The sad plight of the polar bear population is likely the result of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions, but as online marketers, we can do our part to improve the livelihood of polar bears in the North Pole.
I know... you're probably thinking, "I'm a marketer, not a wildlife biologist!" But as an online marketer, you have great power. You can launch online campaigns that reach people across the globe, from Australia to Japan. Your ads can show up on the right rail of Google within minutes. You can make friends on Facebook. Tweet on Twitter. And, to save the Polar Bears, you can send people to Polar Bear landing pages that focus on:
*Getting donations
*Spreading the word about the state of the polar bears
This is actually quite easy to do, especially if you are using LiveBall.
Donation focused landing pages
Your donation focused landing pages should follow conversion focused best practices.
They should:
1) Appeal to a wide variety of audiences.
This is easy to do with post-click segmentation. While most people can't resist a picture of a cute polar bear, it's not always easy to get people to part with their money. You need to convince them to donate. Speak to them directly. Trigger their emotions. If you segment them, you will.
2) Not contain too much copy.
Use powerful headlines and minimal body text. Only include what's necessary. Don't bore them. The more work you give them to do, they less likely they will be to donate.
3) Be path based and not limited to one page.
If you include a donation form on the initial landing page, you'll most likely turn off people who click on your ads or links. Slowly reel them in. Toy with their emotions. Give them little bits of persuasion on each page of your experience — not too much at once. Finally, on the donation page, include very simple facts about the declining polar bear population.
4) Include rich imagery and be engaging.
See the picture to the below. Enough said.
Message-spreading focused landing pages
Your message-spreading focused landing pages will differ from your donation focused landing pages, or you can merge them with conversion focused landing pages to deploy powerful, Landing Page 2.0 marketing machines.
1) Include social networking features on your landing pages.
Have you ever met an animal rights activist or a member of PETA? Wow — they're passionate! And that's passion that can easily extend to your landing pages, especially once Facebook Connect & Friend Connect are released. Just imagine Alicia Silverstone communicating on your Save the Polar Bear landing page or forwarding it to all of her friends.
2) Include rich Flash video.
How about a short, engaging video about the current state of the polar bears? You can easily pull one in from YouTube or create one of your own. Videos get IMed, posted, and forwarded more than any other form of online media. (Okay, I don't know that for a fact, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's true.)
If you do decide to donate your marketing genius to the polar bear cause and need help launching your landing pages, give me a call. I'd be glad to help you get started!
-Megan Leap
