The purpose of marketing communication is to entice the viewer enough to take action, either it is a for signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. We always find a tab with an urgent message like ‘buy now!’ or ‘sign up today!’ but what makes us do that is more complicated than it appears to be.
A call to action guides a potential customer to take the necessary steps. In the absence of proper guidance, the user may get wary and leave the website without performing the desired action. With the use of appropriate industry-specific language and clarity to expectation, the CTA can be a game-changer for business.
1. Understand design– As Jim Krause said in the book Visual Design, “Visual hierarchy fails when elements of a composition fight for attention.” While designing a page that has information about a product or what to expect, the call to action button should be distinguishable. It helps if the color contrasts with the background and the font big enough to set it apart from the rest of the text.
2. Use Actionable words– The text should be compelling and meaningful like ‘Sign up now,’ Learn more’ etc. It is simple and manages the user’s expectations.
3. Keep it short– A short phrase is all that is required to convey meaning to the viewer. The purest form can be- do this(action) to get that(benefit). Eg. “Sign up and get this free ebook today!”
4. Make it universal- People view your ad on tablets, computers, cellphones, etc. so, make your ad for all devices. Many tools give you the ability to customize your ad and have a feel of how it looks on various devices. Also, enable call extensions on your mobile ads, which adds your business phone number to the tab to make it easier for the potential customer to make the call.
5. Always run an A/B test There can be various layouts that you like, but to the find, the most appealing, run an A/B test. An A/B test or split test is done with two ads with a slight variation to see which one performs better. You can test with two different colors of the CTA tab or the size of it. It will eliminate the dilemma and provide proof in the form of statistics to make you feel confident about your decision. Many websites like AdEspresso, Optimizely provide platforms to perform A/B or even multivariate tests on social media, search engines, etc.
The performance of your ads is measured by dividing the impressions to the clicks, also known as Click-through rate(CTR). Higher CTR is indicative of a better performing ad.
In the end, creating any communication in marketing involves understanding consumer psychology, market trends, knowledge of practical tools, and with all that create the best version of your ad and see your business boom.