DaveTurbide.com

June 2010

Remember the bad old days of the dot-com bubble when the big idea was to deliver “eyeballs”? Lots of companies launched websites and eagerly counted “hits” until the advertisers realized that having their image on the user’s screen does not mean that they have made a connection. Dot-coms that couldn’t deliver “clicks” quickly faded away.

While visibility for its own sake is valuable in building brand awareness, it takes a connection to turn a suspect into a prospect. How do you get that connection? You have to capture the viewer’s attention. Some companies have been successful using outrageous images or statements. But that doesn’t work well in the technical / business world. What you need in business systems and software is to touch an area or an issue that the viewer is interested in.

One strategy is to focus on “pain points” – let the viewer know that you understand the problem and, presumably, know how to ease that pain. Similarly, hitting on an issue that is likely to become a pain point in the near future (carbon footprint, responsible disposal) can be just as effective.  Another strategy is to discuss an issue that is of interest – a new technology like cloud computing, for example, that the viewer wants to know more about.

In any case, you first have to establish credibility – why should the viewer spend time reading what you have to say? You can do that, to some extent, with name recognition (these guys know the xxxx industry, so they know what they’re talking about). You can do it by association – get a “name” expert to help deliver your message.  All the better if your message is truly of value to the viewer and not just a sales pitch in disguise.

A point that captures the viewer’s attention, from a credible source – that’s the key to turning hits into clicks and suspects into prospects.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 9:38 am.