marketing definition breakdown: what is a call to action?
TRANSCRIPT
What is a Call to Action?
What is a call to action (CTA)? And how can it
be used effectively to boost the results of
your digital campaigns? Below, we share
exactly what a call to action is and looks like,
then give you tips so you can create
optimized CTAs to include in your own digital
marketing efforts.
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What is a Call to Action?
So, what is a call to action? A CTA is an instruction to an audience with the goal of enticing
them to take action. Online, it typically takes the form of a button that, when clicked, directs
a visitor to your intended destination, be it a landing page, piece of content, or social media
account. Because CTAs are meant to drive results, they usually consist of action verbs, such
as “Download” or “Buy Now”.
Even though adding CTAs to your digital content and campaigns is a great way to guide your
target audience towards taking your desired “next step”—whether it’s to contact you or
make a purchase—almost 70% of small businesses don’t take advantage of CTAs.
We think yours should and we’re here to show you how. Now that we’ve answered the
question “what is a call to action?” we’ll show you tips for crafting effective CTAs of your
own.
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3 Tips for Creating Effective Calls to
Action
1. Use Contrasting Button Colors
For your CTA to be effective, it needs to stand out
clearly to the viewer. Contrast your CTA button
colors
against the background of the asset you’re adding
them too. But don’t think you should set it and forget
it; playing around with different color options can
lead to a conversion increase of 30%.
We opted for an orange button against a blue
background for our sidebar CTA, which ensures
customers see it as a button and retains the colors
we use for our branding.
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2. Button Shapes Make a DifferenceJust as the color of your CTAs matters, so do your button shapes. Again, buttons need to be
clearly recognizable as such so that readers know to click. Round and square tend to be the
most common shapes, but you can also get more creative.
We add CTAs to the bottom of our own blog posts to guide readers towards taking our
intended next step, contacting us for a free consultation. A rectangular “Get Free
Consultation” makes it clear what readers should expect from clicking, and an additional
rectangular button with an arrow graphic is a universally recognized symbol for “more,” so
they know to click through.
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3. Leverage Graphic Design
As with the above example, using graphics can make your CTAs extra impactful, and will
leave no doubt in your readers’ minds as to what action they should take next. However, you
also want to keep your CTAs direct and simple to avoid pulling focus.
As Sandi Krakowski (@sandikrakowski) reminds us, “Lead people with what they want. –
Lead with what they’ve already said. – Lead people from where they’re at. – Lead them with
the things that concern them.” (Source: Kissmetrics). Keep your CTAs focused on the needs
and desires of your audience and they’ll reward you with their clicks.
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