As the digital landscape continues to evolve, businesses must adapt their marketing strategies to effectively reach their target audience and drive better sales.
Two key tools to consider are microsites and landing pages. Both serve different purposes and have unique advantages, but which one is right for your business? In this article, we'll explore the key differences between microsites and landing pages, and help you determine the best approach for maximising sales.
What is a microsite?
A microsite is a small website or web page that’s used to promote its products, services, digital marketing campaigns, events and beyond.
It’s got a unique domain and acts like a standalone page for the brand. It's also built separately from the website with its own URL.
Even though it’s associated with a company's main website, microsites can have their own branding, a totally different way of talking, and even a different way of getting around the site depending on which platform you use to make it.
It usually consists of a bunch of pages (or sometimes just one page) that have a specific goal in mind. You'll usually find stuff like contact details, links to the main website, and other info related to that one thing.
They make for powerful interactive and distinctive experiences for the audience, promoting brand awareness, recognition, and customer loyalty.
And, they’re a great way to interact with your audience to make a real (and personable) impression.
What are microsites used for?
Microsites enable users to interact with your brand in a more engaging way.
Marketing campaigns
Make campaigns that are specific to your target audience. This will create a personalised experience for users and make them more interested in your brand.
Product launches
Support launches by sharing more details, interactive opportunities, and allowing customers to pre-order.
Sales
This is a website where salespeople can work together to show possible buyers how good their products are by sharing information, recommendations, and examples of how others have used them.
Events
Give details about events like conferences, trade shows, and webinars. Also, get potential customers interested and make sure they come.
Surveys
Collect feedback from customers through surveys to improve products and services and get a better understanding of customer needs and preferences.
Quizzes
Make enjoyable and engaging quizzes that assess users' understanding and teach them about a brand or product.
Videos
Share videos or live events that show products, services, and customer reviews. Also, give customers more information and resources.
What is a landing page?
A landing page is a special webpage designed to persuade people to take a specific action, like subscribing to a newsletter, downloading an ebook, or trying a product.
It’s not connected to the rest of your website, and you can usually only get to it by clicking on a link, banner ad, or search engine result.
The main idea behind using a landing page is to hook people who click the link into giving you their contact information through a lead-capture form or signing up for your product or service.
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To make a good landing page, be direct and tell visitors exactly what you want them to do. Have a clear call to action.
A landing page can make it much more likely that people will do what you want them to. That's because landing pages don't have things that can get in the way, like menus or pop-ups that ask you to sign up for a newsletter. If you make your landing page look good, you can get more people interested and maybe even get some new leads.
What are landing pages used for?
So, the whole point of a landing page is to take visitors and turn them into leads. That way, you can build up a list of people who are interested in what you have to offer.
And, once you have that list, you can target those leads with personalised marketing campaigns… Like email marketing, paid ads, and other targeted marketing methods.
And, once you've got all the leads you need, you just pass them on over to the sales team. They'll take care of the rest and turn those leads into sales.
Waitlist and sign-ups
To get a sense of how much people are interested in what you're offering, gather names and create a waitlist for your product or service.
E-books or white papers
Attract potential customers by giving them free e-books or white papers. In exchange, ask for their contact information to build a relationship and generate leads.
Email newsletter subscriptions
Collect email addresses and encourage visitors to sign up for the company newsletter. This will keep the business connected with customers and keep them informed about new products, services, and promotions.
Event sign-ups
Promote your event, like a webinar or workshop, by creating a landing page. This is how you can reach your target audience and get them excited.
Offers and free trials
Offer special deals, discounts, or free trials to attract new customers and generate leads for businesses.
App downloads
To get more people to see and download the app, and to collect user info for future marketing.
What's the difference between a microsite and a landing page?
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Collaboration
One of the biggest differences between post-click landing pages and microsites is “collaboration”.
Since the landing page is a public "view only" link, the viewer can't interact with the link host. This is great for ad campaigns or sign-up pages with just one call to action, but not so good for collaborative work among a group of people.
Microsites let both the creator and the viewer engage. In Trumpet, viewers can play with widgets on the page like Calendly, Loom, or check off items on a shared action plan… They can also leave comments for the Pod creator to read!
Navigation options
In the past, landing pages were often just one page without a menu. Now, microsites like Trumpet offer a better user experience by providing more information on multiple pages.
Such as a pricing page - demo video - testimonials and beyond.
Domains
A landing page is a part of a company's website, while a microsite is a separate digital entity that is not part of the main website, but it still links back to it.
Information
Landing pages are simple websites that focus on one main goal, while microsites are more complex and have their own navigation bar. This can make people more engaged as there is more content to explore and interact with.
Maintenance
Microsites and landing pages are easy to maintain, but they often require different things.
A landing page doesn't need much updating because it's a promotional page that doesn't change much. However, a microsite might need to be updated regularly to help people who use it.
Lifetime
Landing pages are usually created for short-term purposes, such as advertising campaigns or product promotions. Microsites, on the other hand, are also created for specific reasons, but they can be used for multiple purposes in the future because they are easy to update with new information and resources.
For example, you could start by using a microsite to for cold outreach to potential buyers. If things go smoothly, you could add extra information to the site—like pricing, proposals, and even onboarding materials.
How do microsites benefit sales teams?
This method can greatly change the sales industry and provide various advantages for sales teams who make microsites for each deal they work on:
Complete control over the sales process
Microsites give sales representatives complete control over the sales process, without needing help from other departments like marketing.
This includes responsibilities such as speaking with buyers, adjusting designs, and sharing materials. Sales representatives have the independence and flexibility to keep deals moving forward when necessary.
No need to brief stakeholders individually
Salespeople often have to repeat information to customers multiple times.
Using a microsite, customers can be redirected to the website for all the necessary information. This frees up salespeople to focus on selling rather than briefing customers.
Total visibility for everyone involved
Instead of sending a PDF presentation to the champion and hoping they share it with the stakeholders and others, which is risky because people are busy and decks get lost in email, the sales team won't even know who’s seen it!
Creating a microsite with all the important information in one place can speed up the deal process. This saves account executives from needing to bother the buyer constantly. When they have a clear view of the deal, they can follow up in a better way.
Helps customers hyper-focus
Using specific content can attract attention and maintain interest among viewers. Sales teams can use microsites to create personalised digital sales spaces that concentrate on the specific deal they are presenting.
For example, using trumpet, the seller can build and personalise a Pod on top of a pre-made template, bull in their buyer's branding and make every single page, and widget entirely about that single buyer.
How does trumpet help sellers?
trumpet is a great tool for managing the whole process of selling to customers, from making first contact to making sure they're happy with what they've bought.
If you want to create microsites that will appeal to your customers and help you sell more, you should try trumpet. It's really easy to use, with lots of design choices and detailed statistics.
With trumpet, you can make, publish, and improve your microsites quickly and effectively, all the way through the sales cycle…
- Cold outreach: Provide a summary of your product, customer reviews, personal voice recordings, and incorporate branding to make the entire experience tailored for that individual prospect.
- Post-demo follow-ups: Summarise the conversation, include the demo recording, create a mutual action plan (success plan or MAP), and answer questions from the meeting.
- Proposals: Create a summary of events for decision-makers and design a page specifically for pricing and commercial information.
- Customer success: Share an onboarding page and include video demos using Loom/Vidyard or YouTube. Also, offer PDF guides and educational resources for users.
Check out some pre-made trumpet Pods to see how its done..
In the end, both microsites and landing pages are super useful tools for businesses to increase engagement, generate leads, and drive sales.
Ultimately, the choice between microsites and landing pages depends on the business's goals and the specific campaign they are running.
