How to craft a CTA (call to action) that converts ‘likes’ into actions.

A few weeks ago, on the way home from work, my co-founder Yarin Weltsman met a woman who collects food from the local market, and distributes it to underprivileged families around Jerusalem. The only thing she required to do this was money for the taxis which carried the food to the families.

Yarin posted a video of the woman on the local neighbourhood group inviting people to engage and help, and provided a telephone number. Despite the 372 likes and almost 70 comments, when she followed up a week later, the woman had received zero donations and zero phone-calls.

So we asked ourselves why this had occurred …

The Problem:

Too much content is being shared on social media.

In the age of social media we’re seeing more information being shared than ever before. Our minds (and our thumbs) are getting tired and noticing less and less content. ‘If you’ve just turned 25 years old and you got your first smartphone when you were 11 years old (which is not unrealistic), that means you’ve scrolled 70 miles’ — Leo Qin

The result:

Content that doesn’t always gain attention. Even when it does, it doesn’t automatically seem to convert into sales.

Origin of the problem:

In 2009 Facebook introduced the ‘like’ button, and over time we began to measure the success of our content with how many ‘likes’ it receives. Perhaps for an individual sharing a piece of news, such as an engagement, or a new job, this metric makes sense.

However companies have found themselves using the same metric valuation system; forgetting that the goal of their content is to convert into sales. Here began the age of producing content, without actually seeing sale conversion; companies valuing the quantity, rather than quality of ‘likes’.

So if we accept that the aim of content is to convert into actual sales (whilst also grabbing the attention of the user) content needs a simple CTA.

If we return to the start of this article and the anecdote of the lady requiring funds for the taxis, what went wrong?

The answer is that the there was no real CTA, a phone number was given rather than a donation link, which would have allowed the user to gain a backstory and obviously the ability to actually donate.

A simple tweak and the result would have been very different. After seeing the error in our ways, we’re a looking at a way to implement this. Watch this space and we’ll update you.

In the meantime, we hope you can benefit from our advice and so below you’ll find some times on how create positive and successful CTAs.

Different types of CTAs:

Essentially all content should follow this format:

ENGAGING TITLE | SHORT SUMMARY |WOW PHOTO/ VIDEO |CTA

EVENTS:

• Create an engaging hook
• Post the KEY details
• Make it clear how to purchase tickets

PODCASTS / PAST LECTURES:

• Write the subject you spoke about
• Give a taster of the content
• Post a link on how to listen/watch the link

ARTICLES:

• Engaging title
• A short but CATCHY summary of the content
• How to read more

Avital Eusgeld lives in Jerusalem and along with Yarin Weltsman, the two female founders run HiPitched, an agency that creates brands and products that ensure you are “a voice above the noise”.

Learn more at www.hipitched.com