When you are active on social media, what do you have to say?
It could be about your company or product, your services, whatever. If you’re trying to convince someone to take action on your behalf, they need more than just a headline and a link—they need a clear call to action.
What is a call to action (CTA)?
What is a call to action? It’s the thing you want people to do after reading your content. Maybe it’s signing up for a free trial or downloading a PDF of your latest report. Maybe it’s calling in for an appointment at the office or visiting your landing page for more information.
Calls to action are essential because they help draw people into your content. Think about it: if there are no calls to action in an article or video, how many people will actually finish reading it? How many people will click through on that link when they see one at the bottom of a Facebook post?
If there aren’t any calls to action in your content, then there isn’t much incentive for someone reading it to do anything else—and without doing something else (like clicking links), how can we expect them to continue the conversation?
How to write a call to action for social media
Before you can start writing, you need to know what you want your audience to do. Do you want them to make a purchase, visit your landing page, create an account, enter a contest, or like your latest selfie? (Kidding. Mostly.)
Your desired action should also fit within your overall social media marketing strategy. Think about how your CTA will serve your social media goals.
Here are some simple tips to keep in mind while you write:
1. Keep it conversational
There’s no need to be formal in your copy. You and your ideal customer are already best friends, right?
When you write to someone you know, it feels more personal—it makes the message come across as less like a sales pitch. And that’s because there’s a natural ease in writing “you” and “your.”
You can use “you” and “your” in your copy to encourage a connection between yourself and your ideal customer. It’s an easy way to make your message feel more personal and less like a sales pitch.
2. Use action words
When you’re trying to get people to take action in the face of a big decision, you need something that’s more than just a call-to-action. You want to inspire your audience to take action — this is no time to play coy.
CTAs that use powerful, clear, instructive verbs (aka command words) can help cut down on decision fatigue. Try phrases like:
“Sign up for your free trial”
“Download my guide”
“Get your free instant quote”
“Shop dog hammocks”
“Post jobs for free”
Simple and direct is usually best, but avoid phrases like “Click here,” which can sound spammy or off-putting. With your ideal customer, check out our guide to creating buyer personas.
3. Be specific
The more specific your CTA is, the better. Instead of saying, “Sign up for our newsletter,” try, “Sign up for our weekly travel newsletter to get the latest flight deals.”
It’s also a good idea to stick to one CTA per post. Otherwise, you risk overwhelming your reader with too much information and losing them completely.
4. Create a sense of urgency
As any impulse shopper can tell you, nothing is more tempting than a limited-time offer. The clock is ticking!
Lean on FOMO (fear of missing out) and use words like “now,” “today,” or “this week only” in your CTA to encourage people to take action right away.
5. Where to put your social media CTA
Every ad you post should have a call to action, but organic social media content can also include CTAs. Here are a few places you can sneak in a CTA:
- In your bio
- In your posts
- In your stories
If you are looking for ways to stay up to date on the latest social media trends, subscribe to our weekly newsletter!
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