Since the beginning of advertising, including Call to Actions (or CTAs) in ad campaigns have been essential
to getting the message across.
In 1890, the Minister of the Interior Clifford
Sifton ran ad campaigns in Europe to encourage immigration to Western Canada.
His CTA was simple. FREE FARMS FOR THE MILLION. It was clear to anyone who saw
the pamphlets or posters what Canada was looking for, and—more importantly—what
the customer was getting.
Too long, and you risk your customer not reading. Too
bossy, and you risk turning a potential customer away. Then how do you know
what to do? Think of the KISS principle – yep, “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”
You want to make sure you express your message, i.e. the
product or service you are trying to sell.
There is no simple road map to laying out the most
successful CTA for your business advertising; however, there are some key
things to follow if you want to be able to find what works for your company,
industry and your potential customer.
1. Keep it short.
You have but a few short seconds to touch your potential customer with your message. If you do it right, they will click the link and follow you to your website where you can offer more information on your products or services. For example, if you are offering a free trial service avoid using ‘FOR A FREE BUSINESS E-BOOK SIGN UP AND SUBSCRIBE TODAY’. You may want to opt for, simply, ‘Get Free e-Book’.
2. Let your customer know what value THEY are getting from your product or service.
The point where the CTA expresses a benefit that will exceed the price of your product or service, is the point a potential customer can become a customer.
3. Keep your message at the top of your advertisement.
It is easy to be focused on your product or service and have links to follow located below your message. Try to have the CTA [usually a button] near the top half of the page, ensuring it falls above the page fold so it cannot be easily missed.
4. Don’t be a pushy sales person!
Remember the feeling you get when you walk into a store and the salesperson descends upon you within the first few seconds? That is how potential customers can feel if your CTA is too pushy.
5. Be patient.
It’s important to understand that you may have to try a few CTAs to see which ones generate the largest amount of clicks or sales conversions.
Testing different CTAs and comparing the data is the best way to approach any campaign. Having the tools in place prior to running campaigns with CTAs is essential to any split test of campaigns.
Want to discuss some of your Marketing ideas? Give us a call - we'd love to chat. Also, reach out to us on Social Media and let us know what the most remarkable call to action you've seen was.
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