Community Pages and Good Landing Pages

Interactive Business Landing Pages
Interactive sales and marketing strategies were a development of the late 1970's when marketing professionals looked for ways to increase sales through crossover and overlapping business services and products. Enter online marketing and a new world of marketing strategies developed. When blogging became a popular means of interactive communication, what followed were businesses creating interactive community pages within their business blogs. The idea was to incite enough interest in products and services to elicit a more immediate response from blog viewers and increase sales. But, business blogs often create competition with business landing pages. Business landing pages should contain all of the necessary information needed to execute a sale. Business blogs on the other hand, could maintain better business relationships with existing customers and encourage repeat sales. Success of business blogs depend on the blog style just as business landing page styles are important. Business is obtained from many sources. Blogs create an insular community that limits expansive marketing strategies. So, the business owner must choose between a chatty style of blog versus an informative business landing page. However, one consideration that shouldn't be overlooked is the value of a business blog with regard to customer referrals and product or service recommendations.

Determining the Use of Landing Pages and Blogs
It's important to think of landing pages as having the purpose of service or product introduction and information, as well as the point of introduction of business. The landing page is necessarily more formal in nature in order to obtain the most useful positioning among competitors. It is akin to a menu from which potential customers survey the offerings and choose which suits needs or preferences most. A business blog has a very different purpose. Therefore, it is afforded more informality than a landing page. There isn't a need for a menu. Rather, there are many options available that allow potential customers to expand on questions not answered in the formal landing page. In addition, prospective customers have the ability with a business blog to comment on services or products with which they have had some experience. The business blog leaves open the ability to compare products or services with competitors. But, for the owner, a business blog can also have merit by way of the opportunity to personalize staff to blog users and open an avenue of intercommunication prior to an actual sale. This is a means of establishing good will. Look closely at both types of interactive communications and determine which needs refinement and adjustment to compliment each other and achieve compatibility. Make sure the landing page introduces products and services. But, leave a bit of interest in the landing page that will activate interest in the business blog. It needn't be a case of "either/or".

Update, Update, Update
If there is one problem with landing pages, it's lack of proper and consistent updating. Viewers will spot "old" information immediately. Refresh the landing page so that it doesn't take on a patina of "age". This is also true of business blogs. Keep all information accurate and up-to-date. Nothing is more annoying to users than outdated information. Lack of updating may hinder potential sales, a worst-case scenario for any business. This includes any changes in staff, product line or service offerings and especially, contact information.