How to Write a Compelling Social Media CTA

If you want your target audience to do something on social media—whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for your email list or anything else—you can’t just hint or hope. 

You need a solid CTA, or call to action, to point them in the right direction.

How do you write a compelling social call to action that gets results? Read on to learn the basics about CTAs, as well as three effective tips to help you write them.

What is a CTA?

A CTA is a prompt that encourages viewers or readers to take a specific action. On social media platforms, a CTA can direct your followers in a number of ways. You can inspire your followers to buy a product, subscribe to your newsletter, leave a comment, share a post and so much more. CTAs can appear on organic posts and ads on social media channels, and the CTA will appear as text on an image, in captions or on a dedicated CTA button. You can even include them in social media videos.

While CTAs don’t have to be detailed or elaborate—they can be as simple as a single word, like “Subscribe” or “Buy,” the most compelling ones are usually a bit more specific. Effective CTAs inform the reader what they’ll get for completing the action, and they’re tailored to be relevant to the target audience’s needs. Great social CTAs make it both easy and enticing for your audience to take the exact action you want them to take.

Tips for writing great social CTAs

Creating a social marketing campaign? Before you write your CTA, consider your audience and what you want them to do. Think about the desired action, including how well it fits within your overall social marketing strategy. As you start writing, keep these tips in mind:

1.     Keep things conversational. You and your ideal customer should already have a friendly rapport, so there’s no need to be formal in your social CTAs. Make a personal connection by using “you” or “your” in the copy you write—it’s easy to make messages feel less like a sales pitch.

2.     Include action words. If you want your audience to take an action, you need to spell it out clearly. Use powerful, instructive, clear verbs—or command words—to reduce the chance of decision fatigue and compel your followers to make a move. Phrases like “Download my guide,” or “Get a free quote now,” are simple, direct and tell your audience exactly what they’ll get.

3.     Create a sense of urgency. If you have your target customer on the hook, don’t let them get away! You should create a sense of urgency and a fear of missing out by including words like “Now,” or “Today,” in your CTA, so your followers will be more compelled to take action right away.

Connect with your audience through powerful social CTAs

Writing compelling social media CTAs takes a bit of practice, but the effort is well worth it. Whether you’re looking to boost sales, shares, comments or anything else through your social media channels, give your audience a clear CTA to get the results you’re after. Need help crafting a solid social media strategy? Say hello to Spin Creative. As your branding partner, we’ll help you leverage social media to accomplish your goals.

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Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.