Digital Strategy: Keep The Wheel Turning
What is Digital Strategy?
If you go to Wikipedia the answer you will get is this:
“Digital strategy is the process of specifying an organization’s vision, goals, opportunities and initiatives in order to maximize the business benefits, digital investments and efforts provide to the organization.”
While this definition may seem very abstract it contains a few key points which allows us to greatly simplify it into something much more digestible:
At the core of this definition is the fundamental assumption that every organisation and digital investment has a goal. Moreover, that the goal of a digital investment is inextricably linked to the goals of the organisation.
THE PROCESS
Despite focusing on the digital assets of an organisation, at the end of the day digital strategy is still just a strategy. As such the process thereof can be broken up into four steps of strategy development:
One mustn’t however forget the fundamental building block of measurement, which is critical for each step of the way. This is especially relevant due to the measurable nature of the digital world, which is also one of its key strengths.
You might think this a very broad theoretical outline, which is hard to keep focused of in day to day activities. That may be true, especially since each phase will have its own sub processes which more often than not, incorporates elements from other phases. That said, I still think it is very important to have an ongoing and structured strategic outlook which incorporates these different phases, and most importantly the relation between them.
This means for instance, making sure that in the planning phase, a framework is properly outlined, to be effectively developed in the implementation phase, so that when the organisation has to react (possibly months or even years from now), it has a solid framework which allows it to be agile. A classic example would be how Amazon was able to completely change their ‘store front’ only hours after Steve Job passed away to accommodate the expected surge in interest in Steve and Apple in general.
At the end of the day my point is: Agility is arguably one of the most common elements which distinguish industry leaders. Moreover, it is only with a holistic and ongoing view of the strategic process that this agility can be achieved, especially in the digital space where things are moving so quickly.
Provide your visitors with sufficient scent
This post discusses the importance of scent and trigger words on a landing page.
In order to have a successful landing page, it’s important to provide your visitors with sufficient scent. This will lure them to complete the desired action.
Think about a mouse trap: the cheese provides scent, while the mouse performs the desired action. In this case, the mouse is trapped (not the best example). You don’t want to harm your potential customers, but you do want to provide them with strong scent to increase the possibility of completing an action – an action that you identify as a conversion.
What is scent?
Scent is made up of the parts of your website that attract visitors; the parts that stand out for them. These could be images, links or headings that “speak” to the visitor and quickly reassure them that they are browsing a relevant webpage.
It’s important to remember that all website visitors are different and have unique needs. Marketers create groups of visitors and define personas.
Wikipedia defines persona (marketing) as: (In marketing and user-centered design, personas are fictional characters created to represent the different user types within a targeted demographic, attitude and/or behavior set that might use a site, brand or product in a similar way.)
When designing or optimising your landing page, think about the type of visitors (personas) visiting your landing page. What will your visitors be looking for? Does your landing page immediately address their needs? Are there sufficient links for the visitor to continue their session? Including sufficient links ensures that the visitor remains in a state of belief – belief that your website will provide them with an answer. Visitors need to believe that they will find this answer, even if they don’t find exactly what they’re looking for on the initial landing page.
A simple example:
You own a jewellery store that’s been operating for 75 years, specialising in the finest engagement rings.
You have a website, and the search phrase providing the majority of visitors is “diamond engagement rings”.
A gentleman may be doing research in order to find the perfect engagement ring. Alternatively, a lady may be trying to find her ultimate engagement ring, so that she can indicate to her boyfriend the ring she desires.
Ideally, the scent you want to include on your landing page should appeal to both personas.
By including the below content on your landing page, you will address the requirements of both personas.
This may appeal to men browsing your site:
“Give her the perfect engagement ring”
“Ensure she is thrilled with this worthy and precious engagement ring”
While this may appeal to women browsing your site:
“Show him your ultimate engagement ring”
The following may speak to both ladies and gents:
“How our diamonds are crafted”
“View our state-of-the-art Range”
“Over 75 years’ experience in jewellery”
“Our Store History”
This copy may also appeal to people who are meticulous or require a lot of reassurance – people who like to make decisions based on facts.
Checklist
Included below is a simple checklist you can use to evaluate your landing page content and/or relevancy.
*While going through this checklist to evaluate the effectiveness of your landing page content, it is extremely important to remember the top search phrases that are driving visitors to your landing page.
- Is the content (answer to search phrase) immediately available to your website visitors?
- How much related and persuasive content is provided to entice your visitor?
- Do your links contain trigger words that prompt visitors to obtain more information?
- Does the landing page address the following:
- Why the visitor should take further action;
- What the offer is;
- How to get started / what to do next.
Of course, there are also many design-related components that contribute to a successful landing page. Such components might include: navigation structure; headers and sub-headers call-to-action; search facility and more.
So next time you evaluate the effectiveness of your landing page, ask yourself – “Is there sufficient scent for the different types of persona that enter my landing page via my top keywords?”
Optimising the content of your landing page, and gearing it towards your visitors’ interests – based on the top search phrases – will have a positive impact.
