In previous columns, we’ve explored the steps you can take to engage your website visitors on your home page, move them through your portfolio and bring them to your contact page.
I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that getting visitors to your contact page isn’t the end game. The good news is that this is where the real fun begins.
Let’s say your visitors like what they see and they’re ready to get in touch. They complete your contact form, press submit…drumroll….
“Your form has been successfully submitted”.
The moment they press send is the most excited they are ever going to be about hearing from you and what do you give them?
The standard contact form success message. Snooze.
This is your golden opportunity to not do what everyone else does – to stand out from the crowd.
In fact, this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
It’s time to level up.
THE CONTACT SUCCESS PAGE
First, don’t leave them hanging. Instead, redirect them to a ‘contact success page’ and get creative. How about throwing a little informal video in there?
And I mean informal – a standard webcam and a 30 second welcome is enough to start to build the relationship between your prospective client and the real you. You’re going to meet them eventually, so now is the time to start to reveal a more approachable version of yourself.
A video will also help your clients to feel more at home booking a video call or Skype call with you and cut down on face-to-face consultations.
Be warm and genuine, share something fun, or grab a pet. Most importantly, don’t overthink it or get too technical. Just get it done and get it up there.
Why not add some really useful blog posts that help establish you as an expert? Eg. If you’re a wedding photographer, show them some posts about….wedding planning of course!
Remember, you’re the expert.
You’ve probably been to more weddings in a year than most people attend in their entire lifetime.
And don’t forget to direct them to your social media. If you love Insta, chances are that they love Insta – it’s the perfect place to tempt them with your Instagram feed.
THE MAGIC OF RETARGETING
But wait, there’s more…
Your contact success page is more than just a page. It’s a secret marketing weapon that very few small creative businesses use. In fact, whilst researching the ebook I’m currently writing, I filled out 100 contact forms on photographer websites and not a single one was using it.
You know how you visit some websites to browse their products and a few hours later, you’re being stalked all over social media?
(Yes, dear reader, I bought the Mahabi slippers. They wore me down.)
The secret is Facebook and Instagram retargeting ads.
You might be thinking that retargeting is just for big businesses but you couldn’t be more wrong.
Why?
Firstly, it costs next to nothing because you are only targeting the specific people who have visited your website. You can even narrow it down further to people who have visited a specific page like….you guessed it …. your contact success page.
Imagine filling out someone’s contact page, being redirected to a cool video message and a bunch of helpful blog posts and then, the next day seeing…NOT an ad.
Instead, how about a video showing you doing your thing?
Or maybe a super helpful blog post?
Or a beautiful slideshow of your best work…
That’s right, you can choose to show the very people who have just filled out your contact form any kind of content you choose, just to give them an extra nudge towards choosing you.
It doesn’t have to be salesy. It can be subtle and it can be cool and completely in line with the rest of your brand messaging.
And to do it, all you need is the Facebook pixel installed on your website.
(Of course, the Facebook pixel can do a helluva lot more, but that’s a topic for another time).
And you don’t have to stop there.
How about showing people a specific piece of content, if they read a specific blog post? Or view your gallery?
Remember, you are dealing with a small number of people here, and you are showing those exact people more content, for just a few pence, on both Facebook and Instagram.
Organic reach can’t do this. Even boosted posts can’t do this. Facebook retargeting can do all this and more, for a fraction of the price.
And what better place to start than with your hottest leads – the people who have already filled out your contact form? Who already have you on their mind. Who just needs a little nudge?
READY TO GO BEYOND THE CONTACT FORM?
- Get rid of that default form success message. You know who you are.
- Create a contact success page to redirect your keen-as-mustard prospective clients to.
- Get creative with the contact success page. Make the video. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. It just has to be genuinely you.
- Install the Facebook pixel. Do it now. Even if you have no intention of running Facebook ads immediately, get it in there so it can collect data over time.
- Retarget your website visitors. All of them. Show them different pieces of content on social media, depending on which pages they visit.
- At the very least, please please retarget those very few precious people who have actually filled out your contact form.
Want a free Facebook pixel lesson? Head over to https://thedesignspace.co/pixel-power/
Want to check out some seriously fun Contact Success pages? Take a look at the two below (also pictured above). Now’s the time to have fun creating your own Contact Success page!
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