How should the ad landing page be designed to improve conversions?

The author of this article will start from the biggest direction of advertising design and share with you how to choose advertising themes for different products. enjoy~

Advertising landing pages are one of the common operational tasks, and reviewing the landing page effects through conversion rate data is also a routine operation. Since the content of landing pages varies greatly, it is sometimes difficult to draw some valid conclusions through data without conducting AB testing. Often, only fine-tuning is done on the page performance by adjusting the page layout and other methods based on the click-through rate of the landing page.

I have seen many landing page effectiveness data analysis reports, which often talk about data based on data. Many analysts have little knowledge of marketing , so their interpretation of data is often speculative. The overall conversion rate is low, which may be due to the fact that the header copy is not attractive, the selling point is not prominent, etc. Although this kind of speculation has some truth to it, due to the lack of strong theoretical support, such analysis reports will not attract enough attention. Experience cannot be effectively accumulated, resulting in the recurrence of similar mistakes.

Data is the most important, but also the least important. Data can tell us whether the effect is good or not, but it cannot tell us why it is good or bad. To analyze this type of advertising landing page, one must have a certain understanding of user psychology, marketing, and other "abstract" things. As the saying goes, “the real work is beyond the poem.” A good landing page analysis needs to combine the conclusions drawn from the data with recognized and effective marketing theories in order to accurately point out the problem and effectively communicate it to the internal team.

The design of an advertisement often involves determining a theme first and then designing the details. Therefore, this article will start from the biggest direction of advertising design and tell you how to choose advertising themes for different products.

1. “Function” or “Experience”

When designing an advertising landing page for a product, the content theme often falls into the debate between "function" and "experience".

The so-called function is to list the product's features, how to use the product and other information about the product on the landing page.

The so-called experience is to convey the user's feelings when using the product.

At present, the experience-based group often has the upper hand. After all, this is the era of experience economy. Users no longer compare the differences between product features, but instead pursue experience more. I am what I use.

This approach has scientific basis.

Our decisions are often made by the right brain, which is more emotional. If you just communicate what your product does, then that all goes into the left brain. The logical thinking ability of the left brain can analyze the pros and cons of the product, but it is not responsible for decision-making. It's like a boy who is shopping with his girlfriend. It is much more difficult to persuade the boy than to persuade the girl. This is because the girl is often the decision maker.

Many operators have this kind of thinking and directly use it on their own products.

However, such advertising standards are not completely suitable for all products. Not all products need to emphasize experience, and some products must even emphasize function.

This method is actually a foundation in advertising, the FCB matrix diagram.

2. Brand attitude

Brand attitude refers to customers’ likes and dislikes of our brand. We can use a 2×2 matrix to classify it. One aspect is the importance of customers buying this product, and the other aspect is the motivation for buying this product.

2.1 Importance

For many cheap, simple products or services, the considerations are not important to the buyer, so they do not seek decision-making information in advertising. For example, toilet paper, toothpicks, etc. As long as the product is reasonably priced and the brand is familiar to me, I generally won’t make a detailed comparison.

But for complex and risky products, it is very important for buyers. They will look at the information in the advertisement to assist in making decisions. Such as cars , travel, etc. For this type of consumption, customers will spend a lot of time comparing products or services.

2.2 Purchase Motivation

For some products, we buy them because we have to, and our motivation is negative. This is somewhat similar to the satisfaction in the KANO model and is a necessary demand. (All knowledge is interconnected). For example, cold medicine and toothpicks. When such needs are not met, customers will be extremely dissatisfied. However, even if the needs are met, customers will not feel satisfied, only the dissatisfaction will be eliminated.

There is another type of product that customers buy actively and with positive motivations. For example, cars, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. This type is like the attractive or expected needs in the KANO model. When they are not met, you will not feel dissatisfied, but once the needs are met, you will have a positive experience.

The two aspects mentioned above are important, unimportant, positive, and negative. The advertising principles used in these four different product forms are very different. Some of these we have also understood through past experience. For example, an anti-itching ointment will tell you directly to use something like this to relieve the itching. So the next time you scratch an itch, you'll think of this product. A similar fear is the fear of getting angry.

The positive ones are full of creativity. When I was a child, I saw an advertisement for Liqun. It was about a man sitting on a train and the slogan was "Life is like a journey. What matters is not the destination, but the scenery along the way and the mood of watching the scenery. Let the soul travel." At that time, I had no idea what the product in this advertisement was, but I suddenly understood it when I grew up. After reading the following content, you will definitely feel that the designer of this advertisement must be well aware of the brand attitude of positive products.

2.3 It depends on the individual

For different people, the motivations for purchasing the same product or service are different.

For a child, buying his first bicycle can be a very important event and the motivation is very positive. But for someone who needs to commute to work in a big city, a bicycle is just a means of transportation to replace traffic jams, and it is not a positive experience.

2.4 Vary from time to time

For the same product or service, the purchasing motivation for the same person may be different at different times.

When the original IPhone was released in 2007, the experience of buying a smartphone was overwhelmingly positive. When the phone was released, some people even lined up for several days in advance just to experience the charm of the new phone.

But in 2018, smartphones are becoming less and less about positive experiences, becoming more and more of an essential tool rather than a symbol of unique identity.

3. Different advertising rules

Different advertising rules apply to different products. The approximate classification method is shown in the figure below.

3.1 Important/Negative Motivations

Users of this type of product value rational demands and are called thinkers. The pattern followed by purchasing decisions is: learn-feel-act.

• Early in the product life cycle , accurately portray emotions that align with purchasing motivations, such as anger, fear, disappointment, annoyance, etc.
• Customers have to accept the main idea of ​​the advertisement, but unlike products with positive purchasing motivation, customers do not necessarily have to like the advertisement itself.

There is no need to make hospital advertisements (plastic surgery hospitals may be different) very humorous, because hospitals are often associated with diseases. Infertility hospitals often spend a lot of time in the first half of the film depicting the patient's suffering. Although the advertisement brings up the customer's sad moments and the user does not like the advertisement, the customer will remember your product or service.

3.2 Unimportant/Negative Motivations

Customers of this type of product value post-purchase recognition and are called doers. Purchasing decisions follow the pattern of: act-learn-feel.

• Use the simple formula of “problem and solution”. "I'm afraid this stain can never be washed off. Try this! It has Tide, and there is no stain!" "Is your throat uncomfortable? Use Man Yan Shun Ning." This type of advertisement is straightforward, simple and concise, unchanging, boring, but really effective.
• It is not necessary for customers to like your ad. Melatonin belongs to this category. For many people, giving gifts home is a very annoying thing. If the slogan “If you want to accept a gift, accept Naobaijin” can help people solve this annoying problem, then it doesn’t matter if the advertisements are a little annoying.
• Do your best to highlight the benefits of your product. "Removes 99 types of stains", "Relieves pain for 12 hours". There are many products that solve the problem, and you have to find your own highlight.

3.4 Important/Positive Motivations

Customers of this type of product value emotional appeal and are called Sensors. The pattern followed by purchasing decisions is: feel-act-learn.

• Advertisements must fit the emotional state and lifestyle of the target audience group. Mercedes owners are often successful people. You certainly cannot use a struggling young person as the protagonist of an advertisement, as this does not fit the lifestyle of the user group.
• People must be connected to the products in the advertisement and have a sense of belonging. It is not enough to just like the advertisement. “No one truly owns a Patek Philippe, it is just kept for the next generation”, with such advertising slogans, everyone will imagine what they will look like after wearing a Patek Philippe for decades.
• Since the purchase falls into the category of “significant,” some factual information is also required.
• Be more exaggerated, don't be modest. Amplify the emotion or taste you want to convey. The stronger the emotional impact, the greater the influence on the customer's purchasing decision.

3.5 Unimportant/Positive Motivation

Customers of this type of product value consumer experience and self-perception, and they are called responders. Purchasing decisions follow the pattern of: act-feel-learn.

(1) Emotional resonance is very important and is the only decisive interest demand

This product is like you. What kind of product you use determines what kind of person you are. Think about the Liqun case I mentioned earlier and you will understand. I use this product to show my personal taste, and I don't particularly care about the product itself.

Alcohol advertising is also a representative of this category:

(2) The associations and emotions evoked by the brand are unique

Pepsi is the cola of youth. The first people to use iPhones were trendsetters and so on. Customers want to use this product to label themselves, a label that tells others what kind of person they are.

(3) The target audience must like the ad

Sex and humor work wonders in advertising. This is why we all think that Durex ’s copywriting is so excellent, because as an unimportant but positive product, their products can naturally use sexual innuendo to promote themselves. This approach is both topical and not offensive. On the contrary, if other products do this, it will easily make people uncomfortable. Durex can tell dirty jokes openly, so people will naturally like it.

In recent years, car advertisements have seen fewer and fewer descriptions of functions, and have instead begun to focus more on "what kind of person drives this car."

Such changes also show that the importance of buying a car is gradually becoming unimportant. Because important/positive products need to provide some product information, while unimportant/positive products only need to provide emotional resonance.

Summarize

In summary, important products need to have product details . The difference is that products with negative experiences need to focus on the functions of the product , while products with positive experiences need to focus on emotions.

Unimportant products do not need to show product details . Products with negative experiences should tell users what problems they can solve. Products with positive experiences should highlight users' self-perception.

Many data analysts feel powerless when faced with landing page analysis, often because they are unable to accurately express their reasonable guesses in the report. If you use a combination of data and theory, the credibility of your analysis report will be greatly increased.