Introduction to creating landing pages » Portal Insights

Building a landing page is a technical matter that requires design, reasoning, copywriting – persuasive writing – and it is not an easy or quick thing. However, anyone who takes the easy way out and leaves out the landing page, thinking that they are doing digital marketing by using social media, is mistaken.

Even though social platforms are part of various digital marketing strategies, the work is not complete if we leave aside an action just because, in a way, it is the most difficult. And, as the construction of efficient landing pages fits this profile, many professionals end up (wrongly) leaving this activity aside.

But, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it and having results…

Therefore, today, we will explain what a landing page is and mention some basic concepts that facilitate the process of building this page – which, as you will see throughout the text, is very different from a website.

What is a landing page?

Generally speaking, a landing page is a “landing page”, which has no practical meaning. In practice, it is a page on which you will work on the content, design and user experience with the aim of convincing someone to take a specific action. Some examples are the landing page to download an e-book, to sign up for a course or to schedule a consultation.

The call to action doesn't matter, as long as it follows the concept of convincing the user to take an action that favors your business. It doesn't even have to be for sale, as long as it's relevant.

A classic example is real estate, where the person becomes convinced that it is important to schedule a conversation with the broker right there. This does not mean that she will buy the property now, but the company will have the data of someone who is, in fact, looking for the services she provides.

And what is the difference, then, between a landing page and a website?

To begin with, the purposes of the two platform models are very different. The landing page wants to generate conviction, but the website has other needs, such as, for example, maintaining an online corporate profile.

When websites began to become popular in the 1990s, companies understood that it was essential to have a presence on the internet. Therefore, the website is a place that represents the company in the digital world.

This concept was very strong at the turn of the millennium, becoming a huge differentiator for companies that had a good website. Thus, anyone who had this whim was seen as a modern initiative.

In short, the website serves to present the company, show what it sells, provide a contact reference and provide all relevant information to the customer – such as support material and user manual. The website's function is not directly to sell, but to be present on the internet. What sells (efficiently) are the website pages. In other words, the landing page.

However, for marketing purposes, the website is becoming a useless tool. The topic is controversial, but it's true: people no longer surf the internet like they used to. The term itself – sailing – says a lot: sailing is walking around, stopping here and there, discovering new things, without being in a big hurry… and no one does that today. People currently only arrive at a website if they have a clear intention of stopping there.

Therefore, it is much smarter to send customers to the landing page, even if it also becomes obsolete over the years. After all, social media ads are trying harder and harder to keep users on the site.

Facebook, for example, finds ways for the user not to leave the platform to schedule a service, ensuring that they can fill out forms right there.

That said, it is important to have on the landing page:

• Unique value proposition (what does your company offer to the consumer?) briefly and in a few words, in the visible area – that is, you don't need to click or scroll to see it;
• Persuasive content;
• Call to action, button that makes it very clear what happens when the person clicks on it. Example: schedule an appointment now, get a quote, buy;
• Very good speed and UX (user experience);
• Tracking tags (Google Analytics, Facebook and LinkedIn), code snippets in the header that make it possible to create optimized campaigns.

Having a standard briefing for efficient landing pages is essential to maintain the quality of the pages, making sure that all the pillars mentioned above are present in the final version of the page.

To do this, it must contain the most important and strategic information, including the sessions – unique value proposition, call to action, explanation of anything complex, testimonials, catchphrase – and the form, if applicable.

Examples of efficient landing pages

Some companies are masters at creating landing pages that make digital marketing enthusiasts and professionals proud. They apply all these concepts, and create new ones, so that the user is convinced that they are face to face with the product or service that will change their life for the better.

The ones that inspire us the most are:

One thing that is possible to notice, especially in international companies, is the change in the way the landing page is delivered to the end user.

Until a few years ago, for example, any article on the subject would state that the landing page could not have a menu, which is the header at the top of the site. However, there is a tendency to no longer apply this type of concept, leaving the construction of the page freer, as Mailchimp does.

In the meantime, the floating button example is very interesting to make the landing page more effective.

Therefore, as long as they contain the basic items to be considered worthy of conviction, we can call “alternative” pages efficient landing pages.

In conclusion, landing pages are a critical topic and need to be discussed more, especially by people who really understand this subject – after all, it is from them that we can learn how to improve our landing pages.

If you have any further questions, leave them in the comments and we will make future videos with the answer to each question. Also, subscribe to our newsletter for more marketing and business content.