Mastering Marketing Momentum: Lessons Learned From Five of the Internet's Most Sharable Slices

More than “likes” or even views, shares can benefit your business by extending the reach of your brand. In other words, shares are the key to exponentially increasing your exposure to new audiences – and ultimately garnering even more likes, views and shares. Here’s a quick look at five recent “sharability” success stories and the lesson you can apply to boost the effectiveness of your own marketing campaigns.

1. Samsung Galaxy S III phone bump bests Apple.

Rather than attempt to compete with the Apple "universe of cachet," Samsung wisely zeroed in on one simple, cool thing that the iPhone couldn't do – as shown in their "Next Big Thing Is Here" campaign. And they framed that moment with a context (a loooong line at your local Apple store) that poked fun at Apple's legion of superfans while emphasizing what they might be missing out on. The resulting viral phenomenon generated more views on YouTube (over 17 million in total) than than all of Apple's 2012 ads combined – and more importantly, pushed the Galaxy S III to overtake the iPhone in worldwide sales in the third quarter of 2012, shortly following the release of the commercial. As selling points go, the "phone bump" might not stand on its own for long. But a well-designed product with other strong features (such as leading 4g technology and a larger screen) allowed this clever presentation to capitalize on its momentum and translate buzz into sales. The clip hit home with a huge audience that was beginning to show some brand fatigue with Apple – and Apple’s well-known, easily-caricatured tribe of brand evangelists. The takeaway: In today’s fast-paced world of business, timing is everything. Always keep your radar up for opportunities – whether that’s exploiting cracks in the competitor’s armor or seizing upon the chance to bring something new to the marketplace – and strike quickly (and creatively).

2. "Man of Steel" trailers take flight.

The last Superman movie, 2006's super-sincere Superman Returns, while reasonably successful, didn't energize the comic-book pioneer's enormous fanbase. Instead, the collective reaction seemed to land somewhere between "not bad" and "not great." Which just didn't cut it. A sequel never materialized in large part because there wasn’t a rabid demand for it. The intervening years have been witness to the huge success of superhero franchises like Iron Man, The Avengers and of course Batman. Much of the flaky "comic-book-ness" of earlier films has given way in the new millennium to earnest, darker, more realistic-looking efforts that hit home with an audience that values cool over camp. This time around Superman, first and mightiest of all costumed crusaders, needed to lose the golly-gee and make with the internal conflict and superpowers. And this set of trailers comes through – in speeding bullet fashion.

The trailers carry an angsty theme, to be sure. But the money moment is when our hero puts his fists on the ground and rockets into the stratosphere. It's a fantastic-looking flight that promises a movie filled not only with its share of 21st-century motivations but special effects that are truly...super. The first trailer drew more than 3 million views – and now, as the movie’s release date nears, the third trailer (also containing the definitive flight sequence), driven by thousands of Facebook shares and retweets, has passed 21 million views. The takeaway: It’s critical to be in tune with your tribe. Motivating someone to choose to share your content over all of the other stuff that comes their way in any given day requires you to give them something that resonates deeply with them on an emotional level, whether that emotion is humor, empathy, excitement, anger or any other feeling in the pantheon of the human condition. You can’t strike that chord unless you are truly one with your audience.

3. Lowes’ #lowesfixinsix vine series helps in seconds.

Lowes’ smart, useful “Fix in Six” series, utilizing the six-second video sharing app Vine, is among the first – and best – marketing efforts on the new platform, which Twitter recently purchased and is rapidly integrating into its text-and links-based model. By its nature, Vine’s six-second time limit forces any application for marketing to be all hook and no sinker. Lowes wisely utilizes the app to serve up content that is every bit as helpful as it is brief. And the fact that it’s all happening on Twitter – the second largest social channel on the Internet after Facebook – means that the audience is potentially huge for marketers who get it right. The takeaway: In a new marketing world where trust – and by extension trustworthy content – is king, achieving the perfect marriage of message and medium is paramount. Whether Vine, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest is your weapon of choice, know it well and use it wisely.

4. Old Spice’s "I'm On A Horse" rides a viral wave.

Sure, the whole commercial is hilarious – from the shower scene to the handful of diamonds and all the accompanying dialog. In the rapid pace of online culture, it's already secured its place as an Internet classic. It's also a great example of traditional media creating synergy with online channels, as millions of people flocked from TV to the Web to watch this clip again and again. But it all comes back to the last bit – that second of time when the camera pulls back as the actor proclaims, "I'm on a horse." As a closing punchline, this moment had its work cut out for it. But the "best surprise yet" reveal managed to easily top everything that came before. And just like that the clip is over, motivating many to click the replay button. And the embed button, and the retweet button, and the share button, thereby spreading like wildfire among social networks and personal blogs and resulting in more than 45 million views. The takeaway: Granted, there’s no magic formula that guarantees that your next clip will go viral. However, what is guaranteed is that playing it safe is no way to achieve that “sharability” factor you seek. Go out on a creative limb. Sure, it’s scary out there, but if your grandpa’s aftershave brand can push the envelope with the “Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” you can, too.

5. The Oatmeal’s odd but awesome ode to Nikola Tesla.

The Oatmeal, created by Matthew Inman, is one of the most popular comics on the Internet, garnering more than 4 million unique visitors per month and generating more than half a million dollars in income annually. By turns acerbic and sentimental, the strip relies as much on Inman's writing as his simple illustration style. One of The Oatmeal's most-shared installments – and a defining moment that earned him coverage in media giants like Time magazine and Wired – is a rambling rumination on the genius of 19th-century inventor, Nikola Tesla. Almost entirely a written piece, this selection stands as an example of the mysterious, unquantifiable attributes of what sometimes constitutes "sharability." The subject is obscure to most of the population. The piece is almost entirely text and could simply be labeled a humorous essay were it not interspersed with illustrations like this: Yet because of Inman's built-in audience, his genuine passion for Tesla's lifetime of innovation and the media attention given to his subsequent Indiegogo campaign to purchase and renovate Tesla's old lab and turn it into a museum, this particular strip garnered more than 38,000 retweets and 18,000 Google+ recommendations. And the campaign raised $2.1 million in nine days. No doubt Tesla, an erratic genius who studied all aspects of electricity and invented radar and alternating current among other things, would have appreciated Inman's success at capturing Internet lightning in a bottle. The takeaway: Achieving a high “sharability” factor doesn’t require playing to the lowest common denominator. Sometimes going narrow and focusing on creating something that will catch fire within your specific niche can be a powerful strategy.

Now it’s your turn.

“Sharability” isn't necessarily about appealing to a wide audience, although several of the above pieces do that. It's about creating a deep impression with a passionate audience – and motivating that audience to spread the word. A flash of anticipation, a sense of urgency, a helpful tip or a genuine belly-laugh can all create that fundamental desire to let others in on the good stuff. So now it’s your turn. Go forth and create good stuff.

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The Good, the Bad and How You Can Do It Better: An Analysis of 8 Great (And Not So Great) Landing Pages

In the world of business promotion and growth, landing pages have a singular purpose: to compel visitors to take a specific action that will further their engagement with your company.

Whether that action is registering for something (an event, an account, a newsletter, etc.), downloading something (a white paper, perhaps) or purchasing something, the goal is to persuade the visitor to complete that action and that action alone – not to tell them everything they could ever want to know about your company, its history and all it has to offer.

A good landing page makes it easy for visitors to understand what you want them to do and why they should do it while simultaneously keeping the process of taking that action streamlined and free of distractions and hassles.

A strong landing page is a critical component of any marketing campaign, whether offline or online. You've convinced someone to take their time to visit the page, so now you need to seal the deal by motivating them to take the next step. While this is no easy task, there are many ways to improve your odds of success.

One of the best ways to understand the dos and don’ts of landing page design is to see them in practice. Here we’ll examine eight very different landing pages and offer our analysis of what they’ve done right, what they’ve done wrong and how you can do it better.

UserTesting.com

The Good: The heading presents a direct, relevant sales message, and the subhead provides excellent support. The copy is clear and to-the-point while the video offer the opportunity for users to learn more without leaving the page.

The "Pricing and Signup" button is very prominent, so visitors know where they need to go next, while the mention of the one-year money-back guarantee provides an important trust-building element to motivate them to take that step.

The Bad: On this site, the landing page is the home page, which is a mistake because there are a number of distractions present that can draw visitors away from the path to conversion.

The navigation elements are too prominent, and the top search bar is completely unnecessary, only providing yet another element of disruption. The display image for the video is a bit cluttered as well.

How You Can Do it Better: When you have a very specific marketing or sales objective to achieve (again, think signing up for your newsletter, downloading free content, launching a new product, etc.), use a landing page.

Your home page needs to serve a diverse array of functions and users. A landing page allows you to provide a completely customized experience focused on helping a more targeted group of users reach one specific conversion point.

Team Treehouse

The Good: This landing page is clean, simple, focused and presents a clear pricing plan right off the bat. The navigation elements aren't so prominent that they distract, but they are definitely easy to find if a user wants to do more research. You know you're getting training videos, but the question remains...

The Bad: What kind of training videos? This landing page took simplicity so far to the extreme that it forgot to tell visitors what they're getting, even if they read all the text on the page. It’s impossible to understand what the offer is without leaving the page, which is a glaring oversight.

How You Can Do it Better: Minimalism is good but only when used within reason.

You must present enough information about your offer on the landing page itself for the user to feel confident in taking the next step. This requires good balance of content and design. It may also necessitate getting a bit creative in how you present your message. Often, a brief demonstration video can take the place of 1,000 words in providing more information about your product or service.

Windows Azure

The Good: Here's a fairly solid landing page. The design is minimalist, the call to action is easy to find and who doesn't like getting something for free?

The heading and description are clear and easy to understand. The superframework (where the logo and log-in links live) is sufficiently muted and out of the way. Overall, the layout is clean and makes it easy for the eye to navigate the page.

The Bad: The main navigation is messy and overly complex. There are two tiers with various buttons highlighted in light blue, which introduces and element of confusion and distraction in an otherwise very clean and streamlined design.

How You Can Do it Better: Navigation is a make-or-break element of every website design, and landing pages are no exception.

When it comes to your landing page, remember that the goal is to persuade the user to take one specific action. Focus on providing them with only the information they need in order to take that action without leaving the page if possible.

If more information is needed than will be effectively served by a single page, keep the navigation streamlined and limited only to those options that serve the landing page’s core purpose.

RightBanners!

The Good: The layout of the page is simple and easy to follow, and the navigation bar is tucked out of the way. The clear pricing structure gives users the critical information they need to know. Plus, the colors are engaging and exciting.

The Bad: The "Submit Your Order Now" heading reads like a button, but it isn't a button at all. Instead, the user must scroll down to create an order – a process that's quite confusing.

There are also too many different sizes of text on the page, which is a direct result of trying cram too much information into the banner area.

This page would work much more effectively if it were broken into a two-step process: a streamlined landing page leading the user to a second page where they could complete their order.

How You Can Do it Better: When it comes to user interface design, the devil is in the details. You must always consider the cues and conventions that users expect when interacting with a page and use those to your best advantage.

For example, navigational buttons are so commonplace that we tend to take them for granted, but they play an important role in your landing page.

Pairing call-to-action statements like “Submit Your Order Now” with a button that performs that specified action is a simple but effective way to provide a familiar interface cue that helps users understand the process that they’re engaging in.

When these things don’t work as expected – as in the example above – it creates confusion and uncertainty that can inhibit the user from taking the action you desire.

PSD2HTML

The Good: This is an excellent landing page. The call to action is clear, and the message is concise. Overall, it's easy to tell what you're getting and where to go next.

The Bad: The page is a bit cluttered, which leads the eye away from the primary point of focus.

How You Can Do it Better: As always, whitespace is your friend.

If the design is cramped, the page will seem visually intimidating to your user. By contrast, allowing the elements on the page room to breathe makes it easier for the user to draw distinctions between different types of information.

DealFuel.com

The Good: Deal Fuel pulls off the home page/landing page combo successfully because it's designed first and foremost to be a landing page.

The design is clever, and the value proposition is prominent. Navigation elements have been scaled way back to allow the header section where the call to action lives to take center stage. Pricing information is easy to find, and the layout of the page helps guide the visitor through the information presented in a logical order.

The Bad: The description paragraph is too long; it's just too much information to include in a call to action area.

Also, the color of the "Buy Now!" button should also be different than the brown used in the gas pump because it fades into the background.

How You Can Do it Better: Never underestimate the importance of color in website design. Color and contrast play a very important role in directing the user’s attention to key elements and establishing a hierarchy of information.

For example, on the DealFuel.com page, simply swapping the colors on the "Today's price" banner and the "Buy Now!" button would create better cohesiveness within the design and make the call to action button more prominent.

AppSumo

The Good: This is a unique landing page that offers a the user a chance to win a prize in exchange for giving the company their contact information.

The call to action button is impossible to miss, and the process draws you in because it's so easy to answer the (very obvious) question and fill out the form.

The Bad: The design is cluttered and the message is difficult to find right away. The heading says "Win the Top 40 Books...", but you don't know why or how immediately. The description that follows is difficult to read because there’s not enough contrast between the color of the text and the background.

Also, putting the books on the left side of the page (where the eye naturally goes first) is distracting. These should be positioned either to the right or below the call to action in this example.

It's also a mistake to offer a reward at such a superficial level of engagement. Users can provide their contact information and enter the contest without knowing anything about AppSumo or what they offer. The brand would be much better served if the page included even a short, single-line description of AppSumo's value proposition.

How You Can Do it Better: Before you create a landing page, you must clearly define the business growth objective that you want it to serve, and then you must decide how best that objective can be achieved in a way that delivers value for both your brand and your customers.

In the AppSumo example, the engagement between the visitor and the brand is fleeting and shallow. While AppSumo does gain the benefit of the user’s information, there’s nothing to qualify this user as a potential customer and no motivation for the user not to simply unsubscribe when they start receiving communication from a company that they still know nothing about.

While capturing a user’s contact information is a legitimate and useful business growth goal, it would be better achieved by offering the user something of greater value in return than simply a one-in-many-thousands chance of winning a prize.

Instead, think of a way to structure the exchange that promotes greater long-term engagement between your brand and this user, whether it’s a providing free white paper that showcases your expertise or offering a free trial of your services.

TemplateSOLD

The Good: The design is modern, and the colors are interesting and engaging. The bold, concise heading makes the purpose of the page very clear. Prices are displayed upfront, so there are no surprises when the user moves to the next step.

The Bad: What is the next step, exactly? There's no one clear call to action. Instead, there are a LOT of calls to action here that muddy the design. The page wants you both to "Signup Now" and to "Download" the themes. There are also a number of different prices displayed on the page, each of which acts as a call to action in its own right.

Last but far from least, there's a major conflict in messaging. While the bold text claims to sell $40,866 worth of themes for just $59.95, the fine print cites a 50 theme limit. This type of marketing gimmick only serves to create confusion and make potential buyers wary of what they're really getting into.

How You Can Do it Better: Whatever you do, never, ever use any kind of gimmick or trickery in your presentation. No matter what action you want your users to take, they’re not going to do it if you don’t first establish a foundation of trust.

Instead, go above and beyond in your efforts to reduce the user’s perceived risk for taking action. When possible, offer a money-back guarantee or free trial period. Make sure you address potential sales objections, and provide social proof to reinforce believability and trust.

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