So it’s no secret: SEO just doesn’t work. People are turned off by keyword heavy webpages that read more like an encyclopedia than a helpful company site. They click the back button. Your website takes a hit. And in the end, your website ranks lower because of your high bounce rate—which makes SEO completely counterintuitive!
Now, you face a new problem. You need to switch gears and start thinking about your customers instead of search engines. But you have a lot on your plate (and not nearly enough hours in the day to get it all done). The thought of implementing a new marketing strategy can be overwhelming and daunting.
Here’s the good news. Human Experience Optimization (HEO) doesn’t just work better than SEO, but it’s also easier to do. No more spending hours researching relevant long-term keywords. No more paying for keyword search apps to find opportunities for ranking. No more plugging keywords into every blog, webpage, and social media post you create.
All you have to do is follow the 5 simple steps below to create an experience that will leave customers delighted and begging for more!
5 Ways To Incorporate HEO Into Your Marketing Strategy
Create A User-Friendly Website
SEO starts with your website, and HEO is the same way. Your website is where customers get to know who you are. Within one minute of scrolling through your pages, a potential customer will have determined: 1). whether you’re a company they want to work with, and 2). whether working with you will be worth the time and effort.
So, clearly, you have to make your website pretty incredible to keep them hooked! And that’s where storytelling marketing comes in. You’ve probably heard us talk about the StoryBrand Methodology once or twice (or a million times). That’s because we have personally seen success using the 7-part framework, both for our customers and ROI Online.
StoryBrand is all about creating a story with your content where your customer is the hero. It’s about highlighting the problems they’re facing and how those problems make them feel. It’s about creating solutions to fix those problems, emphazing your empathy and authority, and breaking down the positive outcome of using those solutions as clearly as possible.
Here’s an example of a StoryBrand site:
By implementing StoryBrand or another story-oriented approach to your website, you create a comfortable and engaging user experience for your customers. Now, all you have to do is pair that great content with simple, easy-to-navigate web design.
For more on how to use clear messaging to grow your bottom line, be sure to check out Steve Brown's book, The Golden Toilet.
Marketing Automation
Once your website is good to go, it’s time to focus on your marketing. Most of your interactions with customers may occur on your website, but with marketing automation, you can create a continuously positive customer experience from first visit to purchase.
Many business owners don’t have any form of marketing automation, thinking it’s either too much work to create or too expensive to manage. But the results you’ll get from marketing automation are well worth the investment.
Marketing automation helps leads find the info they need without any work from your end. It involves automated lead nurturing email series, videos with automatic CTAs, targeted social media posts, and more.
The biggest benefit of marketing automation is that it continues to build a relationship with potential customers. It nurtures them until they’re ready to buy, whether that may be in a week or in 6 weeks.
StoryBrand is an expert at marketing automation. Whether you enroll in the course, purchase the book online, or download any content from their site, you’ll be automatically entered into an email series like this one:
Of course each email is StoryBranded, so it’s also specifically designed to appeal to your unique pain points. In this case, my desire to teach business owners how to apply StoryBrand themselves!
Seamless Sales Experience
Speaking of buying, your sales process is just as important (if not MORE important) than your marketing strategy. If your customers have an incredible marketing experience and then get thrown into a jumbled, disorganized sales process, they’re probably not going to stay warm leads for long.
While the purpose of marketing is to attract customers to your business, the purpose of sales is to help the lead understand what working with you would be like. If your sales is lacking, that leaves a bad impression on your entire business.
Sales automation is one of the best things you can do to patch holes in a weak sales department. By utilizing the functionality of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool like HubSpot’s free CRM, you can record each and every sales meeting, enroll customers into sales sequences for deeper nurturing, and sort your leads.
Just be sure all your sales team uses the same StoryBrand messaging as your marketing department. This will ensure a consistent, seamless transition from one to the other.
Campaigns
Sometimes, customers aren’t ready to buy something from you. Sometimes, they need more help with their problem before they’re ready to make a purchasing decision.
That’s where campaigns comes in. With a campaign, you’ll give potential customers free content (like a helpful infographic or detailed guide) in exchange for their email address. They feel they have received beneficial content without giving much in return, which will make them more appreciative of your help.
Campaigns provide them with beneficial content for free and then introduce other aspects of your business in follow-up email. The best part? Campaigns give you the opportunity to enroll cool leads in marketing automation like lead nurturing email sequences, so you can build up a relationship and encourage them to buy your product or service.
Here’s an example of how one small business uses campaigns:
Last but certainly not least, an easy way to ensure your strategy is HEO friendly is to include plenty of videos. Videos are not only the preferred format for customers, but it’s also a more effective way to share your story. Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video (instead of the 10% retained from reading text).
Additionally, videos are a great way to humanize your content. By filming a short video of yourself or your team, you give your company a face. This can make your brand more relatable and likable (take the Target video below for example).
So where should you use videos? Incorporate them on your website, in emails, and on social media. Consider vlogging as a way to share regular videos and improve your content library. You can then share these videos with customers on other platforms, like YouTube and IGTV.
HEO Without The Stress
When it comes to getting more from your marketing, there’s no better strategy than HEO. Human Experience Optimization allows you to connect with customers on a deeper level, all while encouraging them to take the plunge and buy your product or service. It’s the perfect strategy for big companies and small businesses alike!
If you’re not sure how to work HEO into your business’s strategy, schedule a free strategy session with ROI Online. Together, we’ll look for opportunities to incorporate HEO into your unique business.
Whether you’re interested in training, a marketing strategy, or a complete holistic marketing machine, we’ve got your back.
