What is a CALL TO ACTION, and how essential are they in the online world?

A call to action is the ultimate push to motivate your customers to take the action you want them to. However, it’s not just the language you use that can accelerate a customer’s decision-making, but the design and position of your CTA.

Turning your audience or readers into customers is the ultimate goal of any marketer, especially for online marketers who operate in a world where the competitors are always one step ahead of you. So, whether you’re a business or a content creator, you can’t rely on content alone to increase engagement or sales. You need to know how to use a call to action to drive attention without creating annoyance. In this article, we’ll walk you through the concept of a call to action, with powerful examples for you to easily apply. Let’s take a closer look.

What is a call to action, and why are they important?

A Call to Action, or CTA, drives the reader or audience to do something important. It acts as a catalyst for customers to make informed decisions and reduce hesitation. CTAs can be embedded in short and long-form content, captions, and pictures. You can make a button link to a specific landing page to see the results and user behaviour related to your CTA button through Google Analytics.

 The purposes of a CTA

• Click to order or reserve
• Press to follow
• Click for more information
• To download apps, e-books, or documents
• To get your target audience to register for Lead Generation, which involves creating content to attract potential customers to leave contact information. You can then use this information to build relationships and turn your leads into customers.

The CTA is a double-edged sword

Although a CTA is a known accelerator for action, it must be used in the right way because if your content is full of CTAs but lacks quality content, it may annoy readers, push them away, and cause them to have negative feelings toward the brand. On the other hand, even if you have quality content, it may not generate the sales or collect the customer data you hope it to if people don’t know where to click.

5 Secret techniques to keep in mind

If you want to use a CTA and be confident in the results, follow our five tips below:

1. Concise but relevant content

• Choose short words that can persuade or provoke a reaction.
• You can play around with words to add personality or intrigue.
• Keep all other information on the image or web page unambiguous so that the reader will be confident clicking on the CTA.
• For example: 
  • Want to increase sales? Sign up for a free consultation with an expert!
  • Why are you wasting time travelling? Online meetings are way better; download the app now. 
  • Need more traffic to your website? Click to receive offers.

2. Stand out on all devices

• Choose a colour and style for the button or frame that stands out from the background, so the customer knows where to click.
• Be sure to adjust your website and position the CTA button to be clearly displayed on computers, tablets and smartphones, as today’s Internet users access content primarily from smartphones. If the CTA is out of frame, it may mean there is nothing for customers to see or click.

3. Accelerate decisions with time or privileges

• To encourage customers to click now, you may need another accelerator based on the FOMO principle (Fear of Missing Out).
• This feeling can be accelerated by offering limited time privileges to create the feeling that they will miss out. 
• Use a call to action that creates impulse, for example:
  • Mega Sale, one day only. Shop now.
  • Register today and get an additional 10% discount.
  • Limited quantities available for this event only.

4.  One CTA may not be enough

• A good CTA attracts customers to take certain actions. But for some customers who need more time to decide, you shouldn’t neglect them; instead, you should create alternatives with another CTA. However, there should be no more than 2 CTAs per page or image.
• For example, you might already have an “Order Now” button, but you might decide to make a “Buy Now” button or a “Learn more” button to create alternatives for undecided customers. Then you could potentially introduce another “Order now” button on the information page.

5. Straight-to-the-point content

• The CTA should clearly state the action you want the reader to take, with no confusion about whether the ‘Click here’ is to order or register to fill out information.
• Your landing page should provide content in line with what the customer is expecting; otherwise, the customer may close the page, which will increase the bounce rate of your website.

How to choose a CTA with examples for each type of content

Each business type and each desired action require a different CTA. For example:

• A CTA for an e-Commerce business might be: Shop Now, Quick Shop, Order Now, Buy Now, Order Now, or Add to Cart.
• A CTA for general actions could be: Read more, Click for more information, and Learn more.
• CTAs for content creators, influencers, or the online community include: Subscribe now!, Follow Us, and Click Here.
• A CTA for services such as free expert consultations could be: Talk to Us, or Click Here.
• CTAs for lead generation might include: Register for our newsletter, Sign up for a free trial product, Fill out your information so you don’t miss our great promotions, and Subscribe to get 15% off your first order.

Now you know what a call to action is, it’s important to remember to pay attention to your surrounding content; otherwise, no matter how strong the CTA is, it won’t have the power to get people to click.

Once you’ve created your call to action, the next step is to keep measuring your results and experimenting with different CTAs. For example, you could try A/B testing, comparing 2 CTAs or more. Then you can check the performance of each in Google Analytics to see which performs best.