5 Hacks That Use Micro-copy to Your Advantage
Ever wonder how you can make your website more inviting to others? Thinking about ways to constantly be able to make the small things combine into a larger, more enjoyable experience for your visitors? There are plenty of ways to create a friendlier website, but one that is often overlooked is the usage of Micro-copy and how that can impact traffic service. Some companies attempt to focus on catching the active attention of the audience, but not many will attempt to subtly catch the passive attention. For this, Micro-copy usage will give you a great advantage over your competitors, and it’s extremely simple to implement.
To start, let’s talk about what Micro-copying is. Micro-copy is the text that adds color to your website or project. Usually, it’s just a simple text message that states a fact, or something reminding you to put in a message during emails, but there are hundreds of ways you can use these Micro-copy hacks to your advantage. Even though it may not be the most outstanding quality that is seen by visitors or users, it will passively and innately be noticed and make the whole project or website feel more inviting and attractive to users. So, here are just a few ways you can use Micro-copy to your own advantage.
Micro-copy in Contact Information
Want to give your visitors and users a bit of extra information about yourself? Micro-copy is the way to go. Whether it’s at the bottom of your website, or on your front page, adding Micro-copy allows you to give them just a small look into your inviting presence. For instance, look at this page from Lapeze and Johns, a law firm based out of Texas.
This instance of Micro-copy is seen in how they attempt to invite users in by giving them a sense of comfort, stating that they do not need to have an office visit to accomplish their goal and that they have a very quick time frame to return contact the user. This gives a great sense of relief and ease to the user and invites them to continue using their website for their needs.
Make Instructions Fun
Following instructions that are mundane and unoriginal can be boring. Spicing up instructions can make everything a bit easier for your users, and add at least a bit of spice back into their boring routine. It can also allow you to create more vibrant directions for the visitors, as adding some fun Micro-copy can make instructions feel like an adventure through the website. Twitter is a great example of this.
The simple addition of “What’s happening?” in the twitter box makes it feel more like a conversation than a command reminding you how to use their website. Likewise, any simple question or statement can make the website feel more inviting to the user, and engage them in more activity.
More Information, More Traffic
Let’s face it. No one wants to read through absolutely everything on a website. Seeing multiple paragraphs can cause some to turn away, or may just attempt to skim through and pick out key elements that may catch their eyes. For this, Micro-copy is generally great for informing visitors and users of simple things that will cement their belief of using that website or project specifically. This can be seen well from our website.
In the first portion of our website, we already have two great Micro-copy portions, one explaining that we are a trustworthy and an experienced team and another that gives them backing from different sites. Both are distinguishable from the rest of the text, as one is centered and non-bold, and the other is bold after the paragraph, making them eye-catching.
Turn a Negative into a Positive
No matter how much security you attempt to place on your website or project to keep it from crashing, it will generally have a small error here or there that can cause some users immense amounts of grief. To alleviate user frustration after a crash, having something a bit upbeat or funny can keep the users entertained, and make sure that they come back. For instance, Youtube will sometimes attempt to send monkeys to fix your problems.
This is a great way to ease the frustration and pains after a crash. A joke here and there makes it so users are still enjoying the website and experience, and will keep people around for a while.
Make Everything Personal
Using Micro-copy to make everything a bit more human and personal can boost user usage, as well as make them feel as if they are actually interacting with someone and not a robot on the other end. Although it might seem silly, just a few words can be the difference between sounding like a copy-and-pasted website, and a personalized, individual website that stands out from the masses. Our page does a great job of this with just a few simple words.
Here, we use two simple Micro-copy lines that make it feel more inviting and personalized. Asking if one would like to grab a coffee with us, and stating that we are nice people, both have a feel of a human asking these questions, instead of a copy-pasted version of other websites.
These are just a few of the ways that Micro-copy can be used to spice up and create a welcomed atmosphere for users and visitors. To learn a bit more about how to drive traffic and increase ROI for start-ups and businesses, follow us on Twitter & Facebook.
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