Imagine the moment a potential future client visits your website… opens your email… views your social media post… or sees your ad online.
Then, imagine the moment when they take action and become a lead, and begin the journey to becoming your client.
How do you inspire that action? By using a carefully crafted Call-to-Action or CTA for short.
In today’s digital age, financial services firms are competing for attention online.
That’s why creating strong Calls-to-Action or CTAs is essential for driving engagement, conversions, and results. With the right strategies and tactics, firms can maximize their digital presence and achieve their desired outcomes.
In this blog, we’ll share best practices for developing high-performance CTAs for websites, email marketing, social media posts, and online advertising. By following these guidelines, firms can design actionable, high-impact CTAs that capture the attention of their target audiences.
Put simply, CTAs are prompts or invitations used to encourage prospects to take a desired action – such as clicking a link, downloading a whitepaper, signing up for a newsletter, watching a video, or submitting a contact form. The moment they take an action is called a “conversion.”
CTAs are commonly used in websites, emails, advertisements, social media posts, and other content. When used effectively, CTAs can spark engagement and increase conversions, maximizing the impact of your digital marketing efforts.
There are several factors to consider when creating effective CTAs. With proper design and placement, CTAs can drive higher engagement and conversion rates. Here are the 7 best practices that are proven to increase lead generation:
When developing CTAs, it’s important to start by defining the desired outcome. What action should prospects take when viewing the CTA? What will this action achieve?
By identifying these end goals, firms can focus on creating CTAs that motivate prospects to take the desired action – leading to better results.
Be sure to develop your CTAs with your future client in mind. Prospects are looking to solve a problem or fulfill a need. Your CTA should bring them closer to the solution they seek.
The phrase chosen for a CTA should be direct, clear, and actionable. Vague or passive language doesn’t inspire prospects to take the desired action. Instead, CTAs should entice prospects to act with a sense of urgency.
Strong CTA phrases involve active verbs, such as “Sign up Now,” “Download Today,” or “Get Started.” Labels like “Click Here” and “Learn More” can also help to encourage user engagement.
Choosing colors with strong contrast can help to make CTAs stand out and draw the eye. This can be especially helpful on websites, emails, and other digital platforms.
Bright colors – such as yellow, orange, red, and some shades of green or blue – are highly visible and can make buttons and other CTAs more eye-catching. A contrasting call-to-action color can help your CTA stand out and draw more attention.
In addition to using the right colors, it’s important to create a sense of urgency with CTAs. Time-limited offers, limited stock, and other incentives can encourage prospects to take the desired action more quickly.
When creating CTAs, consider using words and phrases like “Now” and “Today” that imply time constraints. This can help boost conversions and improve results.
When prospects click on a CTA, it’s important to provide a clear path for completing their desired action. Sending them (inexplicably) to another website can be jarring, confusing, and frustrating. They’ll just scroll away or click somewhere else.
Instead, CTAs should lead users to a designated landing page that can provide further guidance and information. This can help simplify the process for prospects and make it easy for them to take the next step.
In the digital world, it’s important to keep CTAs brief and to the point. Prospects often have only limited attention spans, so keep CTAs as concise and direct as possible.
Long-winded or elaborate CTAs can be off-putting and can even drive prospects away. Avoid cluttering CTAs with too much content. Focus on capturing the viewer’s attention with a clear, actionable phrase.
Most digital content is now accessed through mobile devices – such as smartphones and tablets. It’s important to properly optimize CTAs for these devices.
When viewed on a smaller screen, CTAs may become harder to click. For example, buttons might be too small and text too hard to read. To prevent these problems, consider the size and placement of CTAs to ensure they are user-friendly and accessible on any device.
Creating effective CTAs for websites, emails, social posts, and online ads can help maximize the impact of your digital presence and drive better results.
By following the 7 best practices outlined above, financial services firms can develop high-impact CTAs that encourage prospects to take the desired action.
By focusing on clarity, brevity, design, and placement, firms can attract and engage their target audiences, earn more conversions, and achieve business outcomes.
Crafting CTAs is just one of the many strategies and techniques for attracting new clients and growing AUM in our “digital first” era.
To learn more, download our free eBook on Digital Distribution™.