Connecting online.
Are you really worth the energy it takes to click?
We have plenty of art director friends who strongly encourage us to limit copy in print ads. And they have a legitimate reason:
“You don’t have to tell everything in the ad. Just direct the reader to the website,” they tell us soothingly, often in a tone reserved for hard-to-train puppies. “Your job is now easier.”
Hmm.
But what happens when the ad readers do go to the website? Is there content available there that completes the interaction started by the ad? Is it truly worth the reader’s time to visit the website, and does the website lead the reader onward to a relationship or sale?
That’s where the job of copywriting (and art direction) hasn’t gotten easier. The website is now an extra step in the communications process. And boy, is it hungry.
As communications professionals, we used to feel that much of our job was done once a prospect had made the decision to contact a company. After all, the goal of the ad, news story, or other communications piece was to generate interest, and once the prospect was in the hands of the sales force, it was up to the sales staff to complete the transaction.
Now, research shows that over 70% of initial meaningful contacts with an organization or product come through its website. Before prospects will make direct contact with your people, they’ll see what you have to say online.
Are you really worth the energy it takes to click?
We have plenty of art director friends who strongly encourage us to limit copy in print ads. And they have a legitimate reason:
“You don’t have to tell everything in the ad. Just direct the reader to the website,” they tell us soothingly, often in a tone reserved for hard-to-train puppies. “Your job is now easier.”
Hmm.
But what happens when the ad readers do go to the website? Is there content available there that completes the interaction started by the ad? Is it truly worth the reader’s time to visit the website, and does the website lead the reader onward to a relationship or sale?
That’s where the job of copywriting (and art direction) hasn’t gotten easier. The website is now an extra step in the communications process. And boy, is it hungry.
As communications professionals, we used to feel that much of our job was done once a prospect had made the decision to contact a company. After all, the goal of the ad, news story, or other communications piece was to generate interest, and once the prospect was in the hands of the sales force, it was up to the sales staff to complete the transaction.
Now, research shows that over 70% of initial meaningful contacts with an organization or product come through its website. Before prospects will make direct contact with your people, they’ll see what you have to say online.
Read more at http://www.brainposse.com/.