Definition

A call-to-action (CTA) is an appeal you make to your audience to take some form of action, either by purchasing a product, like a post, commenting, clicking an available link, signing a form, or whatever other step you would like them to take after viewing your content.

Why CTA's Are So Important

To a new content creator, a CTA might sound redundant.

Shouldn't your content already be leading them to an action? you might be wondering. And the answer is yes. Your content should be leading your audience to take action, but in most cases that's not enough.

Social media is for everyone. It appeals to people because they want instant and endless entertainment, and a lot of people don't want to have to pause to think about the intention of content.

So the solution? Just tell them!

When you tell your audience what you want them to do, you're eliminating the conversion barrier that's between them viewing your content and them taking action.

And once this conversion barrier is eliminated, you'll find that the goal of your post will see more and more success. Did you want more likes? More people will like it! Did you want more clicks on links? More people will go to your landing page! Did you want more follows? Your following number will go up!

The moral of the story is that CTA's allow people who enjoy your content to know what the next step is.

How To Create A CTA

Now before you start listing everything you want your audience to do once they see your content, there are a few things you should know about CTA creation. Here's our advice:

First: Find Out Exactly What You Want Your Audience To Do

You don't want to overwhelm them with a list. While you might want them to like the content, then comment under the post, then share it with their friends, then follow your page, and then purchase your product - they're not going to do all of this at once, not even if you ask.

This is why you need to discover which is the most important action.

Gentle Reminder: Although your ultimate goal might be to increase sales, always using a "purchase this product" CTA will not get you many long-term or even short-term results. Why is this? Because salesy content doesn't do well on social media if the audience doesn't feel connected to the business, and you can't build a relationship with your audience if you're constantly trying to sell them something.

So what you want your audience to do varies depending on where they are in the brand cycle/funnel. If they are in the awareness stage, you just want them to view your content and (as a result) learn more about your business; if they are in the consideration stage, you want them to engage with your posts by either liking them or commenting on them; and if they are in the conversion stage, you want them to follow your account, click the link you presented, or purchase the product you're promoting.

Brand cycles are super, super important to social media marketing. By using them, marketers can successfully turn regular audience members into returning customers. So if you want to learn more about how to successfully use brand cycles, click the button below.

Second: Create A Hook That Will Capture Attention

Here's one simple truth about CTA's: they're not exciting to read. So it's important that the first sentence you write in your content will make your audience want to read more.

How can you do this? Well, by eliciting an emotion from your viewers.

No one will take action or keep reading if they don't want to or feel a need to. Think about it! Do you enter a restaurant just because it's there? Or do you enter a restaurant because you're hungry?

The same situation can be applied to a social media post. Users will read content because they feel the need to know more. If your post reminds them of a frustration they encounter in their everyday life, then they'll keep reading in hopes that you'll have a solution or because you're validating their emotion.

For example: let's say their daily problem is not knowing how to grow their social media pages.

The hook you can create is: Trying to figure out social media can be frustrating.

Try this with your own products! Answer these questions: what issue does your product solve? And how does your audience feel about that issue?

Keep in mind that these aren't the only type of hooks you can create - there are a lot more! The only rule you need to follow is that it grabs attention and elicits emotion.

Here are a few other examples of how to start your hook to get you started:

1. "We're so excited to announce...."

2. "It's sad how...."

3. "Is such-and-such as annoying to you as it is to us"

4. "Want good news? Here's some:...."

5. "We want to motivate you by...."

Third: Create A Sense Of Urgency

If there is one thing that encourages action, it's urgency.

Many people might see your post and think, "wow, that's a great product! I'll look more into it later." And this thought process is something you definitely do not want. Why? Because there's no guarantee that they will do that. For one, they might forget about the product altogether. For another, they might change their minds.

So your goal has to be to make your audience take action the moment they read your CTA, and no later. CTA's can achieve this if you create a sense of urgency around them.

How can you do this? By reminding your audience about deadlines or limited time offers or how little products are available. People will feel more inclined to take action immediately if they feel like the offer won't be accessible later on.

But there are also different sorts of CTAs. So let's discuss how to create urgency for those!

If your CTA is for your audience to engage with your content, then here's a possible CTA: "Did you enjoy this post? Click the like button if you want to see more like it." While this doesn't create as much urgency as other CTAs, it does motivate them to act immediately because people know that they won't likely see the same post twice.

In other words, if you can't create urgency - try to motivate them, instead. Tell them why they should respond to your CTA.

Want More Guidance?

Empowered Social Media has created many courses designed to help small businesses succeed on social media - and we're still creating more! Check out our course list to see if any are a good fit for you and your business by clicking the link below