Call to Action: What Is a CTA and How Can You Set Yours Up?

If you are starting out in the digital market now, you are aware that you need to know some specific terms well of this niche. And you probably have asked yourself: what is CTA? A CTA is a “call to action”, which is an indispensable tool for people who think about marketing strategies.

But, first, some context: today, it isn’t interesting to over-advertise your products anymore. Most people want to have access to interesting content. Therefore, you can qualify your potential customers so that they make intelligent decisions based on how you solved their pains.

However, just sharing useful content will not make the user becomes your customer.  You need to show them what they need to do throughout their journey until they start buying your products or services.

This is the moment when the CTA takes action. This is a non-intrusive way to make people take the next step in your marketing strategy.

Let’s dive in and answer ‘what is CTA’?

What is CTA?

A call to action, also known as CTA, is a link or any other type of function on a web page that leads users to take action.

Do you remember the HeadOn ad from the mid-2000s?

In it, a model holds the product to her forehead and the ad repeats several times: “HeadOn, apply directly to the forehead.”

Believe it or not, that’s a call to action!

Note that the aim of the ad was to make clients realize that the product was simple to cure a headache. And they expressed that by a verb in imperative: apply. So, the brand’s purpose was to sell products because they were so simple to use. They ran the ad and placed an explicit call to action in it.

And what was the result of that? The product was sold.

Surely enough the commercial was considered annoying due to the repetition.

The CTA must be an invitation and not an imposition. Broken-recorded repetition practices like the one used in this commercial are considered SPAM and should always be avoided.

But for instance, we can use the commercial to understand what a call to action is.

Having a CTA means inviting people who have access to your content to take the next step. And in each of the steps, you will point out what needs to be done to achieve the goals you have for your buyer personas.

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What is CTA and how to make a great call to action?

Today, depending on the segment, it’s not interesting to come up with a CTA like the one in the outdated commercial. Especially because people are migrating to digital TV and choosing what they want to watch.

Most consumers search extensively before they make their own buying decisions. So, coming up with content that shows what they want is more interesting than trying to persuade them intrusively.

But even frequent visitors of your website need a “little push” to perform some action. So, even if it’s not as explicitly as the HeadOn commercial, it is still necessary to create a call to action that shows your intentions.

And how can you do this?

• Write a clear and objective message.
• Really relate the CTA with the purpose of your content.
• Write short and self-explanatory texts.
•  Use imperative or indicative verbs.
•  Create urgencies. For example, an essential ebook to be a better entrepreneur in 2017.
• Offer benefits that are worth it.

Calls to action are essential to indicate the next step you want a visitor to take within your company’s page. That’s why they need to be as specific as you can.

But to get to the ideal CTA, it’s not enough to work only on the text. You also need:

• To think about the design and choose different colors to see which one catches the users’ eyes. Thus, perform A/B tests and use different colors in your calls.
• To write many different types of calls to action. This means that you should avoid coming up with the same CTA for all your pages and texts. Choose different verbs and phrases and see which ones have more clicks.
• To test Landing Pages. Direct the user to different pages in each call to action. Thus, you are able to see which content pleases your audience the most.
• To place the call in strategic locations on your page. Generally, the CTA is at the end of the texts. But if you notice that it is interesting to place it before, especially if it is for a different action (such as an event), you can test different positions, for example at the top of the website or blog.

 

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After testing several models, you can figure out which CTA is more attractive to your persona. And so, you can come up with a great call to action for your page.

What is CTA like?

Calls to action appear in different ways.

Some may be a buy button, such as “add to cart”. There are links to subscription forms or newsletters. There are also surveys; buttons to refer to a product; post content on social media, and so on.

But all CTAs have one thing in common: they are customized buttons, which call the user’s attention. That is, they need to be visually appealing.

And to be able to do this, it is necessary that these calls are attractive. In addition, they also need to be efficient and actually lead to further action.

This can help improve the conversion of your website or blog. And also makes the user take a specific decision.

Always keep in mind that a call to action needs to make user navigation easier. It is therefore very important that it is an easy button to take in.

Which call to action should be used?

You already know that the CTAs can help persuade your users to take an action related to your product or service.

But which call to action is indicated for people to take the next step?

Understand your persona

Knowing the stage in which the user is in the sales funnel is critical. This way, you will provide qualified content for each visitor.

 

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Someone who’s at the top of the funnel, in the awareness stage, is not prepared to receive the same content from a person who’s already at the bottom of the funnel. So, you need to understand what the real needs of each user are.

At the top of the funnel, avoid advertising content. Think of educational materials. One option is to make a call to action for another post in your blog or offer infographics.

Someone who is in the middle of the funnel already knows she has a problem and wants to solve it. So, the attention point would be helping solve those problems. Offering richer materials with deeper content catches the attention of this audience.

However, to the bottom of the funnel, success stories and testimonials that let them know everything about your product are great. And as soon as the person is already convinced to hire your services, a call to action to make the purchase is essential.

What is CTA’s purpose?

The main purpose of the call to action is to get the customer to take the next step in the sales funnel. But as a business strategy, it may have a more specific target.

Here are some of the most widely used targets in the digital market!

1. Read another blog post

When you want to generate traffic to another text on your blog, the call to action can be very useful.

You can suggest to the user that she reads another post related to the subject. So, in addition to more educational information, you can still make people stay longer on your blog.

2. Subscribe to a newsletter

Suggesting that the user subscribes to your newsletter makes that she advances to another stage of the sales funnel.

When a person subscribes to a newsletter, they know they are really interested in the content you have to offer. Thus, you can go further on your texts about that subject.

3. Follow on social media

A CTA can be an invitation to readers of your texts to follow your brand on other social media. With this, people can get to know your brand better.

In addition, you are able to have more personal contact with the user. After all, having access to people’s social media opens up another communication channel between you.

4. Watch a video

If you already have videos on, but they still don’t have many views, a call to action can be great to generate more traffic to your channel.

Suggesting a video with similar content to your text is also very good for users. Videos are great ways to consume educational content.

5. Download a piece of content

You know those rich materials you produced? Offering them on the call to action is a very interesting strategy.

It is, therefore, possible to show users that you’re an authority on that subject. Besides, you can offer a preview of other materials that can be sold later on.

6. Share on social media

When your content is shared by other people, it quickly goes viral.

This way more users get to know your brand. So, you can get different people to come into contact with your products and services.

7. Attend an event

If you plan to have an event, the CTA is the right place to promote it.

You can let everyone know that your company is committed to actions offline too.

But remember that this type of call to action is seasonal. This means that it can only be on your page until the date of the event.

8. Fill out a survey

Calls to action are great to do research.

Ask users to answer a survey makes you learn more about your audience, which will help you to think of specific strategies for your business.

Know that these are just a few examples of call-to-action possibilities. But there are several others that you can set up.

So, after you have set the goal of your CTA, you can come up with it in the best way possible. The important thing is to never forget to put it on your pages.

Did you get what is call to action and already know how to set yours? 

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