and Email Collide

I just finished giving a speech at the western region meeting of the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations in Sedona, Arizona. 

NCMPR is the association of community and technical college marketers. A really interesting group that needs to harness social media and work with prospective students on an individual, relevant, highly personal basis. 

While this presentation was specifically for NCMPR, there is a lot of material that will be valuable to anyone looking to launch and maintain a social media and digital marketing program for a mid-sized business or organization. 

Key points in this presentation:

- Media outlets have exploded, causing audience fragmentation

- You have to communicate to audiences individually, because they don’t herd together like the old days

- Using the power of audience segmentation

- Digital marketing is critical in this new hyper-targeted marketing world, because online users identify themselves through their search queries and site usage

- Ways to find prospective community college students (Twitter, Facebook, Blog search, Flickr)

- Web site is the key to translating awareness of your college (or any brand) to action

- Web content needs to be transparent, real, and multi-modal

- Lead acquisition is critical for colleges. Give users multiple call to action options. 

- Secrets to good form design

- Web site testing and optimization basics

- Lead nurturing via personalized follow up and triggered communications

Comments are very much appreciated. Enjoy. 

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After a LONG waite, Adobe announced this week that Flash files are soon to be readable by search engines. This removes a major impediment to using Flash for Web sites, as previously all files created in Flash were essentially invisible to Google, Yahoo! and the rest.

So, we now have the classic good news/bad news scenario unfolding. Making Flash readable takes away the biggest technical knock against Flash usage. However, the biggest common sense knock against Flash remains, which is the fact that Flash is misused in most cases.

Unless you’re a cartoonist, film editor or other such business, the point of creating an all-Flash Web site is dubious at best. The fact is, people come to your Web site to get questions answered about your business. And in most cases, using motion and animation to answer those questions gets in the way of the users’ needs. Certainly, the much-maligned “Flash Intro” is maligned for good reason as more than 75% of all users immediately click “skip intro”.

My biggest fear is that search-friendly Flash will spawn a new generation of all-Flash sites that do a lot more showing off than information conveyance. This is already an issue for a lot of agency Web sites, and I hope they don’t take this new technological advance as an opportunity to layer on even more Flash (and music) on sites that are already overburdened with cheekiness.

Making the Horses Drink

The Web is the most comprehensively flawed world-changing technology ever. The ways in which you can screw up a Web site are without limit. In contrast, it’s a lot tougher to botch a fire, a wheel, a toilet, an ATM, or one of those KFC chicken/potato/corn/cheese bowls.

Like a really big Science Fair project, the Web sprouted organically and without profit motive. There wasn’t anybody in charge, there were only very loose rules, and Web site makers were left to their own devices – a hippie commune with mouse pads and tons of Mountain Dew.

The result of the Web’s socialist upbringing is that its core premise – accessing information – lacks standards. Imagine if every time you picked up a book the page numbering system was different. Some What if your cable TV only used prime numbers? Or if your radio would only tune to Pi? That’s the scenario we’re stuck with online. Every Web site requires each visitor to assess and learn its specific navigation schema.

It’s a tall order and it’s the reason why such a small percentage of Web site visitors do what we want them to do online. The percentage of Web site visitors that make a purchase on e-commerce sites (the “conversion rate”) is just over three percent. 97 out of 100 Web site visitors leaves empty-handed. Yikes.

But there are ways to help your Web site visitors understand your structure and lead them to a satisfying destination – hopefully an online order, lead, or other ROI-generating behavior.

People are People

Most of the visitors to your Web site will come occasionally and perhaps only once or twice. They do not understand the nuances and intricacies of your business, your corporate structure, or your product line. So don’t organize your site that way. If they can’t fathom the definition of a navigation label, they’re not likely to click on it. Name all navigational elements using language that your mother uses, not your customers – and certainly not your employees. Make it your mission to hunt down and kill all Byzantine abbreviations and insider jargon in the navigation – and if you have the stomach for it, site-wide.

Navigational Democracy

Ultimately, the users of your Web site will tell you what is the most important content on the site, and thus how the site itself should be organized. Examine the usage statistics for your Web site and determine the pages that are most frequently accessed and that have the longest duration of stay – indicating visitor interest in the content. Rework your site so that those pages are part of your main navigation, not two or three levels down. The behavior of your visitors demonstrates how to organize your information for maximum ease of use. If its too jarring to change your main navigation in this way, add a Quick Links box to the top right corner of every page and include in it direct links to every popular page within your site.

Lend a Hand

Most sites are buffets of information. Plenty of content, but with no real thought given to selection, sequence, or relationships between components. You develop a bunch of Web pages, organize them in a seemingly logical fashion, and let visitors decide what they want to read and in what order. That type of freedom can produce troubling outcomes, the informational equivalent of eating 4 helpings of chocolate mousse, followed by 63 coconut shrimp.

Instead, think of your site as a chef’s tasting menu. Instead of just letting the patrons go wild on your content, give it to them in measured portions in a sequence that will maximize their satisfaction.

Determine in what order you ideally would like your site visitors to access specific pieces of content on your site to move them from interest to action. Then modify every page of your site so that it either guides the visitor along that path (from step 2 to step 3), or if it’s a page that isn’t in the key persuasion process, points the visitor into that funnel.

This is not difficult, and can be accomplished by adding links at the bottom of your pages that guide the visitor to the next logical page. Even the addition of “next” buttons on the bottom of each page have been proven to improve conversion rates by helping visitors get to the information they need to make a decision.

Play Master and Servant

Especially on popular and critical decision-making pages of your site (but ideally on all pages), don’t be shy about telling the user what to do if they are ready to buy. It’s okay to ask for the order.

Your action buttons (call now, free estimate, request information, add to cart, et al) need to be big and compelling. Ideally, they should be the most visually arresting item on the page, using the “hottest” colors so that visitors’ eyes will land on them when they scan the page. Visitors need to know how to take action. Don’t be shy.

A recent study found that placing a small graphic of animated human eyes that “look” toward the key action button can increase response rates.

The animated eyes trick is about Wayne Newton on the cheesy scale, so that might be over the line. But, getting people to your Web site costs you something every time. Following these techniques will make your site easier-to-use and will transform more of those visitors to buyers.

Make these changes now to improve online results

Thousands of Web sites built circa 2000-2002 are showing signs of wear and fatigue like a dot com Larry King. Today’s trend is away from flashy, narcissistic pandemics about why YOUR bolt and fastener company is the BEST, and toward obvious, easy-to-use, functional Web sites that respect the time and intelligence of their users.

You may not have the budget (or the moxie) to take your current site out back, pull an Old Yeller, and start fresh. Hence, this set of important changes you can make to eliminate small Web site lines and wrinkles, and return a fresh, healthy glow.

Focus on the User

Nobody comes to a Web site on accident. Each visitor needs something from you. The key to online success is figuring out what those needs are, and answering them as quickly as possible. Think of your site as an extension of your customer service department rather than your marketing department, and you’re on the right track.

How do you know what the needs of your audience are? Ask them. Put together an easy online survey using www.zoomerang.com or a similar tool, and invite visitors to participate. Include a question that requires survey takers to describe (or select from options) precisely why they came to the site. Use that information to reconfigure your site’s organization and content.

Once you have an understanding of what people want from you, determine how best to provide it. Create a chart of all the pages on your Web site. Does this page answer one of the primary five to seven visitor questions? If not, does this page clearly direct the visitor to another page that answers a question? If not, delete the page from your site. Your top seven visitor questions should be answerable in two clicks from the home page.

Have a Clear Home Page

The home page of your site has two purposes. Briefly describe who you are so visitors know they are in the appropriate place, and direct users to an inside page most likely to answer their question.

Do not use your home page to try to tell your whole story, and unless you are managing a Web site for a rock band, porn star, or art gallery do not put a flash introduction on your site. 93% of Internet users click that convenient “skip intro” button, so having your logo burst into flames accompanied by the first seven bars of “We Are the Champions” isn’t exactly money well spent.

Remember that many people will be seeing your site for the very first time, and thus need to evaluate each link on your home page before determining their next action. Ideally, provide 15 or fewer next click options.

Write Copy for the Web

People don’t read online, they skim. Eyeballs jump around a Web page like Tom Cruise on Oprah.

So, don’t repurpose your brochures. Instead, determine what the goal of the Web page will be, and then write it in an inverted, journalistic style. Conclusion first, then more details

Use a lot of subheads and bullet points to give the visitor’s eyes a roadmap to what’s important on the page. Keep sentences short and punchy.

Keep Score

The Internet is the most measurable medium yet devised, and features actual, honest-to-goodness counting of each person that comes to your site. It’s imperative that you use this data to consistently measure the effectiveness of your site, and make changes based on your findings.

Decide what behavior you want your Web site visitors to engage in on your site. Filling out your lead form? Calling your toll-free number? Downloading your white paper? Purchasing your product?

Whichever it is, use a Web analytics program (we recommend Clicktracks and Urchin on Demand (recently bought by Google)) to determine at least monthly how many of your visitors did in fact do what you want them to do on your site, and more importantly, your conversion rate.

To determine your conversion rate, divide the number of desired actions by the number of people who visited your site. If 100,000 people visited your site last month, and 1,000 of them filled out your lead form, your conversion rate is 1%.

This is the magic number online because it tells you how effective your site is at aligning what you want people to do with what they want from you.

If you want your site to generate a larger number of desired actions there are only two ways to do so. You can ignore the shortcomings of your site and get more people to visit – which can be a difficult proposition. Or, you can inject a little botox into your site, make it customer-friendly, and get more results from the people already there.

In comparison to their human counterparts, Web sites have certain advantages as sales representatives for your company. They work 24×7, don’t complain about the commission structure, and don’t expense $273 for dinner with “Paul” the imaginary new business prospect. But otherwise, Web sites are generally terrible salespeople.

Nearly all Web sites have (or should have) visitor action as a central goal. Whether that action is a purchase, filling out a lead form, signing up for an email newsletter, or a combination of these or other activities, enticing visitors to ACT not just READ, is the end game of online marketing – and one at which most sites consistently fail.

The percentage of your site’s total visitors that actually take a desired action during their visit is called the site’s conversion rate, and a multitude of Internet research pegs average conversion rates at 2-5%.

Just imagine what would happen if your sales force closed only 2% of the calls they made. In most companies, a close ratio in that neighborhood would result in a humiliating verbal flogging at an early morning sales meeting, followed closely by a strong hint manifesting itself in the form of a $5 off coupon to Harriet’s House of Resume Polishing.

Even more damning is the fact that the people visiting your Web site are there for a reason. By their very presence, they have indicated their interest in your product or service. They didn’t enter a random set of characters into their browser to see what might happen. Consequently, your Web site’s pool of prospects might actually be MORE pre-qualified than your sales team’s. So what gives? Why can’t most sites close more than 5% of their prospects?

There are three primary culprits.

First, despite the excessive use of hair products and occasional personality disorders, professional salespeople have one critical skill that most Web sites lack entirely – listening. In a conversation with a prospect, salespeople are trained to listen to what the prospect says and probe for need. Only when needs have been identified do well trained salespeople offer solutions to meet them.

Web sites are often exactly the opposite. The entire “conversation” is not a conversation at all, but a monologue. “This is what our company does. These are the services we offer. These are the benefits of those services.” No acknowledgement of customer need. People act because they have a problem or need, and believe you can solve it. Frame the issue from their perspective, and you’ll be able to more succinctly and directly explain why you’re the solution.

The second problem is that Web site owners dramatically overestimate depth of visit. A March, 2004 study of thousands of sites from Web site analytics company Onestat.com found that more than 80% of all Web site visitors view three pages or fewer. This has massive implications for home page design and content organization. To increase conversion rates it’s imperative that your site diagnose visitor need, deliver evidence of being able to meet that need, and encourage action within the first two pages. Don’t waste your most valuable real estate – your home page – by including on it a worthless animated sequence or other corporate welcome statement that doesn’t address need or encourage action.

If the primary objective of your site is to get people to request your free brochure about your new weed killing spray, include a large button on your home page that says “Overrun by weeds? A weed-free yard is within your reach. Click here to see how your weeds could be singing the blues by this weekend.” Corny? Yes. Effective in getting prospects to request the brochure? Yes.

The third problem is a fundamental lack of understanding that unlike in-laws and Supreme Court Justices, you’re not stuck with your conversion rate. Now that Internet advertising is hot again, companies are constantly looking for ways to increase their Web site traffic, not realizing that the least expensive way to improve results is to re-architect the site itself to boost conversion rates. If you better your conversion rate by 100% – a very achievable objective in many scenarios – you’ve effectively doubled your marketing budget.

Certainly, there are principles that are universally true, including those included here. However, when you’re ready to get serious about conversion rate improvement, the only way to do so is to test your theories. Work with your team or a consultant to create several versions of your home page. Try new navigation labels. Build multiple lead generation forms. The only way to truly optimize results is to test until you’ve found the Web site recipe that makes the tastiest casserole for your company.

Is it easy to optimize conversion rates? It’s not too difficult to improve them by ridding your site of obvious problems. But a complete optimization strategy and tactical plan can indeed be tricky. But, unless you have a large unused cubicle farm and a platinum account at monster.com, it’s a lot simpler to test new Web site options than to try a fleet of new salespeople.