Call-To-Action buttons or CTAs can be found on the majority of today’s websites, email marketing campaigns, even social media pages. The reason that is simple – they work! According to HubSpot, there was a 121% increase in conversion rate in cases where a CTA button was used! But it is not only the colors and words that make a CTA appealing to the user, but it is also the psychology of people and how our brains are wired. If you are not using CTAs already, stick around, and we will give you the reasons why you should start using them immediately!
The Psychology Behind CTAs
Our brains process a lot of information every second. We have learned over time to try and find what we are looking for without having to spend too much time on it. A CTA button jumps out from the rest of the content and signalizes to our brain that it is what we are looking for.
Imagine going on a website to enter a competition. Someone told you that there is a competition, but once you get to the website, you can’t find a clear indicator where you need to go in order to enter. That’s not good, is it?
A CTA button will be the first thing that our brains register. Even if we are not sure what happens after we click the button, our attention is already directed towards it, and we are more likely to stick around to find out more.
Building a Database of Users
Let’s say you want to build a database of customers that you can later use in your email marketing campaign. To use the customers’ details for advertising purposes, you need their consent. To get their consent, you need to offer something in return.
A weekly newsletter is a good option to start with. To get users to sign up to your newsletter, you should use a CTA. Having a pop up on your website with a CTA button saying “Sign me up!” is the obvious way of doing this. From here on, the possibilities expand.
You will send an email to the customer with the weekly newsletter. Do you have a new product that you want them to see? Place a CTA button within the email. In this way, you are redirecting your customers back to your website again in order to show them a product. Logical, isn’t it?
Building a database of users can be done through different campaigns as well: competitions, giveaways, ebooks, free trials and many more.
Placement of CTA Buttons
Look at the home page on your website. How many CTA buttons does it have? A common misconception is that there should only be one button per page. Wrong!
On a page, there can be as many CTAs as you need, as long as they are not competing with each other. You need to make sure that they follow logic. A “Sign Up” button usually goes in the header, “Subscribe to newsletter” in the footer and the main area of the page is reserved for all others. If you are listing your products, it is logical to place smaller “Buy Now” CTAs for each product. If you are offering a service, you might go for a big “Request a Quote” button.
CTAs on Social Media Pages
The option for implementing CTA buttons on your social media pages have been around for a while. If we take Facebook as an example, you can add a CTA button on your page just below the cover photo or on the paid ads. Instagram followed the trend and implemented a similar system. That small red button just below YouTube videos that says “Subscribe”? That’s a CTA button as well.
Let’s say you own a small hotel in your hometown. Facebook gives you the option to place a “Book Now” CTA button on your page. This signalizes to users that they can make their booking through Facebook in an efficient way and increases the likelihood of them doing that. The CTA button is customizable, so you can use it to compliment your current campaign. If you sell products, you can turn it into “Shop Now” If you have a blog, it can easily become “Read More” and it will take users to your website.
Using CTA buttons should be something you implement as much as you can and wherever you can, regardless if it is your website, social pages or email marketing campaigns. From a user’s perspective, it is a signal that something will happen after they click the button. In a way, it is a mental shortcut – instead of reading long content, a CTA tells a story in a few words. Make a wise decision of the words you use in a CTA – be short, clear and concise. You don’t want to confuse your customers, but rather simplify things from them.