How to Pitch to Gen Y
This is not another post pushing the multi-tiered approach to content merchandising. Really. But, we are going to point out a few good reasons to tailor your content to your platform (and your audience).
Over at The Outsourcing Company, Zeke Camusio shares some insight from a Gen Y outlook for baby boomers trying to sell their products to younger crowds. One of his tips: be environmentally conscious. It turns out that we who will inherit the Earth are, as a group, pretty invested in making sure it’s not entirely ravaged by the time we do. Authenticity is important here; you’ll benefit from doing more than simply tacking on a statement about your recycled packaging.
Read his other tips at theoutsourcingcompany.com.
Sometimes, Wordy Works
General wisdom for online content holds that shorter is better, that you have about five seconds to grab consumer attention, and that no one will stick around to read long paragraphs of text. This is all true. However, don’t throw out your built-up pool of content just yet. The weblog Signal vs. Noise presents an experiment by Highrise as an example of highly successful long form content. When you read through Highrise’s (quite lengthy) test page, note the liberal use of bullet points, bold and colored font, headings, and benefit lists. They presented either this long page or their original short page to over 42,000 visitors, and noticed an impressive 37.5 percent conversion rate increase with the long one. Quality can trump length when it comes to content.
Check out their successful design at 37signals.com.
Social Networks Really Do Influence Purchasing Choices
If you thought you’d get away without reading something about social media today, think again. But it’s worth pointing out a recent study, as reported by Internet Retailer, that found roughly half of online consumers look to social networks for product information, advice, and discussions before making purchases (24 percent claimed to have made a purchase based directly on social media content). Although the bulk of those interactions are C2C, businesses can (and should) take care with how they present themselves and their product information on social media sites.
Read more of the study’s findings at internetretailer.com.
