“What’s next?”
That’s what you should be asking yourself after each social media post you write. What do you want your audience to do next to engage with your brand or content?
This “action” you’re asking of your audience in a social media post is called a Call-to-Action (or CTA for short). It’s an essential part of every social media post, and without it, you could lose your audience who will continue “doom scrolling” away from your content.
Getting your CTA right can help you increase post engagement, comments, likes, and ultimately earn you new sales or business. In this article, we’ll deep dive into what makes a good CTA for social media posts and how you can craft effective ones for each channel.
What is a call to action (CTA)?
A call to action in a social media post directly asks your audience to take your desired action or next step. It’s part of hand-holding your audience and leading them to engage with your brand throughout your marketing or sales funnel.
Here are some common examples you’ve likely seen in posts:
- Follow me for more content like this
- Comment below with your thoughts
- Share this post to be entered to win
- Read our blog post for more information
- Browse our online store to buy today
- Check out our link in bio for details
CTAs are typically followed by a clickable hyperlink to the desired page or resource. In other cases, like reels or ads, your CTA may also include a clickable button link, too.
Why do CTAs matter in social media posts?
Marketers need to handhold prospects as they move through the funnel. CTAs lead your followers to take direct action to move them forward in your funnel.
Posts with clear calls to action often receive higher post engagement rates (likes, comments, shares) and improved conversion rates. Without them, you risk the scroller passing your content by without taking that active action to engage with your brand (they fall back into the dreaded doom-scroll and forget about you).
Common social media CTA goals
Your CTA requires some careful, strategic thought. What is the next step someone needs to take after reading or viewing your post? What goal do you want to achieve?
In social media, common business goals may include:
- Driving traffic to your website, store product, or landing page
- Growing your email list
- Building community (encouraging people to share or comment)
- Purchase a product or service
- Learning more about your audience
Each post or campaign should have one of these (or similar goals), along with measurable KPIs to measure its success (like data from social media analytics).
Best practices: what makes an effective CTA?
Carefully crafting your CTA will help increase its success. Always make sure it’s written on brand and in your brand voice. Here are some other tips to make your CTA more effective:
- Use engaging, clear, action-oriented language (“Buy now” instead of “Click here”)
- Match the CTA to the post’s intent and platform (Don’t blindside them with a requested action unrelated to the post content)
- Keep it concise and direct (keep social CTAs brief and include hyperlinks for ease of action)
- Create urgency or FOMO when appropriate (give them a reason to stop the scroll and engage with your brand)
- Make sure it’s visually noticeable (if on graphics or ads, use a button or link in a contrasting colour, or use emojis or symbols to draw attention to links in text posts)
Another tip to craft effective CTAs is to include actions for different stages of your marketing or sales funnel. For example:
- Top of funnel: Build awareness for new prospects with low-barrier-to-action CTAs like “Watch now” or “Read more..”
- Middle of funnel: Build engagement and help your prospects learn more about your solutions with more active, value-based CTAs like “Sign up” or “Get your free guide.”
- Bottom of funnel: When customers are ready to buy, they’ll be more receptive to bold sales offers like “Buy now” or “Book a consult.”
Examples of strong CTAs by platform
Your choice of call to action may depend on the platform you’re using. Here are some CTA tips for each social media platform:
- Instagram: “Save this post for later” or “See link in bio.”
- Facebook: “Tag a friend who needs this” or “Send us a PM to learn more.”
- LinkedIn: “Do you agree? Comment your thoughts.”
- TikTok: “Follow for more tips.”
- X (formerly Twitter): “Retweet if you agree.”
You could also make your CTA an “offline” action like “Visit us in store” or “Do a kindness for a stranger today.” Use these types of CTAs sparingly because it’s harder to track and measure their effectiveness.
Consequences of forgetting your CTA in Social Media
Forgetting the occasional CTA is ok if your post is focused on brand building. However, any post without a CTA you risk:
- A missed opportunity for your audience to engage with your brand
- A missed opportunity to learn something about your followers
- Social media users scrolling past your post and forgetting about your brand
- Decreased ROI on your content efforts
- Fewer opportunities for tracking results and goal achievement
What’s the value of a strong CTA for your business?
Well-crafted and placed calls to action in your social media posts have the power to engage and nurture your followers. They help your business stay top of mind, so when they reach the bottom of your marketing funnel (hot leads), they’re ready to buy.
Take a look at your last few weeks of social media posts. Do they have strong calls to action? Based on what you learned in this article, how can you improve them to be more engaging and effective?
Make an effort to focus on your calls to action in your posts this week and see if you notice any difference in your results. Start by asking yourself, “What does my audience need to know or do next,” at the end of every post.
The social media marketers at picnic social can help you craft social media content that engages and converts. Book a complimentary discovery call today to see how we can help you take advantage of the power of social media through strong content and even stronger calls to action.
