Whenever you communicate with your customers, your CTA is the most important message you’re likely to deliver. Maybe you want prospective vendors to book a valuation or download your brochure. Perhaps you are looking for landlords who could benefit from your property management services. Or, do you want to catch the eye of the buyer who doesn’t even know they’re looking? Whatever your goal, the important thing is getting your potential customer to take that crucial next step, and to do so NOW – not at some random point in the future.
This is where psychology comes in Before you write your CTA, it’s worth understanding the impulses that make people take action and the messages that stimulate those impulses.
The psychology of marketing has been around for a long time and while the platforms have radically changed, many of the messages used in advertising and mailshots a century ago still resonate today.
Be sure to consider the psychology of colours. Red, for example, is good for impact – you’ll often see it on ‘act now’ buttons. Make sure the chosen colour works with the rest of the page and brand.
Whether you’re working on your website, Instagram account, Facebook posts, YouTube videos or old-fashioned printed materials, certain words – such as free, now, new, today and limited – work on your audience’s psyche to achieve results.
Break down barriers
Psychology also demands that you make the action as painless and commitment-free as possible – think 30-day free trials of Amazon Prime or Netflix.
Make sure customers understand that what you are offering is time-limited but without onerous costs or obligations further down the line – ‘get 10% off our full management service for six months, then cancel at any time’, for example.
Where to put your CTA
As you start to plan your content, keep your goal in mind and make sure that everything you write builds to that all-important CTA.
It might feel logical to put a CTA at the end; as a summing up of a well-argued blog or informative video, for example. Equally though, a CTA can be placed anywhere your audience is likely to look. It can be copy, but more likely it will be a banner, image, button, or other visual cue to convert.
Is it clear?
The best CTA messages are clear and unequivocal. ‘Start your trial today’ or ‘book a valuation now’ are much better than the vague ‘click here’ or ‘find out more’.
Even if you are being super clever with quirky and engaging copy, make sure that ultimately it is obvious what people need to do.
Don’t be too pushy though – if your prospective customer ends up on a pop-up screen where all they can do is book a valuation, you’ll probably never see them again. Use the ‘so what’ test to make sure the content is spot on – if the benefits aren’t obvious, keep asking ‘so what’ until the copy really does nail it.
Constructing a wonderful webpage around your CTA
Don’t ignore the visual impact of your page and how it draws the eye to the CTA. Make sure your CTA stands out and is noticed, but not so that it obscures everything else.
There’s a lot in the psychology of colours. Red, for example, is good for impact – you’ll often see it on act now buttons. Make sure any colour you choose works with the rest of the page and your own branding – the same goes for fonts too. And remember, a good image that’s relevant and emotive really can drive those clicks.
Advice for social media
With limited space and the need to halt the scrolling, keep your posts punchy and engaging and your images top quality and arresting.
It is especially important that your CTA is clear, whether you want people to read your latest blog, view your best properties or download a brochure.
Keep your tone informal and conversational and offer your audience something in return for reading, liking and following – whether funny, interesting or nice to look at. If you can offer an exclusive – insider tips or a first look at something new, all the better.
If you can incorporate the trending or topical into your post, linked to your CTA, this often works well, but make sure it’s relevant to you.
Finally… test and test again
What works for one campaign might not work for another, so no matter how sure you are that your CTA is the right one and your content supports it, you should test this out first.
Any questions, book your agency consultation with me personally and we can discuss making sure you have the right CTA’s on your website.
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