Remember that time you were chatting with your friend, and it felt like you were just talking to a wall? Well, that’s essentially how it feels when your call-to-action gets ignored.
Since you’re here though, you probably don’t need a lesson on that any more than you need to be reminded of it.
If you are new to CTAs, however, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together some of the best ways to make your CTAs stand out and get clicked by users, on some of the top platforms. This info should help hardened and newbie social media marketers alike.
Great CTAs Count
So what are CTAs and how do you use them to sell a product? Calls-to-action are exactly what the name suggests. They’re the buttons and links that invite your audience to take action of some kind, like “Sign Up,” “Subscribe,” “Get Free e-Book”, or “Order Now.”
CTAs can boost interaction on your Facebook page by an incredible 285%. Indeed, audience engagement is the first key to converting those CTAs into sales.
Because CTAs encourage engagement, they are also your gateway to making money. The greatest driving force behind everybody’s bid to create great calls-to-action is the conversion.
Aside from that all-important sale, however, there are other comparably important reasons why you should make sure your CTAs get noticed. Your end goal might be sales, but everything starts at getting noticed and getting people to visit your site.
By the way, did you know that purchasing followers, likes, and other signals of engagement can increase your credibility and popularity on social media? Those followers won’t go on to become customers, but they will make you look bigger and better, attracting more people to click your CTAs who might go on to make a purchase.
This is where CTAs that direct visitors what to do become important. Getting visitors on your site is a start, but unless there are clear CTAs that tell them exactly what you want them to do, your visitors will be nothing more than that: visitors.
So, how do you make effective social media CTAs that engage your audience and convert those clicks into sales? Check out our recommendations below for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and tips on how to make yours today.
4 Effective CTAs You Can Use on Twitter
When it comes to Twitter, an effective CTA can be summarized into this: Ask and it shall be given you.
That isn’t to say an impressive number of clicks will magically appear on your lap– or your laptop, for that matter – but it’s a start.
1. Ask for a re-tweet
Give your followers compelling reasons to re-tweet you by adding freebies that are hard to resist. Re-tweets increase your exposure and can help you gain followers.
According to a study by SocialBakers, tweets without CTAs get re-tweeted only twice on average.
How you word your request also matters. You get about 73 re-tweets if you put “RT”, 64 if you wrote “Please Retweet”, 28 if it’s “Please RT”, and 18 re-tweets if it’s “PLS RT.”
2. Ask for a follow
There’s no harm in asking people to follow you. Just ask. You’d be surprised at how many might just follow you because of a nice request– and perhaps the lure of a free hair product.
3. Ask for a reply
Ask a question and get conversational in your tweets. Engage your audience with an entertaining post and watch the replies and comments come in.
Again, you should make your question relevant to your brand and your CTA must be clear.
A variation of this would be to make a poll. There’s less effort for your viewers to click and vote than to type a reply, but both are equally effective in engaging audience.
4. Ask for a download
Do you have an e-book or a product that people would love to have? Give some away.
Ask viewers to head over to your site to get a copy of your e-book or a website template. You can then ask for their email address on download. How else can you send the download link, after all?
Remember, if you want to build your brand’s credibility and get more people to notice your CTAs, consider buying likes, followers and other Twitter signals.
Everyone knows you should spend to earn money. It is a valuable marketing strategy.
4 Guides to Effective Instagram CTAs
Instagram is one of the few places on the Internet where subtlety is the key when it comes to marketing. You need to carefully strike a balance between refined and blunt with your CTA.
1. Subtle but clear
Between “Shop Now” and “Learn More,” for example, you should go for the former and then avoid overdoing it in the caption. Users tend to get a light-bulb moment the instant they feel they’re being sold to, and might click the x button in a flash.
2. Caption it
Create attention-grabbing captions with your images. Never be afraid to insert some humor:
3. Appeal to the emotions
Whenever possible, appeal to the emotions of your viewers. Aside from connecting with them on a personal level, emotions are also strong motivation for people to act on your CTA.
Think about phrases like “put a smile on your kid’s face with this” or “you deserve pampering with this.” Try to elicit deep emotions that pretty much everyone can relate to.
4. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Instagram is a visual world where everybody is driven by beautiful images. You just won’t capture an audience with your caption if you can’t get their attention with your image first.
4 Tips For Effective Facebook CTAs
Whether it’s for a post or for an ad you’re running, here are 4 tips for making CTAs that will grab your readers’ attention.
For a perspective on how important Facebook CTAs are, take a study published by AdParlor comparing click-through rates of ads with a CTA against ads without one. The click-through rate (or CTR) of those without a CTA was 0.42% compared to 0.78% of those with CTAs.
On top of that, these CTAs also led to a cost-per-conversion that was only about half of the cost-per-conversion of those ads that didn’t use CTAs. So not only do you get better sales through CTAs, but also better value for your advertising money.
1. Make it clear
You want to take the guesswork out of your CTA. Busy people don’t have time to figure out what you mean and they won‘t linger.
Make your CTA plain and simple, so that your viewers will immediately understand and know what to do next.
This is an example of a strong CTA. The message is clear and viewers are not left wondering how they can start being freelancers: “create a free profile” and sign up.
2. Ask a question
One brilliant way of engaging your audience is by asking questions. People just love expressing themselves.
Consider this one.
You can also ask something fun that stirs up the mini-narcissist in everyone.
– What scares you the most and why? Tell us in the comments section!
– How big is your bed? Comment your answer!
Make your questions relevant to your brand and you can never go wrong. Remember that popular posts can increase your EdgeRank, not to mention improve your social proof.
3. Create a sense of urgency
Nothing like an ending sale or a discounted ticket to a football game can get people sprinting out the house immediately. It’s the same with calls-to-actions with a limited time offer.
The word “Now” has a surprising amount of power, compelling viewers to take action immediately when they might not have taken notice at all.
4. Make it worth their while
There is a reason why people line up for free samples, even when it’s something they can easily afford. Offering something for apparently nothing is an old marketing trick that you can use to get viewers to click your CTA.
Check this out!
You can give free samples in exchange for email addresses, referrals, subscriptions and anything you could use towards building your marketing list.
Get Noticed, Get Conversions
It’s time to up your marketing game and really get noticed on your social media platforms by using effective CTAs.
Not all social media apps are the same, though. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all require different approaches to getting those CTAs clicked.
If you’re trying to improve your credibility and build up your audience, remember that you can kick-start that process by buying followers, likes, shares, and other signals of engagement. Take the time to check out our list of trusted providers, and go with a company who cares about your social reputation.
Keep our tips above in mind, and you’ll be well on your way to using CTAs to more effectively convert viewers into customers.