If you’ve seen anything related to digital marketing, you’ve probably heard about call to action and CTAs here and there. But what is a call to action, how does it help, and how should it be used?
In marketing, a call to action, usually abbreviated as CTA, is just that – an invitation to the customer to perform a certain action. It is a term in marketing and sales that is used to capture and retain audiences’ attention, no matter how challenging it may seem. The definition of call-to-action goes beyond simply convincing a consumer to part with their money – it also includes marketing campaigns that urge consumers to perform actions like newsletter sign up or downloads.
What is a Call to Action?
A call to action or CTA is a phrase, prompt, or word that engages audiences to take the next step in a certain way. It can appear as a simple piece of text or a clickable button. CTAs are the bridge between the content a potential customer is interested in and an offer that’s closely aligned with their needs or interests.
It’s not just buttons on a webpage – call to actions are powerful tools of persuasion designed to guide users toward a decision, making them an essential element of marketing strategies across all platforms and mediums.
What Is a Call to Action in Writing?
When it comes to content, every good content writing agency will tell you that a CTA should also be included in your blog or other types of content. In this form, it’s a clear and compelling statement that tells the audience what to do next. CTAs are commonly used in various types of writing, such as marketing copy, articles, or persuasive social media posts, to guide readers toward a desired outcome.
A perfect example of a Call to Action would be on an e-commerce website, where you can usually spot a button with text like “Shop Now” or “Buy Today.” These types of CTAs encourage people visiting your website to explore products and make a purchase. When it comes to email marketing campaigns, a CTA might invite recipients to “Subscribe for Exclusive Offers” or “Claim Your Discount,” and that way they are motivated to engage further with the brand.
Why Should You Embrace Examples and Use CTAs?
No matter the type of business you have, whether it’s B2B, B2C, or e-commerce, you should consider using CTAs throughout all channels. Here’s why.
Let’s say you’ve worked on improving your website’s speed, and hired an outstanding content marketing agency to craft compelling long-form content. And then let’s say you have a good sitemap and all that SEO stuff included across different platforms. And then, visitors start landing on your website through a search engine but they might get a bit confused about the next step they should take. So they eventually leave, and you get a high bounce rate.
While this may not be the prevalent reason businesses lose clients, it sure can be one of the reasons that they don’t visit more than that one single page. In that case, a strong and effective way to encourage any visitor to stay and further interact with your brand is to include a clear Call to Action.
Why Is the Use of CTAs Essential?
Well, you could say that it’s easy for an SEO marketing agency to claim that CTAs are important. But as a professional SEO agency, we’ll list a few very clear reasons why you should include this direct response marketing in your strategy:
- It will guide visitor behavior. CTAs serve as navigational signs that direct users toward the next step. They make the desired action apparent.
- It will boost conversion rates. You will effectively lower the number of people leaving your website after only visiting one page, and motivate them to take action (sign up for a newsletter or make a purchase.)
- It will create a sense of urgency. Phrases like “Limited-time offer” or “Act now” can stimulate a quicker response, especially if users see that a time-sensitive decision can be beneficial to them.
- It will enhance user engagement. Whether it’s clicking a button, watching a video, or subscribing to updates, CTAs engage users by inviting them to interact with your content or offerings.
- It provides a measurable way to determine the success of your efforts. It lets you track clicks and conversions related to a certain Call-to-Action, and make data-driven decisions based on it.
- It improves user experience. They simplify the decision-making process for visitors, and users appreciate clear guidance so it contributes to a positive experience.
In essence, it’s a very simple yet powerful strategy that lets you foster a more successful and efficient interaction between your business and the target audience. So don’t be among those 70% of small businesses that lack a CTA.
Difference Between Using Good vs. Bad CTA
When it comes to conversion rate optimization, it’s equally important to pay attention to persuasive copywriting techniques as it is to craft a CTA the right way. Every part of your marketing strategy plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining customers. In such a setup, the last thing you want is for users to change their minds and go to your competition without taking any action on your website.
What Happens When You Create a Good CTA?
If you know how to write a call to action that captivates the audience, it will motivate them to delve deeper and engage with your brand. For example, a good CTA can motivate them to follow you on social media which you can then use to engage them further. Keep in mind that a good Call-to-Action further contributes to other aspects of your digital marketing. A great example is that it can grow your email list which provides more leads that can be nurtured into buying customers.
How a Bad CTA Can Put You at a Disadvantage
There’s no way to put this lightly – if your Action-Oriented Messaging isn’t done the right way, it could easily drive potential buyers away. But to avoid being vague, we’ll be very direct about what you should avoid. After all, we pride ourselves on being an open and direct SEO services agency and we value the truth. So, the trick is not to make your CTAs too salesy. Such an approach will not help you in driving sales through CTAs but rather make a potential customer lose their trust in your brand. Also, avoid making CTAs that are too generic or too long because a visitor may simply scroll through them without noticing them.
Develop the Right Approach to Writing
Now, we’re not saying that your CTA should be fantastic, but maybe we are. A bit. In order to benefit from this technique and gain Lead Generation with CTAs, it should be crafted to be irresistible. And to make it that way, you need to determine a few things first. This is exactly the approach our advertising agency has with our clients – we sit down with our clients and brainstorm a couple of things.
Determine the Goal
Before you start, you should be absolutely certain about your intentions. And you need to do it for each Call-to-Action. Determine whether you want to increase the number of subscriptions, boost conversions, get more emails, or direct visitors to another part of your website.
Understand Buyer Personas
You also need to understand buyer personas at each stage of their buying journey. You should craft different messages for each stage, such as “Find Out More” at the Awareness stage or “Download Manual” at the consideration stage. At their Decision stage, you should add something along the lines of “Buy Now.”
Keep It Sweet and Short
You might be tempted to write full sentences for your CTA but that’s the very thing you should avoid. It’s much better to use a short phrase that gets the message across loud and clear. You really need just two to five words to say what you want effectively. However, writing longer ones is applicable in certain cases, such as “Shop Now and Get 40% Off.”
Be Actionable in Phrasing
A well-written CTA should compel visitors to take action right away. The words and phrases you should use should be “Claim Now” or something similar.
Add Some Urgency to It
The Internet is a vast place, and you should keep in mind that potential customers become easily distracted by the overwhelming noise. If your CTA doesn’t include a sense of urgency, your visitors will move away from the offer. Urging them with a “Limited Time Offer” clickable button might just do the trick to motivate them to take immediate action.
Put Low Risk and No Obligation Up Front
What you should also avoid is placing pressure on your visitors. Instead, let them know they are not making any obligations yet, even if they click that button or link within the content. For example, you can offer a free trial or a simple newsletter subscription.
Craft an Attention-Grabbing Design
One more thing that is equally important in grabbing the attention of potential customers is the CTA placement and design. Bright colors, that also go with your brand color scheme and different colored text might just do the trick. It also makes the CTAs easier to find. The location is also crucial, so ensure you place it strategically.
Test Whether It Works
You won’t know if you’ve nailed the best version of the CTA if you haven’t tested it. What works and what doesn’t will clearly show through A/B testing for Call-to-Actions. You can simply try out changing color or any other element like placement and copy, and check the Click-Through Rates (CTR) for a set amount of time. This will help you better hone your strategy and see how it fared compared to another version.
Nail the Psychology of Persuasion in Marketing With the Best SEO Agency
Digital marketing strategies will further evolve but the goal will remain the same – grabbing attention and directing the target audience to engage with your brand. To make it happen, you shouldn’t go into it alone. Placing an attention-grabbing CTA might seem like an easy enough task, but what if we tell you we can help you get your users engaged with no sweat at all? Besides being crafty with brand messaging, we also offer SEO marketing services and quality content creation. But we can also be that social media marketing agency and website design agency you’re looking for. So contact us, sit back, relax, and let Made Online get you made online in a jiffy.