When it comes to creating opportunities for engagement with your potential customers, I am thankful to be able to call on Tasha Mayberry, online marketing expert, to teach us all some innovative strategies to leverage the ways in which we are already touching people everyday with calls to action. Thanks Tasha!
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What is a Call to Action?
A call to action (CTA) is the next step you want your target audience to take to further them in the “buying” process, which is the entire process of lead generation, nurturing and conversion. CTAs will help you drive traffic to you website/blog/social media sites; help you generate, nurture and convert leads, gives direction to your target audience and most importantly will help you make money!
So where do you use call to actions? Every time you create content, there should be a call to action. You should have a CTA on every web page of your website and in each newsletter, marketing email, blog post, video, ebook, white paper, landing page…again, everywhere you create content, you should have a call to action.
How will call to actions help you? Call to actions will help you direct your target market through your “buying” process and drive traffic to other parts of your website, your blog and even your social media sites. Call to actions can also help you get new subscribers and is a great tool to build your email list. Most importantly, they help you generate, nurture and convert leads – which means more money for you.
Now this is important: A call to action doesn’t mean you are asking someone to buy something each time. It can be anything from downloading a free guide, filling out a form, subscribing to your newsletter, asking for comments on your blog, to even a simple link for someone to get more information on another web page. The marketing world has changed and instead of putting up a nice landing page with a buy now button, you must give a ton of value to attract followers and keep giving them value on a consistent basis and THEN the sales will naturally follow. So think of a call to action as a nudge for people to keep moving through your marketing web.
Your Marketing Web
Use call to actions to create cohesive marketing. There are so many different delivery methods for delivering content; think of it as one giant web consisting of the following:
- Your Website
- Your Social Media Profiles (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, etc.)
- Your Blog
- Your Newsletter/Email Marketing
- Your Value Offerings (ebooks, guides, white papers, videos, books, dvd set, etc.)
If you want to create an effective marketing web, use call to actions to drive people from one part to another. For example, let’s say I wrote a blog on How to Write a Press Release. At the end of the blog post I could use this CTA:
“Do you have any press release tips? Share your brief Quick Tip on Twitter by clicking here. ”
Then link “Share your tip on Twitter by clicking here” with this twitter code:
– Tailor the code of course to say what you would like but keep it short
– Don’t forget to add your Twitter handle
– You can even add a hashtag (#pr would be good for this example)
– Add a link to double up creating a call to action within a call to action
– Test the code to make sure it posts on Twitter correctly
So it would look like this (feel free to click this link; it’s a real article on How to Write a Press Release):
“Do you have any press release tips? Share your brief Quick Tip on Twitter by clicking here.”
Creative Call to Action Examples
Typical call to actions use phrases such as sign up, download now, subscribe, enroll…which are all important key action terms to use. Creative call to actions may be more enticing and encourage interaction from your followers. Here are some create CTA examples:
- Like ABC Co. on Facebook and receive ___% off on ____________.
- Download our free ebook on how to ____________.
- Sign up for the ABC Co. ezine to receive updates from our team along with specials and promotions.”
- What do you think about ___________? Comment below to share your thoughts and expertise.
- Follow ABC Co. on Twitter and be entered to win a $100 gift card. Drawings are held quarterly and announced on Twitter. For every 10 re-tweets you post, we will enter your name again in the drawing to increase your chances.
- Subscribe to ABC Co. newsletter and receive our free guide about X, Y, Z which will help you 1, 2, 3.
- Learn how ___________ can help you X, Y, Z. (note: these are benefits/what’s in it for them)
- Download our White Paper about how to A,B,C.
- For every $100 you spend, $5 will go to FeedingNYC.org. Visit ABC Co.’s products page to see what’s new for the holiday season.
- Check out our online business directory here. List for one month free to try it out!
- Post pics of your ______________ (could be a product or clothing you sell) on ABC Co.’s Facebook wall and in one sentence tell us why you love your _______________!”
- To get tips on ______________, subscribe to our blog feed.
- If you found this useful, share it with others.
- Are you an expert on ____________? We are looking for guest authors to contribute to our blog. Click here to submit your bio.
- Send us a testimonial and you could be featured in our newsletter with your story.
- Get started today by requesting a no-obligation review that will give you specific strategies to grow your business.
Call to Action Tips
– What are the benefits? People respond to benefits and always want to know, “What’s in it for me?” Know the benefits of each call to action and state the benefits in your call to action or above your call to action button so it’s more enticing.
– Be clear and concise. Not only tell them what to do, but how to do it. “Complete this simple form and hit submit to get your free report which we will email to you” OR “Click on this link and hit ‘Like’ on our Facebook Page to be entered to win…”
– Use call to actions to build your marketing lists. Whenever you ask someone to download something (ebook, report, video, etc.), ask for their name and email in exchange for it. Tip: First name and email works best as this is very minimal information that most are willing to give, but is enough information to get someone on your email marketing list.
– It’s okay to be repetitive. Each web page should have a call to action so maybe it’s the same call to action on the bottom of each page and that’s okay! “Request your free copy of 10 Essential Tips for Starting Your Own Business.” However, try to use multiple call to actions throughout your marketing web.
– Positioning, coloring, and size of your call to action or button are all important. Click here to learn some tips on Call to Action Buttons: Examples and Best Practices.
– Don’t hyperlink words like “Click here” or “Contact Us.” For SEO purposes, use descriptive keywords in your call to action link.
– Create a sense of urgency. “Limited Time” OR “Limited Beta Addition” OR “Introductory Price” OR “First 10 re-tweets get free copy of my book…”
– Offer multiple call to action choices; giving more options will increase the likelihood that the person will at least click somewhere. “Request a Demo” AND “Download Free eBook” AND “Watch Video” all offered at once.
– Know what comes next: After the person clicks, subscribes, fills out the form – whatever the call to action is, have the process in place for automatic emails, next steps, etc. Keep nurturing leads to keep people in the cycle and in the “buying” process.
Overall, call to actions will help you:
– Drive traffic to your website, social media sites and blog.
– Facilitate your “buying” process (generating, nurturing and converting).
– Give direction to your target audience.
– Help make you more money!
What’s your favorite call to action? Like Dr. Shannon Reece on Facebook and post to her wall.
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Tasha Mayberry is the Founder of Social Media 22, a company that helps entrepreneurs create online visibility and generate new business from internet marketing. Social Media 22 specializes in website development, website revamping, search engine optimization, social media marketing, public relations, and overall marketing for entrepreneurs and small businesses. To receive a no-obligation, free Opportunities Report listing marketing enhancements and strategies specific to your business, click here.
Strategies and Tactics for Women by Dr. Shannon Reece 