Inject Your Communications with Call to Actions

Call to Action (CTA) is a term you might hear when discussing marketing strategies for your business. But what exactly does it mean and how can it help to increase sales and profitability for your company? We’ve put together a simple guide to help explain what it means and why you should be doing it!

What is Call to Action?
The most obvious example of a Call to Action would be a ‘Buy Now’ button on a webpage. It’s simply an invitation for your customer/visitor to do something. It could be a banner or button on your webpage, part of an advertisement or content (ie. blog/email marketing campaign) that is designed to encourage the visitor to do something specific.

What is the purpose of a Call to Action?
Call to actions are a great way of converting visitors to your website or blogs into potential customers or subscribers. The CTA can have a variety of different purposes depending on what you are trying to achieve. If you are looking to increase sales then a simple ‘Buy Now’ button may be just the trick you need to help convince the undecided shopper, but when you’re trying to attract more visitors or subscribers you need to think more carefully about the wording and location of the CTA.

How can it help my marketing and business?
A good CTA will help increase visitors which in turn could lead to more customers and sales and therefore increased profits! It could also act as an information point for your potential customers, providing them with the link to finding out all about your products and services.

When should I use a call to action?
You should make sure to add CTA’s into all your communications. CTA’s can be used in your marketing channels such as email marketing, website, landing page, offers/promotions, blogs and social media. It’s important to make sure you use the right language for your customers, this will mean researching your customer base and finding out their preferences and habits.  Make sure you have updated your email database so you are targeting the right audience. 

10 Example Call to Actions:

1. ‘Buy Now’ and ‘Shop Now’ buttons on your ecommerce site - direct your customer to make that purchase they’re contemplating. 
2. You can also entice them further by adding limited offers that create a sense of urgency such as ‘Buy Now - Limited time Only’ which might push them to make the purchase now rather than putting it off until later.
3. Having a ‘Sign Up Now’ button in your email marketing can attract new subscribers and give you vital information about your site visitors.
4. If you have a blog ask your readers a question. This is a simple but very effective call to action which engages your visitors and hopefully keeps them returning to your website. The more often they visit your website the more likely they are to make a purchase in the future.
5. ‘Read More’ is another CTA you should utilise in your email marketing and blogs. Instead of displaying the entire post on the homepage you just show a few paragraphs to entice the reader to click through to read the rest of the post. This is great for Search Engine Optimisation too.
6. ‘Subscribe’ is a great CTA for your blog, to help build up your readership base and will hopefully convert to loyal customers.
7. For social media use ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ buttons to encourage your followers to share your business page. This will engage your current followers and also convert new followers. ‘Visit our Website’, ‘Learn More’, Watch our Video’ will also help create interest and direct potential new customers.
8. Avoid generic buttons such as ‘Submit’ and try to entice your user to part with their contact details in exchange for a free guide or tool instead. 
9. ‘Learn More’ is simple but effective, offering more information for purchasers not quite ready to take the plunge.
10. Free Website Audit or ‘Free Trial’ is a great way of encouraging an undecided customer to try your product or services and see just what they are missing out on. It helps build trust and the foundation for a great customer relationship.

If your marketing is in need of a boost? Perhaps it’s time for a Call to Action! 
You can learn more about communication strategies that include Call to Actions by booking a FREE Consultation >