The Complete Microsites Strategy Guide

Microsites can be a great way to promote and sell your products or services online. They offer a concise, focused message that can be easily shared with potential customers. However, creating an effective microsite takes more than just putting up a few pages on the web. You need to carefully consider your microsite's purpose, design, and content in order to create a successful marketing tool.

The Complete Microsites Strategy Guide will walk you through the process of creating an effective microsite, from planning and designing your site to writing compelling content and driving traffic to your site. By following the tips and advice in this guide, you'll be able to create a microsite that achieves your marketing goals and helps you boost sales. So let's get started!

What is a Microsite?

A microsite is a website that is typically used to promote a specific product, campaign, or event. A microsite is typically smaller in scope and scale than an organization's main website and is usually created for a short-term purpose.

Organizations often use microsites to support marketing campaigns. For example, a company might launch a microsite to coincide with a new product release. The microsite would likely include information about the product and opportunities for visitors to learn more or purchase the product.

Microsites can also be used for events. For example, many conferences and festivals have their own microsites that provide event information and allow visitors to purchase tickets.

Overall, microsites are flexible tools that can be used for a variety of purposes. They can help organizations promote their products, campaigns, and events when used effectively.

What's the difference between a Microsite and a Website?

When people hear the term "microsite," they often think of a website that is smaller or less important than an organization's main website. However, a microsite can be any size and can serve any purpose. The only difference between a microsite and a website is that a microsite is typically used for a specific purpose, whereas a website might be more general in nature.

For example, an organization's main website might contain general information about the company, its products, and its services. A microsite might be created to promote a specific product or campaign. The microsite would likely include information about the product or campaign and how to purchase or get involved.

In short, all microsites are websites, but not all websites are microsites.

Why create a Microsite?

There are many reasons why an organization might choose to create a microsite. Typically, microsites are created to support marketing campaigns or events.

Organizations can use microsites to promote their products, campaigns, and events in a number of ways. Microsites can help increase brand awareness and drive traffic to an organization's main website. Additionally, microsites can be used to generate leads and sales.

Microsites can also be used to collect data about potential customers. For example, a company might use a microsite to host a contest or survey. The data collected from the contest or survey can then be used to better understand the needs and wants of potential customers.

Ultimately, microsites are versatile tools that can be used to achieve a variety of marketing objectives. When used effectively, microsites can help organizations promote their products, campaigns, and events.

Planning your Microsite

Before creating a microsite, it is important to plan your goals and objectives. What do you hope to achieve with your microsite? Who is your target audience? What type of content will you include on your microsite?

Answering these questions can help you determine the purpose of your microsite and what type of content you should include. Once you have a clear understanding of your goals and objectives, you can begin planning your microsite.

Some things to keep in mind when planning your microsite include:

- Your domain name: Choose a domain name that is short, memorable, and relevant to your brand.

- Your hosting provider: Make sure to choose a reliable hosting provider that can support the traffic your microsite is likely to receive.

- Your content: Plan the content for your microsite carefully. Include only the most relevant and essential information.

Creating a microsite can be a lot of work, but careful planning can help make the process easier. By taking the time to plan your goals and objectives, you can ensure that your microsite is successful.

Designing your Microsite

Once you have planned your microsite, it's time to start designing it. The design of your microsite should be clean and simple. Remember, less is more. You want visitors to be able to find what they're looking for quickly and easily.

Some things to keep in mind when designing your microsite include:

- Navigation: Make sure your navigation is clear and easy to use. Visitors should be able to find what they're looking for quickly and easily.

- visuals: Use visuals sparingly. Too many visuals can make your microsite look cluttered and confusing. Instead, focus on using a few high-quality images that support your content.

- content: Keep your content concise and easy to read. Remember, less is more. Include only the most essential information on your microsite.

By keeping these things in mind, you can ensure that your microsite is designed effectively.

Lumavate specializes in creating easy-to-use digital experiences for the modern consumer. We understand that your microsite is an important part of your marketing strategy. With our help, you can have a microsite that is both effective and easy to use. Click here to learn more about our hundreds of microsite designs.

Writing Content for your Microsite

Once you have designed your microsite, it's time to start writing content. When writing content for your microsite, it is important to keep your target audience in mind. What type of information are they looking for? How can you help them?

Some things to keep in mind when writing content for your microsite include:

- Keep it concise: Remember, less is more. Include only the most essential information on your microsite.

- Use keywords wisely: Keywords can help improve your microsite's search engine optimization (SEO). However, too many keywords can make your content sound unnatural and difficult to read. Use keywords sparingly and make sure they flow naturally with your content.

- Write for your audience: Keep your target audience in mind when writing content for your microsite. What type of information are they looking for? How can you help them?

By keeping these things in mind, you can ensure that your content is effective.

Promoting your Microsite

There are a few key things to keep in mind when promoting your microsite:

-Make sure the URL is easy to remember and share

-Optimize your site for search engines

-Include social media sharing buttons

-Promote your microsite through your existing marketing channels

Assuming you have a well-designed and functional microsite, the URL should be the first thing you promote. Make sure it is short, sweet, and easy to remember. If possible, include relevant keywords in the URL to help with search engine optimization.

After the URL, focus on making sure your microsite is optimized for search engines. This means including relevant keywords throughout the content, using descriptive titles and tags, and creating backlinks to your site.

In order to make it easy for people to share your microsite on social media, be sure to include social media sharing buttons on each page. This will allow visitors to quickly and easily share your site with their networks.

Finally, promote your microsite through your existing marketing channels. This could include email marketing, paid advertising, or even just mentioning the site in passing during conversations. The more you get the word out there, the more traffic your microsite will receive.

Measuring the Success of your Microsite

There are a few key things to keep in mind when measuring the success of your microsite:

- Traffic: How many people are visiting your site?

- Engagement: How long are visitors spending on your site? Are they taking advantage of the call-to-actions (CTAs)?

- Conversions: Are visitors taking the desired action?

If you're not sure how to measure these things, there are a number of tools available that can help. Google Analytics is a free tool that can be used to track traffic and engagement metrics. For conversions, you'll need to set up conversion tracking. This can be done through Google Analytics or other similar tools.

By tracking these metrics, you can get a good idea of how well your microsite is performing. If you're not seeing the results you want, don't be afraid to make changes and try again.

What NOT to do in your Microsite Strategy

When you're planning your microsite strategy, there are a few things you definitely don't want to do. Here are four big no-nos:

1. Don't neglect your existing website. Just because you're creating a microsite doesn't mean you can forget about your main website. Make sure you keep your main site updated with fresh content and that it's still optimized for search engines.
2. Don't underestimate the power of SEO. Just because a microsite is a smaller and less complex than the main website doesn't mean you can skimp on SEO. In fact, it's even more important to make sure your microsite is well-optimized so that it can be easily found by your target audience.
3. Don't forget about your brand. A microsite is a great opportunity to promote your brand and get more exposure for your business. Make sure your microsite reflects your brand identity and that it's consistent with the rest of your marketing materials.
4. Don't launch without a plan. launching a microsite without a well-thought-out strategy is a recipe for disaster. Before you launch, make sure you know your goals and how you will measure success. Then create a detailed plan for promoting and maintaining your microsite.

Following these tips will help you avoid common pitfalls and set you up for success with your microsite strategy.

Examples of Microsites that work

Here are three examples of microsites that have been successfully used to promote businesses and drive conversions:

1. Airbnb's "Night At" campaign
2. Virgin America's "Elevate" campaign
3. Nike's "Unlimited You" campaign

Airbnb's "Night At" campaign was a great example of using a microsite to create buzz and generate publicity. The campaign invited people to enter for a chance to win a one-night stay in some of the most iconic locations around the world, like the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China.

Virgin America's "Elevate" campaign was a loyalty program that rewarded customers with points for every dollar they spent on Virgin America flights. The points could then be redeemed for free flights, upgrades, and other perks.

Nike's "Unlimited You" campaign was a microsite that invited people to share their stories of overcoming adversity. The site featured a series of inspiring stories from real people, along with Nike products that could help people achieve their goals.

These are just a few examples of how microsites can be used to promote businesses and drive conversions. If you're looking for some inspiration for your own microsite, these examples are a great place to start.

Start your Microsite Strategy with Lumavate

Now that you know everything there is to know about microsites, it's time to start planning your strategy. Lumavate is the perfect platform for building and launching a microsite. With our drag-and-drop builder, you can create a beautiful microsite in no time without any coding required.

Plus, our built-in marketing tools make it easy to promote your microsite and drive traffic to it. Ready to get started? Request a demo today and see how Lumavate can help you achieve your marketing goals.