Call to Action (CTAs) – Objective, Examples, and More

The Call to Action or CTA help us in this sense: they are those links or buttons that aim to attract users and convert them into brand consumers.

Examples: “Try a month for free” or “Become a premium” These buttons aim to bridge the regular content of a website and a landing page with more exciting and attractive offers for the user.

Companies like Uber or Netflix invest thousands of dollars a year in testing, measuring, and analysing the conversions of their CTAs.

How Should the Call to Action be to Fulfill their Objective?

1. Keep in mind your target audience and what actions you want them to perform (download, subscription, registration, etc.).
2. Good copy: the text of the CTA is critical. Think of a call to action that is direct, original, and appeals to emotions. It will also be helpful to show the user’s benefit: “Get a 50% discount” or create a sense of urgency with the CTA of a backward timer.
3. A single action: you must guide the reader with extreme care to reach the CTA without distracting him on the way or risking losing his attention. The message must be short and clear, and each CTA expresses only one action: “Subscribe,” “Start now,” or “Join.”
4. Non-imperative verbs: CTAs seek to push the user towards a specific action. Imperative verbs will help convey that sense of movement. For example, buy, sign up, call, download.
5. In the right place. If you place the CTA in the right place, you will see how the number of clicks increases. Discard placing it at the beginning of the web, as it can interrupt reading or be very intrusive. It is better to offer helpful information first.
6. sign on your side and use shapes and colours that make it stand out (the most common buttons are rectangular with rounded tips). In any case, do not neglect consistency with your style and the corporate image of your brand.
7. Think of a finger. 67% of smartphone users hold the phone with their right hand (according to a study by specialist Steven Hoober). Is your website adapted to this type of navigation? Are the buttons big enough and prominent enough to be efficient?

Call to Action: Examples of Well-known Brands

Netflix

The streaming video giant uses a prominent and fully branded CTA with its one-month free trial button:

• The red colour stands out against the background and the corporate colour.
• The message is unmistakable: “Try now.”
• The user has it very easy since they also enter their email in the same CTA, saving clicks.

Text that accompanies the CTA: “Cancel whenever you want.” These phrases end the fear of many users of being unable to cancel the trial period.

Spotify

The Spotify landing where you can get Spotify Free also has a very attractive and clear CTA:

• The green colour stands out from the background but, simultaneously, corporate, like its logo.
• The clear message lets the user know what they will get after clicking: Get Spotify Free.

Apple: the anti-CTA

You’re looking right; there’s just no CTA button.

• Always at the front of simplifying and innovating, its value plan has also translated into its call to action.
• Apple has opted for a simple design: an image of its new phone that acts as a CTA, dispensing with any button.
• The copy of the message is also sideways along the same lines, modest but forceful: Say hello to the future.
• Even, in this case, Apple has created a new present of thought, questioning everything established.

Call to Action Examples from Inbound Cycle Projects

What’s Up

The philosophy of the English academy What’s Up! makes life easier for those who want to learn the language with them. Thus, it was important that the CTAs also convey this style. It is an excellent example of an ebook download CTA in a post:

• The CTA is very aligned with the content of the specific article. Anyone reading the post is interested in deepening their vocabulary related to food in English, so they offer the opportunity to do so with a free guide.
• The CTA message makes it very clear what we want the user to do: download an ebook.
• The CTA shows a thumbnail of the ebook to understand better what we make to the user.

Simon DIYers

This blog post by Simon Bricoladores includes a simple CTA, but it makes it clear what needs to complete:

• The colour stands out against the white background but, in turn, is aligned with the brand image.
• The message clarifies what the user should do: “Click here.”
• And it is transmitted without any doubt what the user will get after clicking on the CTA: download the guide.

As you have seen, there are many aspects that you can take into account to have well-crafted CTAs and improve the CTR of your website or blog. From the design, which must be simple and aligned with the brand image, to the copy, which is vital that it be direct, clear, and not confuses the user.

Types of CTAs to Achieve your Marketing Goals

More information

In the early stages of the conversion funnel, your goal may be to keep the user browsing your site. And this is where the first type of CTA comes into play: “Learn more” buttons or links.

Therefore to make this type of button more effective, we can use it to target different kinds of customers. So it means including multiple “Learn More” controls that expand on different types of content.

Share on social networks.

This CTA is beneficial for generating interaction with your content and attracting more visitors to your website or blog.

The premise is straightforward: this CTA encourages users to share your site (or a piece of content in particular) on their social networks or follow your brand channels.

Newsletter subscription

Newsletters are an excellent resource for staying in touch with potential customers and encouraging loyalty. But users are saturated with emails and need to see value to subscribe. To convince them, you can use the “3 P” formula :

• Prominence – The form to sign up for your newsletter should be easy to see and find.
• Promise – Visitors should receive a benefit in exchange for subscribing.
• Proof – The benefit you offer should be proven.

Lead magnets

Lead magnets are a type of CTA widely used in inbound marketing. The formula is straightforward: we offer the user relevant content (for example, a downloadable ebook or access to a series of videos) in exchange for leaving us their contact information.

The content must adapt to the user’s needs for a lead magnet to work.

Lead nurturing

Lead nurturing is the process of accompanying users between the moment they become leads and the moment they are ready to convert. As a result, more targeted CTAs come into play during this journey than during the earlier conversion funnel stages.

Forms

There are multiple reasons to include forms on your site: free consultations, contact requests, tests, and demonstrations. So whatever your case, keep these  recommendations in mind :

Include copy to explain to the user why they should fill out the form.

So remember that the more fields you have to fill in, the fewer conversions you will generate.

Include a clear call-to-action button at the bottom of the form. Try different colours and texts.

Discovery of products or services

This type of CTA makes it easier for visitors to your website to find all the information they need about your products or services. After a brief presentation of our offer, we include a CTA that invites the user to click to learn more about the characteristics of the product or service or request a free trial. So you can place this CTA on your home page for maximum effectiveness.

Event promotion

If you organise a face-to-face or online event, one of your goals will be to get people from your target audience to sign up. And for that, you need a CTA.

Purchase

Shopping CTAs are critical to driving conversions, so optimising them and testing different options is necessary. Within this type of CTAs, we can find other classes:

So we usually find an “Add to cart” type CTA for each product in online stores.

Websites that sell info products usually have long sales pages that explain in detail the benefits of their offer and contain a single CTA.

Exit intent

Finally, the “exit intent” CTAs are the ones that are shown to the user when they are about to leave the website (usually after having pressed the “X” icon on the browser). They’re one last chance to engage people who may be interested in what you have to offer but haven’t taken action yet.

Conclusion

Make a checklist with the necessary points when designing your call to action, and don’t forget to cross them out as you create it. Then, thanks to a good call to action, you will see how your click rate will increase considerably.