This article has been written by Pooja Sachdeva pursuing a Training program on Using AI for Business Growth course from Skill Arbitrage.

This article has been edited and published by Shashwat Kaushik.

Call-to-action (CTA) and strategies to create persuasive CTAs

In today’s tech-driven era, decisions, thoughts or desires are one click away from becoming reality. Taking action is far easier than in older times. It’s like opening the window to catch up with the world. As almost 90% of the world’s population has access to smartphones and a similar number of people have access to any microcomputer, the marketplace is in the hands of audiences. In this virtual, competitive marketplace, content is the backbone for delivering the message to the audience. So now comes the role of Call-To-Action ‘CTA’. 

What is call-to-action (CTA) and how does it play a foundational role in running businesses

In today’s times of virtual shopping and virtual services, when consumers are browsing for the product or surfing the net, scrolling and exploring, all the diverse business domains can grow and sustain themselves merely through call-to-actions (CTA). All the digital platforms or digital malls, which are the hubs, can deliver services or products only through this very first bridge between the consumer and the provider.

A call-to-action is a phrase or word that prompts consumers to take the action of clicking. CTA directs to the digital platform of the business, whether it is the landing page of a website or any social media platform. This very first step in showing interest by the consumer is the first sign of conversion. Whatever the conversion goal of a business, it opens up a window. A few clear and directional words or small phrases play important roles in supporting the business conversion goals. Buy now, learn more, get started, etc. are very basic examples of CTAs.

How can the power of CTA be enhanced

Using a creative, persuasive phrase or a few clear, directional words with some USPS can greatly benefit. In the competitive digital world, it is time to develop strategic planning for creating compelling Call-To-Action content. To use the convincing power of words needs careful planning. Understanding the intent of consumers and encouraging them to take action by clicking needs meticulous planning.

As Call-to-Action is an action-oriented button, it should be focused on achieving great success. No doubt, the background content, whether it’s a post or any form of display, plays a great part, but the strategy of this small prompting button can trigger consumers to respond. This small corner of the advertising creative inspires the visitors to take the desired action.

Strategies for creating compelling call-to-action in content

Strategies are the series of activities or tactics aimed at achieving specific goals and creating compelling CTAs. These must be the deliberate steps taken to guide users towards a specific goal, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a service, or engaging with content.

Before planning the strategies, it is important to know the different examples of basic CTA in the context of different platforms:

• The E-commerce websites are confident of ‘Add to Cart’, ‘Shop Now’, and ‘Buy Now’ kinds of CTAs. 
• For capturing information on potential customers for lead generation, the CTAs ‘Download for free’, ‘Register’, etc. are common.
• Social media platforms display ‘Follow us on Twitter’ ‘ Like’ ‘Subscribe us’ types of CTAs.
• Landing pages of websites offer mainly ‘Fill out the form’ kinds of CTAs, displayed as a form.
• Popular brands offer well-researched CTAs aligned to their tag lines.

Various strategies to develop creative CTAs

Clear and direct- The CTA should clearly convey action to the reader. Using action words to let viewers about the specific action is a great way of prompting viewers to take action.

Eye catching– It should be able to grab attention by visually standing out. The bold fonts, gradients, contrasting colours and button size selection according to the advertising creative ensure easy visibility. The attractive graphic of the CTA and the special visibility enhance the chances of clicks.

Addressing the viewer– By making it personalised, adding the word ‘you’ can create magic. It creates a sense of belongingness for the viewer. Phrases can be relatable to their desires or pain points.

Value addition– Using compelling content of offers like- free trials, discounts and solution-oriented action verbs can easily drag the viewers to take action.

Exclusive feeling– Make the audience feel privileged by adding words that convey exclusivity, like ‘VIP access’, and ‘Exclusive offer for members only’, to make the audience feel special.

Invoke curiosity- Using phrases like ‘Discover what Next’ , ‘Try your Luck ‘ or ‘ Ready for Surprise’ are some examples of phrases that anticipate viewers responses.

Rewards to motivate- Something extra like a ‘bonus gift’ can encourage the action of the viewers.

Try out different formats- Try out different ways to display CTA, like the use of POP-UPS, Banners, Different sizes and shapes of buttons, hyperlinks, etc

Provide assurance- To comfort your audience, using content like ‘hassle-free returns’ or ‘your satisfaction-our concern’ in the creative can prompt them to take action.

Use of powerful words-Words like ‘Free’, ‘New’, ‘Exclusive’, ‘Proven’, and ‘Save’ can capture attention and compel users to take action.

Create FOMO- The words and phrases like ‘Last Chance’, Limited Edition’, and ‘Don’t Miss Offer’ create FOMO, deliver a feeling of urgency and trigger the viewers to take action. A high-quality image that suits the business can deliver a good FOMO.

Add social proofs– Incorporating testimonials and reviews motivates the users to make up their minds. This type of content instills a feeling of security in users. Adding social proof spreads a sense of security among viewers.

Addition of reassuring statements- Include reassuring statements or guarantees to alleviate concerns, such as ‘No credit card required’ or ‘Money-back guarantee’. This type of content will take away the hesitations of viewers.

Maintain brand identity-Remain true to your brand voice across all communication channels. The language and phrases should resonate with your brand’s values.

Optimise for mobiles- Ensure that your CTAs are mobile-friendly and easy to interact with on smaller screens. It should enhance the user experience and encourage conversions on mobile devices.

Highlight benefits- By explaining how your product or service will solve their problems or improve their lives, you  can be more compelling and persuasive. So highlighting the benefits directly strikes human psychology.

Illuminate the problem, then offer the solution- Sometimes viewers become immune to problems unless they are made to feel them. The content triggering pain points and offering great solutions easily prompt viewers to take action.

Using Numbers In CTAs– Including the pricing information in the Ad copy close to CTA increases the chances of conversions. When someone looks at the content with numbers like ‘discount percentage’ or ‘only at’ he or she becomes inclined to take action.

A/B testing- Experimenting with your CTAs is not a big deal. All the tactics play an important role but there is always scope for experimentation. By changing and comparing different variables like button size, colours, borders or backgrounds through metrics like click-through rate or conversions, it can be found out which CTA is performing better.

Conclusion

Creating a compelling call-to-action using suitable tactics according to the niche can achieve great success for business goals. Crafting well-planned CTAs and implementing them is a game of trial and error. The main thing that must be taken into consideration is that there should be relevance to the USPS offered. To understand the audiences, their intent, their pain points, or their desires and to target them with relevant CTA copy, it is a must. If CTA fails to deliver the intent of consumers, it can lose their trust forever.

Additionally, it is of paramount importance that the placement of the call-to-action button not interfere with the flow of information being grabbed by the consumer. The goal should be to capture the audience’s attention at the right moment, whether the CTA is embedded in the video or displayed on the ad copy. A CTA should also not be placed only at the end of an article or blog, as consumers rarely go to the end of articles. CTA embedding should be nearest to the content hook. Compelling CTAs only work best if the content consumed by the consumer has an impacting factor.

Lastly, the careful development of strategies for creating compelling call-to-action and their implementations is a game of understanding human psychology. To enhance the effectiveness of CTAs, it is essential to go with the testing, tracking and optimisation processes. For developing strategies for creating compelling call-to-action (CTA), a thorough understanding of the business and its products or services is a must. The CTA phrase plays its own great part, but the content about the business connects emotionally to the audience, so if the relevant content and hooks clearly demonstrate value to the consumer, the well-thought CTAs are going to achieve business goals at a nice pace. By using these methods and ideas, content creators can encourage people to act, build strong relationships, and help their businesses grow.

References

• https://optinmonster.com/how-to-create-the-perfect-call-to-action/
• https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/10/09/call-to-action
• https://neilpatel.com/blog/how-to-create-the-perfect-call-to-action/