Internet users are a fickle bunch. They surf the web, cruising from site to site as they please. Your ads are out there, but they need that little something extra, that additional ZING to grab a hold of their attention. That little something is called a Call to Action, also known as a CTA.

A CTA is a button or link or message that you add to your website or advertising campaign ads in order to guide your visitor and tell them what to do next. It could be a phrase asking them to download your latest brochure, watch your latest video about your products, or to simply click through to your website to learn more about what you have to offer. But how, exactly, can they be used?

Outlined below are the top five simple and effective CTAs that you can use in your digital advertisements to generate more leads and improve the effectiveness of your advertising campaign.

 

Lead Generation    

 

Leads are the lifeblood of any business. It is, therefore, crucial to be on the hunt for more leads at all times to ensure that sales (and therefore your business) continue to flow. Lead Generation CTAs often take shape in the form of buttons or headlines asking customers to “Click here for a quote”, or “Call now to speak to our team!”.

Lead Generation CTAs need to be eye-catching above all else and effectively communicate the value that the customer will receive when they click on the button. What are THEY going to get out of it? Why should YOU be the one that they go with on their hunt for a service?

In short, these effective CTA’s invite those who are ready to speak to you to do just that!

Read More Buttons

 

These are buttons that can be placed anywhere on any piece of content and can be used to persuade the customer to engage more with your business by directing them to read additional information about a specific product or service of interest to them.

Read More buttons also allow the business to create teaser articles – articles that do not convey the entirety of the topic, but instead require the reader to invest their time and their clicks into your article, simply by asking them to ‘Read More’.

Read more CTA’s are fantastic tools to educate your audience before they are ready to “call today”, “email the team” or “buy now”.

 

Social Sharing Buttons

This is perhaps one of the simplest of CTAs, encouraging the user to share a piece of content – your content – with their friends and family. Social Sharing buttons can be used anywhere on a website where they are not obstructing the main interest section. They are, however, most effective when placed near brand logos, and at the top and bottom of web pages and landing pages.

Social Sharing buttons are something known as ‘Low Commitment’ CTAs, meaning that they are there for the customer to click, but are something they won’t lose sleep over if they don’t click them. They’re stealthy, always in the background, waiting and fantastic tools for building your brand’s audience.

 

Lead Nurturing

 

Ok, so the customer isn’t quite ready to commit. They’re unsure of what they’re buying or investing in, and they’re not sure that they’re going to receive the value of the product that you are advertising. This is where Lead Nurturing comes in.

Lead Nurturing is offering a slice of your service for free, such as a demo, a quote or a free trial. Everyone likes free things! Therefore, it’s important to place these CTAs where you know your website will be receiving a lot of foot traffic, whether that be at the front of your site, or on the thank you page, prompting them to try out your product after enquiring.

Lead nurturing CTA’s are great ways to drive engagement if you are offering a new product or service.

 

Product & Service Discovery

The customer’s attention has finally been snagged, and they have asked you about your amazing product. The deal is done, right? Not quite.

There are still ample opportunities for the customer to discover more about what you do and offer, instead of letting them leave with just the one service or product they have committed to, you can always offer them more at even greater value!

By providing a CTA to guide customers to a ‘discover more!’ section (where customers can read more about your products), you present the opportunity for them to invest deeper into your service economy. By creating this opportunity, you are not just providing an environment for sales, but rather one that also promotes the transformation of the ‘chance’ customer into the satisfied and loyal customer that every organisation strives to create.

Amazon and eBay lead the way with this type of message often telling their customer that “People who bought this also liked…….”

 

What Can You Do With This Information?

As the world of Digital Marketing shifts and evolves, the idea of any marketing campaign remains the same: to drive more leads and get more sales!

 CTAs are and will always be KEY part of any marketing campaign, whichever way the industry moves.

CTAs are very much an essential part of your base and advertising messaging strategy. They have the power to turn uninterested, passive viewers into prospective customers and leads, and increase the overall effectiveness of your advertising campaign.

Here at Direct Clicks we plan and test various CTAs against each other in an ongoing, never-ending process of message testing & optmisation. This means we build up vast amounts of data that can be utilised for growth and performance of the campaigns.

Your marketing campaign is never truly finished, and CTAs will always be there, ready to guide your campaign to success.