What's a Call to Action

It's really just a fancy marketing term to describe the part of any piece of content that calls to the audience to take action in a specific way. You can use a call to action in any form of marketing from a flyer, to a blog or website. But it works particularly well on video.

Let's go shopping

Imagine your out shopping, you walk past a shop and see a skirt in the window you fancy. So you go over for a closer look. That's just like discovering a video on YouTube, Instagram or anywhere else, stopping and watching the video. That's great but it might not get you in the door or ready to make a purchase.

The next stage of the relationship is the call to action.

Let's say there's a sign in that window showing a special offer. 25% off everything today for example. The skirt in the window on it's own might not encourage you to go in the shop but knowing it's 24% cheaper might do. The sign is an example of a call to action.

What makes a weak call to action?

Anything that invites your viewer to continue the relationship works but the more specific ones are more effective.

Here are some examples of broad calls to action.

• Like the video
• Follow the account
• Share the video
• Save the video
• Leave a comment

These are okay but not very specific. Calls to action like this are a little like you standing outside your shop and beckoning people in. Some might do it but others will need a little more before committing.

Powerful calls to action

If you're reading this blog because you saw a video about it on social media somewhere you were responding to a powerful call to action. The video you saw will have given you some information on the topic them we would have invited to to visit our website to learn more on the same topic.

The reason that works so well is because the viewer is already interested in the topic which they have demonstrated by watching the video. With this type of call to action you are merely giving the viewer more of what they already want. But you are inviting them into your virtual shop (your website) in order to get it.

Episodic content

This technique works in a similar way to the first one. Instead of making one video with a call to action at the end you can make a series of videos all on the same topic.

Then you can end part one with a call to action that invites the viewer to watch part two. This is exactly how a series will work on TV. If the story continues into the next episode you will often see a montage of clips from the next episode to wet your appetite. This is a call to action.

You can even combine these two techniques together. Post the first video on social media but the rest of the series lives on your website. In order to see the next episode they need to visit your world.

Free offer

Much like a free offer would entice you into a shop, you can use a free offer for your viewers to invite them to continue the relationship.

For example we offer a 30 minute call for free on whatever you may need help with in your social media strategy. We will often post videos on social media using this free call as our call to action.

Avoid a cold pitch

Much like any relationship, in order for it to grow and a for a viewer to become a customer you need to take them by the hand and help them understand why you have the right offer for them.

We often see what are called 'cold pitches' on social media. A cold pitch is when someone you approaches you for the first time with an offer or a sale. Go back to that clothes shop again and that skirt. A cold pitch approach would be the owner of the shop approaching you as you walk by waving the skirt under your nose and telling you how much it is. Are you going to buy it? Probably not. In fact you're more likely to call the police.

Consumers rarely make snap decisions on purchases. In fact the more important the purchase is the more considered the buyer becomes. At the other end of the exchange we need to respect that and lead our potential customers by the hand with a sale. Not hit them over the head with it.

Do you need more help with this?

Obviously we're going to end with our own call to action (damn, all our secret techniques are out) but seriously, if this is something you're still stuck on and need some real help making your videos more powerful we'd love to chat.



Take a look at our coaching options below or simply drop us a message by clicking here.