What Is a Call-To-Action and Why Do I Need It?

A call-to-action (or a CTA) is a word or phrase that gives your customer, follower, or reader a reason to act. It calls upon your audience to do something immediate, such as click a button, start a free trial, or sign up for an email subscription.

A good call-to-action can help achieve all of the following:

• Generate leads
• Boost engagement
• Raise product or brand awareness
• Increase website traffic
• Drive sales

Call-to-action phrases can be used effectively in many places, such as email headlines and blog post titles. Now more than ever, call-to-action phrases are being used on social media – the place where 71% of internet users worldwide are already engaging.

Call-to-action phrases can be used effectively in many places, such as email headlines and blog post titles. Now more than ever, call-to-action phrases are being used on social media – the place where 71% of internet users worldwide are already engaging.

When you’re competing with highland calves who think they’re dogs, clickbait articles, and a never- ending stream of political memes, your posts need to really earn your audience’s attention. On social media, using the right call-to-action phrases can have a direct impact on whether your campaign will be successful, or your audience will scroll past it.

Here’s an example of how using call-to-action phrases and power words can make a difference in how clickable your materials are. The first image is a “before” photo of a less-than-gripping article headline:

This article title uses words that most audiences would find boring and even inaccessible – many readers may not even know what equity grants are. This example lacks a call-to-action, and as a result fails to direct the reader towards clicking on the article. Now, watch what happens when we use some powerful new words, and call-to-action magic:

This “after” headline is much more clickable than the last and appeals to a wider audience. The phrase “Here’s Why” creates a question where none had been and incentivizes users to act by clicking on and reading the article.