No matter your industry or your niche—whether you are an affiliate marketing professional or an online merchant—the value of a strong call to action cannot be overstated. The call to action is where you lay out for your potential clients the value they will receive from buying your product, signing up for your e-mail list, or simply visiting your blog—and then, you urge them to take the appropriate action. The call to action is an essential part of your website or blog content, because the call to action is how you get things done.
Critically, though, a call to action is not just something you slap onto the bottom of your product pages. A call to action can also prove an important tool in your social marketing campaign. Say you have a Facebook account, which you use primarily to refer traffic back to your corporate website or blog. A call to action, affixed to each status update, will tell people why they should navigate away from Facebook to check out your other online assets. Ideally, the call to action will provide just the push you need to turn those Facebook fans into clients or subscribers.
Value Now and Value Later
One of the most important things to remember, when constructing a Facebook post with a call to action, is that you need to provide clients with some value, immediately. For example, you might include a post with some handy or intriguing facts and statistics, related to your business or product. Just by reading your Facebook post, potential clients feel like they are receiving a direct, immediate benefit, and your brand is established as one of trustworthiness and repute.
At the same time, you do not want to give everything away on your Facebook page. You need to provide some immediate value, but also make it clear that there is further value to be found at your website or blog. A good Facebook call to action might take this form, then: “Did you know that 25 percent of all online searches are performed on Bing? Visit us on the Web to learn more about optimizing your site for maximum Bing rankings!”
Asking the Right Questions
An alternative form of call to action is the leading question. Instead of asking your fans to visit your blog, you might ask a probing and attention-grabbing question that entices them into visiting you elsewhere on the Web. Again, providing a little background information helps. So, to return to our previous example, you might ask: “Bing searches make up a quarter of all online search activity. How is your company optimizing for Bing success?” Attach this status update to an article called “5 Tips to Ensure Bing Optimization,” and you have yourself a really compelling call to action!
The Most Important Ingredient
This might almost go without saying, but: When seeking to drive traffic to a separate online asset, including links is critical. You can also include phone numbers or e-mail addresses, if applicable, but using a link in each call to action post is essential for getting the most out of your Facebook campaign. A good link, married to good content, provides you with all the basic ingredients for a truly rousing and effective call to action!
Amanda E. Clark is President and Editor-in-Chief of Grammar Chic, Inc., a literary consultancy specializing in writing and editing services. Amanda is a published ghostwriter and editor and her company provides a variety of services related to blog and content writing, social media marketing, press release creation and more. For more information about Grammar Chic, Inc. visit http://www.grammarchic.net
