Product Pages and Descriptions

So as we've gone through this course, my hope is that 0:00 you're seeing the possibilities of what UX content can do for you and your users. 0:03 We've looked at examples, talked about strategies, 0:08 and taken a close look at how it works. 0:11 And along the way I've tried to apply my own sparkling personality 0:13 to keep you engaged and highly entertained. 0:17 Well, that same process of introducing a concept, 0:20 breaking it down into easy to understand pieces. 0:24 And helping people understand how they can use it for 0:27 their own purposes, all with a unique and engaging personality. 0:29 This is exactly how you should use UX content to create product and 0:34 service description pages. 0:38 Let's break this down a bit. 0:40 Whether you're promoting an app product or 0:42 service, you need to clearly describe what you've got. 0:44 Validating that your product or service does what the user needs is a basic but 0:48 vital step for a product description. 0:53 I need a 40 watt light bulb. 0:55 Is this a 40 watt light bulb? 0:57 Yes, yes it is. 1:00 But many places use the same tired strategy. 1:01 They come up with a few bullet points that sum up the basic facts. 1:04 But that doesn't help users understand the possibilities. 1:08 There's nothing special there to separate it from the many competitors that 1:12 provide the same solution. 1:15 Here's what I mean. 1:17 If you need some portable file storage but want something unique, 1:19 you might search on Best Buy's website and find this little penguin flash drive. 1:23 Cute little guy, right? 1:28 Well, here's the product description. 1:29 This animal is made out of rubber and 1:32 comes with a cap holder, attachable to the drive with a small, beaded chain. 1:35 So you will never lose the cap! 1:40 This animal USB Drive is both fun and functional. 1:42 Fun and functional, wow. 1:48 It's almost like the product designers thought hey, 1:51 you know what'd be fun, let's make some cute animals out of these flash drives. 1:54 And whoever wrote this copy thought, meh. 1:58 They weren't buying into the experience. 2:02 This animal is made out of rubber and it is both fun and functional. 2:04 Well, if the copywriter can't buy into the experience, the customer won't either. 2:10 Over at ThinkGeek, they are buying into the experience. 2:16 They're selling the Star Trek Next Generation Isolinear Chip USB Drive. 2:20 It's data storage worthy of data, get it? 2:25 Cuz Data was a character on the show. 2:29 Anyway, 8 gigs of USB 2.0 isolinear goodness. 2:31 They could have said storage. 2:36 But no, it's isolinear goodness. 2:39 It doesn't take much to show personality. 2:42 Even using one or 2:45 two specific words can alter the tone from boring to suddenly interesting. 2:46 ThinkGeek expands even more within the full description, but 2:52 the point is clear here. 2:54 They're embracing the experience and using UX content to promote it. 2:56 So can you generate an emotional response with a flash drive description? 3:01 Absolutely, but telling people something is fun isn't how it works. 3:06 Either show it's fun, or create an experience people will react to. 3:11 Remember our little penguin buddy? 3:15 Well, what if they wrote this description instead? 3:17 Hey everyone, say hi to Chippy the Penguin! 3:20 He loves swimming and snuggling next to warm laptops. 3:23 He'll keep your files safe and 3:27 dry and melt the hearts of all your office friends. 3:28 Everyone knows what a flash drive does, but this little guy is unique. 3:32 So have fun with it. 3:36 Whatever you're describing, figure out an angle that's relevant and 3:38 will resonate with your audience. 3:42 Maybe you focus on the cuteness and the fun side or maybe the unrelenting 3:44 reliability or the imaginative creativity or its tasty goodness. 3:47 Use UX content to elevate your descriptions above the boring and 3:53 obvious, and make them memorable and relatable. 3:58 Now when Big Frog tries to attract people to its custom-printed shirt service, 4:02 they know full well there are dozens of alternatives out 4:07 there who do the same thing. 4:10 You submit a design idea. 4:11 They create it and ship it to you. 4:13 The Big Frog uses fun, eye-catching text and visuals to break down their 4:16 service into an easy to understand sequence, one that's relatable. 4:20 As we've mentioned before, 4:25 visuals are excellent at communicating meaning and value. 4:27 And they're vital for describing products and services. 4:31 Use a mix of texts and visuals to tell the story behind your product or service. 4:34 And show how it works and what's possible. 4:39 But what if instead of a few products, you're responsible for 4:43 creating descriptions for hundreds or even thousands? 4:46 Is it feasible to create UX content for every item you sell? 4:50 Well, even when you're offering a large selection of items, 4:54 don't abandon the responsibility of creating a UX around them. 4:57 It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. 5:01 If you know you want to create specific kinds of descriptions, 5:04 it helps to set up a process or rules each time a new product is added. 5:08 Make it a part of your workflow. 5:12 You may find the best you can do is create 5:14 one unique sentence with your own unique flair or personality. 5:16 But that's better than nothing. 5:20 Keeping things simple absolutely works. 5:23 So instead of writing a long back story for 5:26 Chippy the Penguin, you might decide to set a word limit for each description. 5:28 Maybe all you need are ten words. 5:32 Chippy the Penguin will keep your files safe and warm! 5:34 Like we said before, it doesn't take much to create an emotional reaction. 5:38 But by keeping this short, now you've got time to create descriptions for 5:42 all the other products you support. 5:46 So UX content is essential for making product and 5:48 service description pages work. 5:52 Identify the basic details that are relevant to your user and 5:54 create a unique description that sparks a reaction. 5:58 And that way, you can make any item you sell that much more interesting, 6:01 even a flash drive. 6:05 Hey, Chippy, how's it going? 6:09 [SOUND] That's good, okay. 6:10 You wanna go? 6:14 Okay, all right. 6:14 No, no, don't. 6:22