CTA (Call To Action)
You may or may not have heard the acronym “CTA” thrown around. What does it mean? And what does it do. CTA stands for “Call To Action”, and if you don’t have it in your marketing – it’s most likely not going to be successful. So, it’s important you know what it is. CTAs are used to attract and bring in those in your target audience, but are also used to communicate to them what you want them to do, or where you want them to go. Today, we’re talking about this commonly used buzzword, and how to make yours effective.
Where to Start with CTAs?
The first thing to think about when creating your CTAs is your brand, shop, and shop’s needs. What are the main things you’re trying to get your visitors to do? How will you get them to do this? Obviously, you want your customers to spend money, but what actions do they need to take, or ideas need to enter their head, in order for them to purchase? Some examples of actions they can take are trying out a new item, attending a fundraiser, using a coupon, or signing up for your rewards program.
Once you have these ideas in mind, it’s time to create your CTAs. But it’s not as simple as that, because, how do you know if a “Buy One Get One Free” coupon will perform better than a “Free Slice on Us” one? Testing. Run some “A/B” tests – tests where you use one on half your audience, and the other on the rest of your audience – and see which one yields the best results.
Lastly, be specific. It’s always better to over-communicate with your CTA. Tell your audience exactly what you’d like them to do, and don’t make them have to guess. You want your viewers to be able to answer the question, “what’s in it for me?” when they look at your marketing piece.
What Makes a Good CTA
Since every shop is different, and every customer base reacts to different things, there are an array of possible pizza shop CTAs. However, once you test out your chosen call-to-actions, you’ll start to understand what fits your audience best.
Here are a few ideas to help you brainstorm and improve on yours:
“Sign Up for Our Rewards Program” will work better as “Get a FREE Slice when you Sign up Now”. This answers the question, “What’s in it for me?”
“We Deliver” will perform better as “Want Free Delivery?”. The first CTA doesn’t provide any insight, while the other creates desire and reason to act.
For most marketing, you have limited time to catch the attention of your audience members. So, it’s important that your CTAs grab their attention quickly and effectively. The right CTAs can help you stand out over competitors, and studies show that CTAs can boost conversion rates by 21%.
Where to Use Them
You can (and should) use CTAs on all types of marketing materials. Honestly, you should be using them on every platform you’re marketing on (for example, landing pages, websites, blogs, newsletters, emails, direct mailers, and more).
When working with direct mail specifically, don’t be afraid to tap into the possibilities of technology. Use tools like QR codes and PURLs (personalized URLs) with your CTA to make it easy for people to act on your request, and make your CTA’s results more easily trackable. Check out some great CTA examples from the experts at ZaHub, here.
When you’re creating your next print or digital marketing piece or campaign, remember to include a CTA, and make it clear, visible, and valuable. Keep up with competitors by providing obvious value to your audience and making it easy for them to take advantage of it. To get started on some effective marketing with excellent CTAs, contact us.
