“The aim of marketing is to get customers to know, like and trust you.”
Landing page visitors have a very short attention span. They read the headline, browse through what benefits they will get if they act…and that leaves you with just a few more seconds to impress them. After all, in this scammy web world, why will someone leave his/her contact details for you, a total stranger? This is where you play the ‘Trust’ trump card. When you sell a product/service, gaining the trust and confidence of your landing page visitors is very important for the success of not only the page, but your company as well. Trust is the biggest component in a landing page that helps online marketers achieve success. After discussing about the 10 Commandments of Writing Headlines for Landing Page, Landing Page Call to Action Buttons that convert, Highlighting Benefits: Landing Pages Best Practices, 8 Ways in which Landing Page Images Increase Conversion, we come to our next point of discussion in our HABITS framework, i.e, Earn your Visitors’ “Trust” – 9 Tactics for High Converting Landing Pages.
I) Add Customer Testimonials and Reviews
Testimonials and product reviews provide potential customers a sense of assurance that you are a legitimate company. When buying something, most often we ask friends for reviews. What our friends tell us in return is nothing but a testimonial. Similarly, for high converting landing pages, word of mouth or a testimonial from a client is a powerful marketing tool. BUT…make sure your testimonials are genuine and not too generic like, “Great Work”, “Wow” or “Thanks”. They may really be true, but they sound hollow.
Like you see in the image above, give your testimonials a face lift by mentioning who said it, which company the person works in and what designation he holds in that company. Where you can, post a pic of the testimonial provider for high converting landing pages. (Tip: You can always get the image from LinkedIn, with their permission of course).
If you have a flourishing testimonial from a client, wear it up on your sleeve. Remember, the more described the testimonial is, i.e the benefits of your product, the more ‘human’ it sounds and hence more believable. Potential customers use testimonials as a token of getting convinced before doing business with you.
Add Social media testimonials: Pull quotes from social media, a tweet or a nice Facebook comment, where people have spoken about your product. This provides third party credibility to your product.
II) Add Customer logos
If you have 10 ‘heavy-duty’ customers, why not flaunt them for high converting landing pages? Like you can see in the above image, adding customer logos on landing pages stir a thought in prospective clients, “Quite a catch!.” If the prospective customers are able to see a few known names there, nothing like it. Company logos of clients add a sense of authenticity to your company.
But wait; if you have a hundred clients, don’t show off…too many logos will only clutter your landing page!
III) Add Press Coverage
If you have been covered by the press, put it on your landing page. Why? So that people see that you are popular, else why will the press be really interested in you? Adding press coverage is also a great way to earn confidence from visitors for high converting landing pages.
IV) Provide Social proof
Wikipedia defines social proof as a “psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior”. In short, people do what they see others doing!
Social proof or what is known as social influence, helps reinforce your value proposition. Providing testimonials, reviews and social media existence are also types of social proof. What we will talk about here is user statistics. Blog subscriptions, product installations, number of happy customers, downloads etc can be termed as user statistics…in short how many people have used or tried your product. Social proof is testament to the effectiveness of your product/service.
In this image below, ‘Over 4500 Happy Customers’ is the social proof to the fact that this product is being liked by people.
Social proof can also be getting expert advice and putting celebrity endorsements and quotes. (However, the latter one can be either paid or unpaid). Content marketing like blog posts, e-books, webinars and tutorials also help establish you as an authority.
V) Show Certification from Big Names
Getting certification from big names is the classic technique to garner trust. If you have an association with a ‘big’ company, flaunt it proudly. But…use certification from relevant and well known brands. If you have a landing page for travel and you put a certification from a baby product company…obviously, it won’t help conversion, right?
VI) Write Terms and Conditions in layman language
If at all you have to have to have terms and conditions on your landing page, keep it simple. Using too many technical terms can annoy the visitor. Use terms that everyone understands.
VII) Stick to Professional design
Its human nature! We pay more attention to stuff which has been packaged well and looks classy and expensive than something that looks shabby. Similarly, with landing pages, a good looking page with professional templates and designs gives it a sense of expertise. It makes them think, “They have exerted effort and have spent money on their landing page.” See how this sentence automatically incites trust? With expertise comes trust because design is an important factor in making sales.
Tip: Its all about packaging it well. Make it look expensive. However, do not exaggerate!
VIII) Promise them Privacy
We have all received our share of SPAM…any one with an email address does! Hence, your landing page visitors will not be too eager to feed that problem with providing you with their email address. Solution? Provide a privacy policy link on your landing page or right next to your call to action or lead capture form. Most people don’t even click the privacy policy link to check further, but knowing that you have it will earn you trust points.
IX) Provide a Phone Number and Social Media Icons
Yes, most of your potential clients will not use the number on your landing page to get in touch with you, but that’s not its major purpose either! What it provides them is a sense of relief that you are a real company and there is someone real at the end of the phone line. Adding an address and a phone number provides authenticity. Similarly adding social media icons to the landing page also gives a more comprehensive picture of the company.
Still here? Awesome! Have I missed out on anything? Do help me and other readers by leaving your comments.
