A long-form landing page uses elements such as videos, infographics, stories, and images to keep visitors engaged and interested. Many content marketing pros are moving to long-form landing pages because it allows them to present the customer with more reasons and more opportunities to convert.
These landing pages frequently unfold like a story as the visitor scrolls. If you are considering creating long-form landing pages, there are a few actions that you can take to maximize your conversions.
Write Compelling Headlines to Get Visitors to Read Further And Get Your Story Started
When somebody clicks into your landing page, the first thing their eyes are going to track to is your headline. Write a great one, and they are more likely to keep reading. Here are a few elements that each headline should have.
- Power words that compel people to take action
- An appeal that evokes one of the high arousal emotions such as excitement, joy or anger
- Font color and size, specially selected to make the headline stand out
- Quality writing that makes people want to scroll and read more
Keep in mind that your landing page headlines are probably searchable. Keep them short for SEO optimization, ideally about 6 or 7 words per headline.
Using Images And Videos is More Compelling And Convincing Than Using Text
One technique that is very on trend, visually appealing, and quite effective is the use of video backgrounds. These are looping videos that play silently in the background of your landing page. These videos can add to the message you are conveying in the text on your landing page, or highlight the products or services that you are selling. Embedding images in your landing page is another way to convince and gain trust. Just be sure to use original images whenever possible instead of stock images. Finally, know your audience. What will they get, and what will they appreciate? For example, a funny GIF using a video loop from a recent, hit comedy might work very well for a younger audience, but fall flat with an older audience.
Guide People to Other Content
Even though landing pages are usually considered to be at the bottom of the sales funnel, that is certainly no guarantee that people won’t be hesitant about converting. This is why it is so important to give visitors ways to connect with other web content. Even something as simple as guiding viewers back to your blog can have an amazing effect. Also, don’t forget about reminder content that re-engages visitors when it comes to content they might have missed before. The longer people are kept in the loop, or the longer they are given personalized reasons to convert, the better. Try linking to your own content in your landing pages to improve user experience and to get your branding and messaging to as many people as possible.
Your Call to Action Button Needs Lots of Attention And Consideration
First, you want your visitors to scroll and take in the content you have provided for them. What you don’t want to force them to do is scroll through your page just to find the CTA button. Remember that on a short-form landing page, it might make sense to place the call-to-action button at the bottom of the page. This works, because the CTA button is always visible. With a long-form page, consider using a floating button, or adding the button to a stationary sidebar or header. Another option is to provide several places along the way to answer the call to action. Of course, the more people scroll, the better so remember to use the story that you are telling to encourage people to keep scrolling. You’ll also want to A/B test many combinations of font and text to ensure that you get the best results from your CTA Button.
Give Your Customer What They Need to Convert
At this point, you are at the bottom of the funnel. This is the best time to get customers in touch with your products and services. Free trials are ideal at this point. In addition to this, this is the point where consumers will likely want to view product demonstration videos. If you believe that a customer who visits your landing page is likely close to converting, you might be able to close that deal by offering a discount. Finally, remember that a customer at the top of your landing page will probably need more convincing to convert than one who has scrolled through. In other words, this might be the time to turn on the hard sell, because this is the point where most people expect it.
Collect Data
No landing page is perfect. It requires testing, objectivity, and real data to ensure that traffic is going to reach a landing page, let alone convert. This is why data collection and analysis is so important. It allows content marketers and web designers to get an honest picture of their target audience. If you are designing a long-form landing page, please consider using an analytics tool.
Conclusion
One of the issues that content marketers and web designers have dealt with regarding landing pages is that short-form pages often appear to be nothing more than advertisements. As a result, it can be difficult to get people to convert, because they simply bounce instead. When landing pages are long enough they can be scroll through, when they contain images that tell a story, or even if they simply provide detailed information on products and services, it is much more likely that people will pay attention and that they will convert.
