The Importance of Calls to Action
Through your marketing channels, you’ve caught people’s attention, built an awareness of your brand, and established some level of trust. Now, it’s time to get your potential customers to take action on based on your messages. For this to happen, you need to master the art of creating compelling calls to action (CTAs).
What Is a CTA?
Any time you’ve decided to make a purchase somewhere, in person or online, or any time you took a step towards making a purchase, a CTA mostly likely prompted you to do so. Put simply, a CTA is any message from a company that encourages consumers to either take a step towards becoming a customer or encourages them to make a purchase. Found across a vast array of physical and digital marketing channels, CTAs directly prompt the consumer to take action on the message they have just experienced.
CTAs Guide Consumers Through the Sales Funnel
A good CTA is where your messaging will start to gain traction among people who see or hear any of your marketing materials. The first time any consumer comes in contact with your brand, there should be a CTA attached that brings them to the starting point of the sales funnel. Depending on the company and the marketing channel, that CTA could bring them straight to the point of purchase. In other cases, it could simply create a warm lead. If you’ve gotten a warm lead, further high-quality CTAs will guide them to the point of conversion.
Where to Include CTAs
Each marketing channel you use should include CTAs on a regular basis. Some of your marketing materials could even have a CTA as the whole message if you frame it strongly enough. Billboards and signs often have messaging mostly made up of CTAs since there is often little time to see it.
When people visit your company landing page, there should be a few CTAs clearly visible from the get-go. Your blog should also include CTAs that prompt the reader to learn more about your company as part of your conclusion. The success of your promotional emails directly depends on the inclusion of carefully placed CTAs directing the recipient to your website. The only channel where you should avoid using CTAs every time is probably social media. You can still post content with CTAs here and there, but people often appreciate a less salesy, more conversational tone on social media.
Different Types of CTAs
Not every CTA will look the same or be written in the same format. However, every CTA should have one thing in common: It should be direct. When you create a CTA, there should be no question about what the consumer should do next, so avoid passive or unclear language and make the CTA loud and clear. At the end of a blog it could read, “contact us today to learn more,” or “visit our store today to find the right (product) for you.”
One of the most common types of CTAs is the clickable button. These are the types of CTAs that show up on your landing page and emails such as “book your appointment” or “add to cart.” Again, these CTAs don’t have to necessarily prompt the consumer to buy, especially if you are just now creating the lead. Other common CTAs that are very effective in moving consumers through the sales funnel include things like “learn more” or “join our newsletter.”
No matter what form of marketing you are working on, never forget the importance of a good CTA.