What is a CTA?

Consumers are often overwhelmed with posts, ads, and emails prompting them to take some sort of action. In most cases, the goal of these prompts can be anything from collecting contact information, signing up for a newsletter, purchasing a product or service, or sharing original content. However, unless these CTAs, or Calls to Action, are clear and concise, the message can get confusing and lost on the consumer.

Different types of CTAs will serve your goals and engage your audiences differently. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy for CTAs. Just prompting a reader to “click here” will not help you to achieve your various objectives. Simply put, the CTA you create should be representative of the action you’re invoking. So, whether your goal is to educate, engage, sell, challenge, or collect, chances are there’s a strategy that’s right for you. We’re going to take you through five of these goals and help you decide which CTAs might be best for you.

1. Educate: Catching the Reader’s Eye

If the content you put out usually takes the form of articles, videos, or even infographics, your goal is simply to boost reads or watches. Alternately, the product or service you’re selling might need more explaining or context. This can be provided on a separate landing page. Your task now is to get viewers to that page! In this case, a “Learn More” CTA is one way to create an inviting and low-commitment opportunity to get traffic to your site. Other examples of this strategy could be “Read On”, “Watch Video”, or “Discover More.” These will convey a non-risky message and entice the viewer to continue their experience on your page.

2. Connect: Getting Engaged (No, Not Like That!)

Consumer expectations have changed drastically over time, even in the last 10 years. Consumers have higher standards as well as more desire to interact with the companies they patronize. In fact, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for better customer experiences, and 61% of consumers believe that surprise gifts and offers are the best way to engage. If your company has a social presence and is looking to engage with customers, this might be an easy place to start. Creating CTAs that promote certain actions is a great way to offer perks such as giveaways, prizes, and shoutouts in exchange for shares, likes, or comments. This also gets your followers to share your content with other users that may not have heard of you yet!

These CTAs can be very simple and customizable depending on the particular action you are prompting. Examples include “Share”, “Comment Below”, and “Like This Post.” These CTAs would not take the form of buttons or links as the action does not require one to leave the site or app they are on. If you’re looking for an easy way to interact with and please your customers, this is a great place to start.

3. Nurture: Reeling Them In

The first step in building a loyal customer base is converting views into leads, meaning you need the people who see your post or landing page to actually engage, make a purchase, or request more information about a product or service. The goal of generating leads is to warm up potential customers to your company or business and put them in a position to eventually buy. Getting these leads on an email list or getting them to like your social page or channel is usually the first step in this task.

These CTAs should be simple and straightforward, and their low-commitment nature makes them appealing to unsure consumers. “Sign Up”, “Subscribe”, “Connect With Us”, and “Like Our Page” could be some strong options for generating leads. The most popular locations for these CTAs are at the end of a blog post, as a sidebar on a page, or even as a floating banner. If someone is on your page or website, chances are they are considering taking the next step. Creating a strong CTA focused on lead generation could be the difference in gaining a new customer, follower, or subscriber.

4. Purchases: Making the Sale

It’s not a surprise that the objective of a lot of social content is to sell! If you own a business, and that business is on social media, chances are you want to advertise your products and gain new buyers. In this case, your CTAs need to create a need or desire for something and should communicate to someone exactly what kind of value he or she would be receiving.

For example, if you’re advertising a sale or special, you will want your audience to quickly and easily understand that they will be receiving a discount for a specific item. CTAs that could work well here are “Buy Now”, “Claim Offer”, “Get 50% Off”, or any other specific mention of the discount. Depending on the service, driving sales could also look like “Book Now”, “Register”, or “Schedule A Session.” In the end, your potential buyer needs to feel that there is a need for the product and that he or she is getting a great deal by purchasing in that moment.

5. Compel: Challenging and Interacting 

This final objective is possibly the least common, but it is certainly one of the most important for companies looking to truly engage with their audiences. Building a good reputation is important for any business, and one of the best ways to do that is to show happy and satisfied customers. In fact, 72% of consumers say that positive testimonials increase their trust in a business without any other factors weighing in. By challenging consumers to post product-related content, asking for reviews of a product or service, or even hosting a contest, a company can utilize UGC, or User Generated Content, and positive testimonials to build credibility.

Depending on the context, these CTAs can look very different. For instance, if you are seeking testimonials, you may add a “Leave a Review” button at the end of an email or product page. When it comes to UGC, you might prompt consumers to “share a photo” or “tell us how this product helps you.” There are so many ways to create a conversation with your audience, and the new content that they produce can go a long way in furthering your messaging and building your reputation.

Action and Reaction

When you find the perfect Call to Action to fit your goals, you’ll find engagement and audience interaction becomes much easier. But it’s important to always aim to test different CTAs. This will help you learn more about your audience and optimize over time. Consumer habits are still changing and keeping up with trends is one of the most important skills of a successful business.

Let’s Create Together! 

Curious how AGAIN Interactive can elevate your brand’s content with optimized CTAs? Drop us a line at info@againinteractive.com. Your success is how we measure ours.