When it comes to telling the story about your brand, we’re all on a similar page as it relates to the task taken to put said story to paper. The first step is to write it out. After all, when we think about the word “story,” we think about words. From there, the approach, and path taken to get to the culmination of a brand story differs greatly.
Some of us say too little.
Some of us say too much.
And, in all phases of this particular journey, some of us forget that a story isn’t entirely built on words at all.
Content is a storytelling element that is shape-shifting in nature, and, in these contemporary times, people want to read less and see more. That means video, pictures, infographics, memes, GIFs, and so much more…
Have you ever seen wyzowl’s infographic, “The Power of Visual Communication”? (If not, click on that link.) One of the more moving pieces of information on that piece is the notion that only 10% of people claim to remember what they hear, while 20% remember what they read, and—here comes the kicker—a staggering 80% remember what they see.
Now let’s take this a step further and position how the visual of your marketing collateral is designed will affect how your website, and, in particular, your landing pages are consumed and engaged with. A well-designed landing page is going to get more users to interact than one that hasn’t figured design into a working piece of the strategy. Anybody can throw a page together and call it a day. But, is that the best mode of operation? In other words, do you want people to stay there and consume what you’re delivering them? Or, will they leave in haste when they’re positioned with a hot digital mess?
Table of Contents
- Why design is important to your marketing success
- Creating your HubSpot landing page
- What if I don’t have a graphic designer?
- Don’t forget the thank you page…
Why design is important to your marketing success
If you’re a marketing copywriter—or a writer in general—you’ve likely sold yourself to myriad contacts that storytelling is at the root of any good brand and the product(s) or service(s) they’re selling. And with good reason; people like a good story. It’s on you though, as a writer, to not sleep on what your pals living in the design world can add to push that story forward. Words can elicit emotion, but, proper imagery and design elements are going to get to the root of that emotion much faster.
Good design affects how users feel about a company, product, or service. As a business, your design and inherent/adopted style guide can very much influence a user’s decision to convert. Without conversion, a story is just a story—mere words on paper leading to nowhere. Thoughtful design also creates opportunities for emotional connection which leads to trust.
How does Nike’s tagline “just do it” resonate with you without design elements surrounding it?
Go ahead, think on it. There’s no right or wrong answer here. The point is, without design it can conjure up any number of ideas and responses.
Okay, this was a long-winded introduction to where we’re going with this entire lesson. From here on out, let’s talk about how using proper design on your HubSpot landing pages (and all landing pages, really) can help you get more leads.
Your homepage is important
It’s true. But your homepage isn’t the perfect landing spot to capture a lead. Branded landing pages provide a distraction-free spot to get a user to complete a desired action to accomplish a defined goal, like signing up for your newsletter or downloading an ebook.
Consistent branding is imperative
You’ve probably heard us talk about style guides before (here’s a refresher)… The entire basis of a style guide is to define the consistent branding elements that will move your brand forward. Consistent branding throughout your digital presence, including landing pages, is important to your marketing success and in building brand loyalty. Consistent design creates a trustworthy experience which pushes people to take a desired action.
Landing pages are critical
You’re probably picking up on the natural progression of these sections by now. Landing pages are critical in helping you to generate leads. And, if done correctly, more qualified leads at that.
Consider the following from our friends at Canva: “Don’t try to justify a poor website design by saying ‘at least my content is great,’ because 94% of the reason the participants rejected a site was for design-related issues, while only 6% was for content-related issues. So, your content could be stellar and as top-notch as ever, but a poor website design can bring it all to a crashing halt.”
At the outset, you’ll find that landing page best practices will dictate what should be on the page, but it’s on you to make sure what’s on your landing page is consistent with existing company branding and appeals to your target audience.
- Keep it simple but engaging
- Add some video where it makes sense
- Use bullets over long sprawling blocks of text
Keep reading to learn why good design is imperative to your success and how you can start setting up beautiful pages in HubSpot that convert.
Creating your HubSpot landing page
Understand what makes a good landing page
The anatomy of a successful landing page:
- Does not have a navigation menu (the idea is to keep them on the page and direct them towards the action you’re calling out).
- Includes a headline that provides value (you’ll use the body copy of the landing page to answer any questions posed by the headline or to prove any claims that are being made).
- Is accented by relatable imagery (just do it).
- Has concise and clear supporting copy (bullets work great—it’s okay to be a minimalist here, so long as the provided content keeps the story moving).
- And finally, the landing page will hit users with a form that pushes them towards a desired business goal.
Onboard your brand into HubSpot
If you haven’t already set your brand up in HubSpot, now’s the time. This will make adding your brand colors and logo to your design easier. It will also ensure your sales tools and other marketing materials are properly branded. Here are the spots you will want to update the branding:
- Settings > Account Defaults – Under the branding tab here you will add your logo, company name, favicon, and brand colors.
- Settings > Marketing > Emails – Here you will set your styles for emails.
- Set your email body to 600px or under depending on how narrow you would like your content.
- Add your brand colors, these will show up in your color picker when creating emails.
- Next, select your fonts. Emails need to use web-safe fonts so select an option from the dropdown that best matches your brand font. From there you can then add in your color palette so it will be available in the color picker when you’re actively creating emails.
- Settings > Marketing > Forms – Here you will set up your form style so every form you create suits your brand’s look and feel.
- Select your brand font from the dropdown and then add colors for field labels and buttons.
- Settings > Pages – Here you will set the logo and favicon you want to appear on your site.
That’s it! You’re one step closer to creating a branded landing page.
Set up landing page templates in HubSpot
Select “create a landing page from a starter template” – Hubspot has a number of starter templates to get you started, select the one that best suits your offer.
Next, update your design panel – Once you select a template, navigate to the design panel and set your styles.
Now you are ready to start adding imagery and text! Here are some design tips:
- Keep it simple – Landing pages should be quick to use and easy to understand.
- Make it responsive – By default, HubSpot landing pages are responsive. However, we still recommend reviewing your page on mobile devices to ensure what you have designed on your desktop responds well for mobile engagement.
- Use color and contrast to create clear headlines and calls to action – Make sure that these items speak to the value you’re looking to convey and create a sense of urgency.
- Select relevant imagery – The right images and videos will help persuade visitors to act on the call to action. A great image helps tell the story, demonstrates the product effectively, and creates a personal connection with visitors.
- Make sure images are relevant to the context of the user to show them you know who they are. This will help drive a connection at an emotional level, which will drive further action and conversion.
- People typically make their decisions at an emotional and subconscious level, so select thoughtfully.
- People connect with imagery before the text. Thus, it’s important to use high-quality images; bad, low-quality images can hurt credibility and trustworthiness.
- Using friendly-looking, real people (not stock, formulaic images). People connect with real people, not models positioned specifically for a photoshoot. If it’s genuine, people are more apt to respond, if it’s too “produced,” people may pass it off as being inauthentic.
- Include imagery of the product or offering – This gives the visitor a better understanding of what they are getting.
What if I don’t have a graphic designer?
It’s a good question. The short answer is, don’t fret.
If you don’t have a graphic designer in-house, you needn’t worry. You’re not alone in this. It’s not hard to become your own designer (or, if you’re strapped, we can always help…). You can set up a Canva account and use the new HubSpot/Canva integration tool to create compelling images for your pages. Once you have a Canva account, here is how to utilize it:
- Click on the image you want to replace, and select “Replace” (apt, we know…) to bring up the image panel. From there, select “Design with Canva.”
- Click on the size that best matches the image you are replacing to launch Canva. From here you can create a custom graphic or search their photo collection.
- Once you are all set with your image, click save to add your image to your landing page.
In place of an image, you could also use video. Use a short product description video to better explain your product while keeping the text on your page short. Some things to consider:
- Video often leads to more conversions on landing pages.
- Video keeps people engaged and on-page longer.
Don’t forget the thank you page…
It seems silly, but it happens. Any landing page that is indeed a landing page needs a thank you page as an immediate follow-up to a user completing a conversion. This makes them feel at ease knowing that you know they’ve taken a desired action and that you’ve presented them with what they can expect next. And, like everything else we’ve been harping on in this post, the thank you page, from a design perspective should visually feel like they haven’t left the landing page at all (hello style guide). Poor design will make it feel disjointed and leave the user with a feeling of distrust. Keep them happy. Keep them comfortable. Keep them engaged.
A great thank you page should include a short message and link to other relevant offerings to keep them engaged with your content.
- Include website navigation so people can easily get back into your site or at minimum have your logo link to your website.
- Include links for sharing the original offer.
At the end of the day, comfort equals conversions. You exude that comfort in a design that makes the user feel like they’re at home, or, in whatever zone they’re expecting with their respective experience. If the design is sound, and your messaging is on point, you’re going to lead that user right through to conversion, and with that, a new, qualified lead is born.
