The Importance of Forms among Your Online Marketing Strategies

Obtaining new leads on a consistent basis is one of the most

crucial online marketing strategies for just about any business.

With more and more people searching for information online, your organisation's website is arguably the most powerful

tool you have when it comes to generating new leads.

Rather than simply letting your website visitors browse anonymously through your site, you want to find out who they

are and what they are looking for.

To capture this information,

● You'll need to have forms on your site, and to motivate your

visitor.

● You’ll need to offer a reward such as a free copy of your latest

ebook, a subscription to your award-winning monthly

newsletter or a free trial of your service.

In today’s video we’re going to show you how to make the most of

forms as an essential component of your online marketing strategy.

Many websites these days have forms that pop up the moment

users arrive on the site. This is a relatively ineffective strategy,

because users have not had a chance to look at your site yet. Instead of filling out the form, they are more likely to

simply close it and move on.

A better place to capture users' information is farther down the page, after they have done a bit of reading.

If you’ve kept their interest that far, they are likely interested in what you have to offer and want to know

more: the perfect opportunity to insert a form.

People's attention spans are getting shorter and shorter.

The longer a form is, the less likely people are to want to fill it out

unless the reward is something they really, really want.

Asking for an email address is quick and painless, thus increasing the likelihood that your form will be filled out.

Only request a phone number when it

is absolutely critical to your business to speak with leads in person; many users will choose not to fill out a form to avoid

unwanted phone calls.

No one likes to keep filling out the same information over and over again, so make it as easy as possible for your customers with smart forms that automatically populate

information.

Another option in this area is to enable users to fill out the form using their Facebook or Twitter contact information. You can then encourage them to like your social profiles as well,

thus boosting engagement.

Once you have initially captured a user's attention it’s

critical to find out as much as possible about that user. But don't turn them off with too many questions right away.

Use progressive profiling to capture little bits of information over

time.

Progressive Profiling Sample

Once a user has answered a question, that question will be

repopulated in a form the next time they visit so that it asks something different.

This way, you learn more about your visitor gradually, rather than scaring them away by asking too many

questions right off the bat.

When offering a reward to users for filling out your form, be sure to clearly

explain what it is that you are offering.

You may wish to create a landing page on your site that is specific to the product or service

that you are offering as the reward.

The more closely your results match your promises, the more trust you will

instil in your customers, making it more likely that they will return to your

site in the future.

Subscribing a visitor to your blog or email marketing list is absolutely fine as long as they know exactly what they are

getting themselves into.

Once you have a user's email address, the worst thing you can do is bombard them with lots of information that they didn’t request. It’s

likely they will unsubscribe and never return to your site again.

Finally, it’s crucial to think about consistency

with your branding.

If a form or landing page is drastically different from the rest of your site, viewers may worry that they have

stumbled across an untrustworthy link, which can deter them from filling out

your form.

Keep the styles consistent and your viewers will have confidence in everything they see.

Building a brand is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it takes time and careful crafting.

Download our guide, "Building Brand Awareness: The Ultimate Guide for 2017," to learn more about it.