When to use short copy vs. when to use long copy

And the winner is …… *drum roll please* …… Both.

MarketingExperiements analyzed hundreds of landing pages and found that both bite-sized copy bits and longer, detailed copy could be equally as effective — but it all depends on the business you’re in.

Short copy was most effective when customers perceived a low level of commitment.  In other words:  if they didn’t have to shell out a lot of money to get the product, then short, high-impact company worked best.  So if you’re selling a product that people buy rather impulsively — like concert tickets or coffee, for instance — short is the way to go.

But if you sell a product or service that is “need-oriented” (vs. “want-oriented”), longer is better.  And that should make sense to you.  Just think back to the last time you made a truly important purchase like a home, a car, or life insurance.  When you’re shopping for something so important — something that’ll set you back a pretty penny — you need to be 100% certain you’re choosing the best option.  And to do that, you need a lot more information.

You might feel squeamish about including more text on your home page because you’ve surely heard that internet users are impatient and don’t want to read a lot.  And that’s certainly true.  But MarketingExperiements has just given you permission to go into a little more detail if you need to.

If your business is the kind that could benefit from having a bit more text on its home page, there’s a way to work it in that extra copy that won’t overwhelm your customers.  For more information on how to do that, check out my page on landing page optimization.

Most common Facebook for Business Post Types

Are using your business Facebook page effectively?  According to SocialBakers.com, you’re probably not.

In a recent study, social media analytic website SocialBakers.com looked at the top 100 Facebook for business pages to see how companies were engaging with customers.  They started by analyzing the most common Facebook for business post types.  What they found was that companies were relying on link posts as a way to interact with customers.  If you look at the chart above, you’ll see that companies are posting thousands of links per day.  Photos are the second most common type of Facebook for business post — and they are a distant second.

Which is a problem.

Because SocialBakers also determined that links are the least effective type of post for your business Facebook page.  Why?  Because they don’t engage customers — which is the whole point of having a business Facebook page.  It’s not enough simply to be present on Facebook.  If you want it to be an effective marketing tool, you have to use it to create a dialogue with your customer.  That dialogue fosters a sense of community and, as a result, real brand loyalty.

If you’re a business with a Facebook page, you want to create posts that get your customers to engage with you by hitting “like” and commenting.  Take a look at this second chart from the SocialBakers study, and you’ll see which types of posts get the most “likes” and comments:

Most engaging business Facebook post types

When it comes to engaging Facebook users, it seems that photo albums — not just one photo, but several — are the way to go.  Status updates and videos are also effective Facebook for business post types.

Now that you know what you *should* post on your business Facbeook page, take a look at what you shouldn’t be posting (at least not quite so much, anyway):  links.  They came in dead last in terms of marketing effectiveness.  This chart of user engagement shows that if you’re spending your days posting links to your business Facebook page, you’re not doing yourself any favors.