Hello, Nick Ponte here. I’m an advertising agency in Maui, Hawaii, and I love helping small businesses plan and implement solutions to their most challenging marketing issues. Last week, I shared three tips for Maui business owners to get search engines to quickly index their website’s newest content.
Of course, all marketing efforts fall flat if they don’t produce leads. In the world of digital marketing, we invite interested shoppers to move forward through what’s known as a call to action (CTA). We use a statement or phrase to call users to take a specific action. These usually come at the end of a pitch. In the case of a website, they’ll follow information about your service or product.
You see plenty of these as you browse the internet, so you’ll have familiarity with CTAs like these: “Shop Spring Sale,” “Click here to sign up for my newsletter,” or “Download my free guide now!” These phrases drive the point of your pitch home. Without the invitations, potential customers don’t have a way to take action on the provided information.
How can you, as a Maui business owner, ensure the CTAs on your website effectively draw users toward taking the next step? Keep reading.
Also Read: 4 CTAs Small Businesses Can Use to Drive Leads
Why a Hawaii Advertising Agency Should Improve Your CTAs?
You probably understand the reason to include a CTA in the first place. But do you get good results from those included on your site? Have you considered giving special attention to your CTAs instead of just floating a link at the end of your pitch?
The person browsing your website looks to solve a problem. Your goal? Convince them that you have the solution.
If they don’t see that you satisfy their issue, they won’t feel the need to go any further with you. That means your CTA has to seal the deal. So how can you improve the final stage of your pitch so customers keep traveling your path on their buyers’ journey?
Also Read: Drive Rankings and Traffic with Content
How to Use Effective CTAs to Increase Leads to Your Maui Business
Drive your leads with these 9 tips for improved CTAs:
- Write in the Second Person
As you invite users to take the next step with your business through a CTA, use language that’s personal and immediately relevant. Part of that comes through a direct invitation. Use second-person narrative that speaks personally to the user.
If it’s been a few years since your grade school English classes, I’m talking about speaking with “you” as the subject. This includes statements where “you” is left out but understood, like “shop new products.” Statements like, “You can join us!” or, “Click here to take the next step,” speak directly to the reader, making them the subject of the narrative.
These CTAs let the user envision themselves as part of the story you tell, and it helps them understand that taking action will scratch their itch.
- Use Open Loops
An open loop creates anticipation and sets up the desire for the audience to see a conclusion.
“Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” When you answer the question by saying who’s at the door, you end the joke and close the loop. In marketing, you want to leave it open, and invite the consumer to close it by clicking your CTA.
Do this by asking questions like, “Curious to see how your business performance compares to competitors?” or, “Get the missing piece to your digital marketing stack.” Offer specific solutions to customers’ needs, showing exactly what you have that helps them solve their problem.
- Write with Casual and Friendly Language
Your content shouldn’t sound distant or bore your reader. You want comfortable conversation about offers and products, not just informative data. Remember, the offer should sound enticing, not stiff. Definitely include the necessary information, but use a friendly, conversational tone.
Write as if you’re speaking face-to-face to your ideal customer at your Maui location. Make your CTA an invitation to join in on your great offer, using all the excitement you would if they stood right in front of you.
- Make the CTA Relevant to the Page It’s On
Users ignore CTAs that don’t make sense. Go with the flow of the page. Say you have a whole webpage about gardens and when to plant certain vegetation. If the CTA springs a question about lawn mower maintenance, it probably won’t appeal to the reader. But if you add that CTA to a page about lawn care and equipment, you’ll more likely attract the right customer. Choose a different CTA for the garden page, like an email newsletter about plant and garden care or a membership to classes or nursery discounts.
- Employ Humor
Humor grabs our attention, but more importantly, we tend to remember something funny we see or read. Lead into your CTA by telling a funny story, land a witty joke, or use easy-to-remember puns.
Think about humor that works best with the customers you want to attract, and use that in your CTA. If you aim to attract tourists on vacation to Maui, throw in some memorable and humorous stories you’ve told previous tourists in person—or that they’ve told you.
- Use Enticing Visuals
Visuals, like photos and graphics, often speak much better than wordy explanations. Keep this in mind as you plan CTAs for your marketing content.
Users typically base decisions and opinions about companies on photographs. Images help users visualize the results that they, too, can get when they join you. In CTAs, refer back to the images to remind the consumer of the benefits they’ll get from joining you in business.
Hotels and bed and breakfasts make sales by demonstrating the desirability of their physical spaces—successful ones use quality photos on their websites to attract customers. Consultants and contractors can use appealing before-and-after photos, employing the power of outcomes as part of their marketing strategy. You can also use graphs or screenshots to communicate the benefits of your services prior to your CTA.
- Use Scarcity
If your Maui business has limited supply of a product, use that to your advantage and let the customers know. If your offer has time-sensitive elements, make sure to include that information in the CTA.
When users know an offer has a time limit or a product might run out, it produces a sense of urgency. They don’t want to miss out! This CTA tactic works effectively because potential customers know they have to jump before the resource runs dry.
- State the Perks
Don’t forget to include any of your offer’s added benefits in the CTA. Is it free? How does it help to solve their problem? Does it come with a bonus if they click before the deadline? How will it enrich their life?
Remember to evoke your brand with your CTA, and include a sense of the outcome customers get if they join you. Users should get the idea that they can, “Take this action and get these results.”
- Don’t Overdo It
You know those annoying tourist traps that sell junk to unsuspecting passersby? Avoid that look.
Don’t overwhelm site visitors with too much information or too many flashy promises. Those can make your offers look like a scam and turn away customers. Instead, create simple CTAs that give the important information and draw customers in.
I recommend investing in a professional digital marketer to help you create the most effective CTAs for your website, ads, and social media posts. Your site can have a polished, inviting look that invites users into a great experience with your Maui business.
If you want to learn more about creating a successful digital marketing strategy or want help getting started, reach out to us today!
Further Reading: How to Choose the Right SEO Consultant for Your Small Business
Photos Courtesy of frank mckenna, wang xi, Christian Lambert, Michael Baird, & Mickey O’neil