User experience (UX) is something that anyone who works in or for a business with a digital touchpoint should have heard of. It’s one of those buzzwords that is loosely thrown around, discussed in meetings, and set as a core goal for the digital, website, and social team.

But what does it mean?

And perhaps more importantly, why is it so important when discussing digital marketing?

What is User Experience (UX)?

User experience considers the way that something is designed and put together, through the eyes of the end user. It takes into account their expectations, needs, and their reason for clicking onto a certain page, and combines it with the intended outcome of the business or website creator.

User experience covers the aesthetics and usability of different design elements, marrying the content and copy with what is going on across the page visually.

Why is UX important in digital marketing?

Think for a moment about the purpose of digital marketing and what it is designed to do.

Digital marketing covers every area of the online and digital world that a business is active in. For example, their social media presence, email marketing activities and of course their website.

UX matters across each of these digital touch-points, because it enables the ability to deliver a cohesive design and aesthetic, a reputable experience, and a compelling journey for users right through to contact or checkout. What’s more, it underpins a brand’s presence with credibility and encourages users to spend more time interacting with the brand, whether that be on their social media profile or their website.

This in turn leads to a higher rate of conversion, or better engagement - depending on your underlying goals and the action you want to encourage.

How does UX impact digital marketing?

Now that you know a little more about UX from a digital marketing perspective, it’s time to break the principles of UX down into the different areas of a customer or user’s online journey.

Usability

This is arguably the most important role that UX plays in the digital marketing sphere.

To recognise why, imagine for a moment that you land on a website in search for a product or solution, but quickly find that website to be clunky and difficult to use. Are you likely to persevere, or try a competitor?

If you fall into the latter category of user, then you’re not alone - with a difficult user experience driving countless potential customers away from business sites on a daily basis.

Considering UX as you design and build the functional principles of the online journey is crucial. You want platforms to be consistent in messaging, with a seamless transition between social and your website, and plenty of value spanning everything from emails to web copy.

As part of this, it’s important to focus on:

• Accessibility of information across a site or online webpage
• Loading speed (refer back to Google’s Core Web Vitals for more information on this!)
• Design decisions which impact usability, e.g., font and colour
• The customer journey through a site

Content

Of course, any and every digital presence relies on content to keep it afloat. And if Instagram and other social platforms have taught us anything, it’s that content needn’t simply be flat copy and blog posts.

Videos, imagery, and other forms of content are all becoming increasingly compelling among audiences and consumers, as they use and rely on User-Generated Content and real videos as a means of getting to know both the brand and the product or service on offer.

Under the umbrella of UX, content needs to be digestible and easy to read, backed by an SEO strategy which connects it directly with the user’s needs.

Action

Finally, the main purpose of digital marketing is to drive customers and interest in your brand - which is where action comes in.

Believe it or not, every page on your website and every touchpoint in your customer’s online journey has an action attached to it - whether that be to click and find out more, continue browsing, or complete a purchase.

From a UX perspective, specific actions need to be made obvious and easy to access. This means carefully considering the placement and design of CTA buttons, and creating copy which is compelling and encourages users to continue their online journey.

How to enhance your UX approach to digital marketing

Suffice to say, digital marketing and UX are intrinsically linked - but what changes do you need to make to optimise the experience of users across your digital touch-points?

Well, that’s where Social Loop comes in. Whether it’s improving the design and curation of your social posts or completely overhauling your website, we will work alongside you and your team to identify UX obstacles and fix them.

Get in touch today for more information on all our services.