How to Write an Effective Call to Action for Your Business!

In social media people often talk about generating more “likes” or “followers” or, now, “pinners.” However, having 200 or 2,000 people following your brand on social media doesn’t make much of a difference if those people are not engaging with you on social media and/or purchasing your product. 

An effective social media strategy will incorporate effective “Calls to Action” to engage both existing and new customers. What is a “Call to Action” (CTA) and how do I formulate an effective CTA for my business on social media? Read on to find out…

What is a “Call to Action”?

Simply put, a CTA not only informs users of what you would like them to do – ex: “watch our video on YouTube” or “vote for us in this contest” but it also makes them want to follow through on the recommended action.

CTA’s come in many forms, including, but not limited to:

·      Claiming a promotion/discount

·      Promoting the business on another social media platform (ex: a “Follow us on Pinterest” post on your Facebook account)

·      Sharing content with friends

·      Entering a contest

·      Liking or commenting on content

How to Effectively Use CTA’s

Depending on what action you are encouraging your users to take, the form of the CTA will change slightly; however, here are several key things to keep in mind when formulating a CTA:

1.     Make your purpose clear. For example, if you want them to share something, tell them “Share with all of your friends”.

a.     Being creative in how you state your purpose is always good as long as what you want them to do, your CTA, is still clear.

b.     If this is a discount/promotion offer make sure to convey a sense of urgency.

2.     Ask a question.  “We are on Pinterest. Have you started following us yet?” or “We love our new ice cream flavors. Which one is your favorite?”

a.     Studies have shown that engagement often increases when the question is posed at the end of the post; however, this is not an absolute rule.

3.     Include pictures and/or links. This is particularly true for Facebook, since pictures and links trump only text in the algorithm, but applies to Twitter as well.

a.     Unless your simply trying to get users to like or comment on a post, links are important in CTA’s. For example, if you are trying to tell someone to check out your YouTube video, you need to provide the link to that video.

b.     We live in a visual world, pictures are constantly proven to increase engagement when included in posts (as long as they are relevant and appropriate!).

4.     Be positive! You want to inspire and engage your users.

a.     Exclamation points are great, but use them in moderation (we have a maximum of 2 per post).

5.     Don’t get too wordy. You need to give some information alongside your specific CTA, but don’t write a novel.

a.     Twitter has a word limit, try and stay well under this so users can easily share your Tweet so that others can respond to your CTA.

b.     Facebook posts should provide some information alongside your CTA (ex: Watch our YouTube video about baby seals in the wild) but you don’t need to tell them everything.

Ready to write your own CTA? Here are some examples to get you started!

We have affordable vacation packages for every budget! Wouldn’t you LIKE to be relaxing on this beautiful beach? (picture of beach)

Calling all DIYers…we are now on Pinterest! Have you started following us yet? (link to Pinterest page)

Time is running out on our 20% off store-wide coupon! Click the link below to get yours today! (link to coupon)

Don’t miss your chance for FREE shipping on any purchase tonight until midnight! Order now and share with all of your friends! (link to website and/or picture of products)

Still have questions? Let us know in the comments section!

Also, let us know what you think of this post, and/or what you would like to see addressed in future posts.

If you would like to set up a consultation with Constant Raving so we can help you choose the best social media strategy for your business, please contact us at ConstantRaving@mvoc.com or by phone at 919.244.7503. We look forward to hearing from you!

Which social media site should I use for my business?

At Constant Raving, we know how much work it takes to maintain social media sites for a business. We often get the question “I only have time in my day to think about maintaining one social media site, which is the most important for my business?” While we always recommend coming to us to help you formulate and execute a social media strategy, we recognize that for a variety of reasons that is not always possible. Therefore, we wanted to write a post providing some insight for those who aren’t sure which social media site is best for their business. For this post we have chosen the three major social media sites to focus on: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

First, we want to start by saying how, if you are unable to hire a social media management company (like us!) and cannot regularly post on several sites, it is better to have just one or two that you can maintain. Why? One site that is regularly updated is better for potential customers and looks more professional than having several that are sporadically or never updated. 

Now, how to choose…

Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are each fantastic for different reasons.  Below we have highlighted several aspects that makes each site stand out. Take a look and, when aligned with your businesses brand strategy and what you hope to achieve on social media (e.x. selling houses, building brand awareness, or tempting people with pictures of your delicious doughnuts), you should be able to find the social media site that’s right for you!

Twitter:

1.     Twitter is what’s happening right now

a.     Twitter is great for business that want to post up to the moment information, or post more frequently throughout the day

2.     Twitter forces you to deliver short, concise messages

a.     Although sometimes Twitter’s 140 character limit can seem frustrating, this is a great way to deliver concise messages that pack a punch

b.     Twitter allows you to go over this limit, but since all text over the 140 characters is not visible to followers we strongly recommend to stay within the character limit

3.     Twitter only employs an algorithm for trending topics

a.     What does this mean for your business? That, unlike Facebook, your followers will see updates in the order in which they were posted and not according to an algorithm that assigns importance by type of post

Facebook:

1.     Facebook is what’s happening today

a.     This is great for people who aren’t posting extremely time sensitive material or are unable to update frequently throughout the day

2.     Videos and Pictures Win in the Facebook algorithm

a.     The Facebook algorithm is set up so that Video takes precedence over Pictures, followed by Links, then Text

                                               i.     This means that followers are more likely to see the Pictures and Videos you post than the Links and Text

b.     This is great for businesses that want to post a variety of content, but largely post Pictures and Videos

3.     Facebook has a virtually unlimited character limit (63,206 characters) on posts

a.     While we don’t recommend getting too wordy (people have a shorter attention span these days), Facebook is great for those who don’t want to/can’t/don’t have time to make sure their posts are within Twitter’s character limit

Pinterest:

1.     Pinterest is all about the image

a.     Pinterest is great for brands that rely heavily on images to sell their products

                                               i.     Because you can link your Pins to whatever you choose, we always link back to the page that will sell the product

1.     E.x. A picture of a new home will link back to the webpage with the price and who to contact if interested

2.     Pins are seen in the order that they are Pinned

a.     Like Twitter, there is no algorithm applied to the order in which Pins appear on a users page, therefore the most recent Pins are front and center

                                               i.     This is great, but like Twitter means that you need to be updating (re-Pinning, liking, commenting) on a regular basis to be seen

3.     Pinterest is mostly used by women

a.     Even though we know several male Pinterest users, women still make up the majority of users

b.     This is great for businesses that largely sell to the female demographic

Can’t pick just one? Facebook and Twitter can be published simultaneously on platforms like HootSuite, and Pictures work well on Facebook and (of course) on Pinterest! As you can see from above, each social media site brings slightly different things to the table, and therefore one or two may be a better fit for your business.

We hope this post has been helpful! Please let us know what you think of this post, or what you would like to see addressed in future posts in the comments. If you have any further questions, or would like to set up a consultation with Constant Raving so we can help you choose the best social media strategy for your business please contact us at ConstantRaving@mvoc.com or by phone at 919.244.7503. We look forward to hearing from you!