Do Your Campaign CTAs Have What It Takes?

As you craft your next inbound marketing campaign, there are a number of elements to consider: the offer, the landing page where visitors will access the offer, what type of lead nurturing workflowwill carry new leads from awareness to consideration to purchase …

Don’t overlook the short phrases and graphics at the very beginning of the process that catch your prospects’ eyes and make them aware of the campaign offer in the first place: calls-to-action.

While they may not be the first thing you create for your campaign, they are the first thing your prospects will likely see, so take care to create calls-to-action (CTAs) that will be effective in convincing those who see them to take the next step and click.

CTAs for your next campaign should include:

1. Convincing.

Whether your offer is registration for an event, a downloadable case study, or a coupon for your product, remember that your prospects aren’t necessarily looking for an event, a case study or a coupon. They are looking for networking opportunities, successful strategies or savings. Your CTA needs to convince them the offer has what they are looking for.

It may sound cliché to say “sell the benefits,” but that is what you should do, whether the CTA is a paid social media ad, a banner on your website’s home page or a contextual call-to-action written into a related blog post.

2. Clear.

Along with the benefits your prospect will reap from taking advantage of your offer, be sure to still be clear about what that offer is. Is it a free trial? A consultation with someone from your company? A podcast they can download to listen to later?

Don’t be misleading or confusing about what your prospect will receive.

This also means writing your CTA copy so that it will match the landing page to which it links. If the CTA says “webinar” but the landing page requires them to sign up for a newsletter and a phone consultation before getting to what they thought would be an educational online video, you will likely lose not only their interest, but also their trust for future interactions.

3. Commanding.

Call-to-action. See that last word? Action? Just the name of these marketing elements should be a reminder every time to include the directions that give readers an instruction to do something. Give them a command and tell them what the action should be.

Action words can be as simple (and predictable) as “download,” “join,” “try” or “sign up.” But you can also get creative with ways to combine the benefit and the action — after all, CTAs also need to be as short and sweet as possible, while covering all of the basics.

Grey Goose, the vodka brand, invites you to “Stir now.”

4. Colors or graphics that make it stand out.

While some calls-to-action may be text only—such as the ones you include in blog posts offering related content—those that are buttons, slide-ins, banners and sidebar ads need to stand out.

While you may not want to make it completely garish, contrast will help viewers see the CTA and recognize it for what it is. For example, the box around the Grey Goose CTA above is just enough to differentiate it from the other copy on the page, telling viewers “this is where you click.”

Contrasting colors, images of the offer (such as the cover of an ebook or a screenshot from a webinar), and boxes or buttons will make your CTA more visible and more clear.

5. Continuity.

While you will create a number of different CTAs for each campaign in order to fit them to the channel in which they will appear, use common elements to tie the entire campaign together. That may mean an image, a color, a font and/or a phrase.  This will help build awareness for the campaign, even if the viewer doesn’t click on the first one they see. It increases top-of-mind awareness for your campaign and your brand.

Are you ready to create the calls-to-action for your next campaign? Find more tips for optimizing CTAs in our free ebook: The Comprehensive Guide to Designing and Executing Calls-to-Action.