"This photo is a ninja design trick, read on below to discover what it is..."

With my morning cup of coffee in one hand and my other hand furiously scrolling and typing away searching for Today’s news… I came across this headline on CNN.

“Obama Announces Re-Election Bid”

Because I’m such a Political nerd, I clicked away to keep myself informed.  The article mentions his website, so I followed the breadcrumb to his launch site and found a Grade A example of a landing page/launch page.  If you’d like to steal some of Barack Obama’s multi-million dollar marketing team—read on.

Barack Obama’s Marketing Critique…

Because we’re constantly asking our clients to strip away a lot of the useless links and junk on their sites… we thought we’d give clients and friends an overview of a successful product page.  And, don’t make the mistake of thinking Barack Obama isn’t a product… he is.  And his team is doing a great job of selling it.

Below are some highlights of his page and some areas for improvement.

The Home Page…

The landing page for the Barack Obama 2012 Re-Election Campaign is VERY good.  But lets take a closer look at all of the individual elements and put them through a critique.  Underneath each individual screenshot you can find an explanation of each element that’s highlighted.

Green is for Great.

Red is for Improve/Do Better.

The Header…

When you get to the site, the header makes it clear there are only two things the Obama campaign wants you to do.

1. Get Involved. Meaning spread the word or volunteer.
2. Gimme yo’ money!!!

There’s no wishy-washy other stuff…it’s clear and concise.  They’re not over-loading the reader with a bunch of options.  You know what you’re supposed to do.

The mistake most people make is trying to make their logo the highlight of their page.  Nobody cares about your logo!  They care about either solving their problem or getting more information.  Make it easy for them.  And the Obama Marketing Machine does it well!

The Main Content Area…

In the main content area there are a couple of mistakes and a couple of things they did really well…

1. The headline area font is a little small.  This is your opportunity to quickly and easily grab attention and tell the reader what to do.  Increase the font size, because right now it’s getting a little lost on the page.
2. “Are you in?” – That’s a weak call to action.  We know the CTA is an extension of the headline above but because few people will read the headline, the call to action is weak.  What am I in for?  Is the question most people would be asking themselves.  It’s subtle, but remember we don’t want people thinking too much when they get to our pages.  And this subtle thing is a hiccup on the page.
3. Connecting on Facebook is an excellent option.  Over 500 Million people are connecting there… so it’s a smart option to give people.  And in 2008 with the help of the people at Facebook.  Obama leveraged its power brilliantly!
4. The use of a YouTube video is smart, savvy and ninja.  Here’s why.  A lot of people want to use their own special video player so they can more closely control the look and feel of the video.  But on a landing page like this, it’s a mistake.  When you’re going to be driving a lot of traffic to your site, use the viral nature of YouTube to help spread the word.  When you use YouTube and the views start to climb, you’re increasing the chance that the video will be either:
   1. Featured on the YouTube home page,
   2. Found in Google search results for the keyword/search terms relevant to your page or site,
   3. Increasing the social proof on the web, because your video has so many views and it must be important, relevant and trusted.

Overall, the main content page is good. But not great.

The Footer and Navigation…

This is another area the campaign nailed it.

1. You’ll notice the navigation for the site is at the BOTTOM of the main content area. NOT at the TOP.  This is because the first thing they want you to do is either, Donate, Get Involved or Connect with email or Facebook.  Moving the navigation to the bottom increases the chance for that to happen.
2. Adding the Facebook #’s and Twitter follower count icons provides ‘social proof’.  Social proof makes someone feel safe and makes it far more likely a person will click the buttons and connect.
3. The other relevant links that allow a site to be compliant with FTC rules are available, but you’ll notice they’re in a smaller and lighter font.  When we have people visiting our sites we really don’t want them clicking those links because it slows the conversion process.

The Donation Page…

The actual donation page has a lot of great elements but they could add or change a couple things to make it even better.

1. The friendly smiling face of Obama, can make a person feel safe. And his eyes looking to the right is a ninja-design move meant to get you to engage with the most important action on the page. Donate!  People will naturally look at something when the see someone else looking at it.  One thing to note:  On most sales pages or donation pages, when there’s an image of a person, conversions have been higher when the person is looking at you and not away.  This is something I’d be testing.
2. This area should have been colored red.  Why?  Because there are too many donation options.  Too many choices stalls action.  I’d have $10, $50, $1000 and Other.  (I’d also be constantly testing that section to see what works best.)
3. The donating monthly option is fantastic!  Like clockwork Obama wants to siphon money from your account to keep the campaign rolling.  He makes it easy to make that happen, but he could highlight it a little more with a larger font or an arrow.
4. No Navigation!  Notice there are no other links to navigate away from this page.  They’re focusing your attention on the one action they want you to do. DONATE!

The one key missing element on this page that should be present, are trust symbols.  Things like ‘trusted security’ icons ‘honest e-online’ badges.  All of those symbols and badges make a person feel safe that their information is protected, encrypted and free from hackers.

How Would We Rate Obama’s Team?

A Definite ‘A’!

They’ve done so many things right and stripped away all of the stuff most people bloat their sites with.  A superb job.  One thing that makes it easy for them to execute this strategy however is, Celebrity.  Everyone knows who he is… so even with the mistakes made, it wouldn’t hurt conversion that much.  But if you’re unknown to a lot of people, these mistakes could make a huge dent in your conversion rate.

Let us know below if you have any other recommendations for changes or if you disagree with us.

How To Set Up Google +1

Google just launched a new feature that has turned the search game into a social experience. And, once again, they’ve innovated their product to stay on top of the search game.

The Google +1 button is a way for you to show your recommendation for a website, product or resource on the web to the friends and people you connect with online.

Here’s a quick Google overview – http://www.google.com/+1/button/

To get in on the action, here’s a quick tutorial on how to activate it and get in on the +1 game. (Google has a tendency to confuse you with their tutorials. So I’ve stripped away all the nonsense for you and simplified the process.)

Step 1: Log into your Google Account.

Step 2: Go to: http://www.google.com/experimental/

Step 3: Click the “Join this experiment” button.

Step 4: Do a search for something in Google.

Step 5: When you find something you like (I recommend your website, blog or something like that… why not give yourself some +1 love.) Scroll over the +1 button and click it.

Step 6: A pop-up box will appear and you can click the “Create profile and +1″ button or customize how you’d like.

Step 7: Now your friends will see you’ve “+1′d” something when they’re browsing the web.

Googles new feature will add a new element of social engagement to the search game. It’s the equivalent of how the “Like” button changed the content game in 2010.  The social web is changing the behavior of how your clients are purchasing on the web.  I’m far more likely to purchase something when I see friends and people I trust “Liking” and now “+1′ing” something.

I hope this was helpful!

No go sign-up and get your +1 on… http://www.google.com/experimental/

Todd Herman, is the winner of OgilvyOne’s “Search For The World’s Greatest Salesperson” contest and is a Constultant with OgilvyOne. He owns several businesses, including a boutique digital marketing agency – Traffic Bakery.