Call to Actions that Build Brand Experience

There’s no new science to Call-to-Actions (CTAs) but it’s always good to remind ourselves of the basics in marketing, as to not look over an opportunity to build more ‘brand moments’ through crafting a couple of little words.

We’ve always worked off the idea that best CTAs are the simplest; Buy Now, Subscribe, Download. Though it’s important to consider them in relation to your brand and desired customer journey. By looking at your customer journey with a fresh brand lense you might even find new ways to bring in a different kind of CTA.

It’s tempting to fiddle whilst Rome burns, though resist as there’s also no need to make things overcomplicated for your customers. Your goal is for the reader to be enacting as little thought as required; the language used for your CTA buttons should clearly describe the resulting action.

The Call-To-Action

Whilst you can’t go wrong keeping it short and sweet with one clear, concise and direct CTA, sometimes you need two. This is where secondary CTAs have their place. Almost every ecommerce business uses the same two CTAs:

•     Add to Basket
•     Buy Now

These buttons both ultimately result in the same thing, though one takes a little bit longer. That said, they both subtly convey different meanings: ‘Add to Basket’ conveys that the shopping continues as the user racks up a growing list of items they want to purchase. In fact, because ‘Add to Basket’ doesn’t close the purchase circuit it usually operates as the primary CTA. And, that in its self opens an opportunity to inject a ‘brand moment’, where your short and punchy CTA can be a little longer with more personality.

Consider this next time you’re crafting your CTAs and observe how  easy it is to tweak messaging to suit a brand personality:

•    Add to wishlist or  Add to love list
•    Secure now or Bag it now

These buttons create an emotional response that the user is treating themselves or are part of a community that has it’s own unique language.

Don’t Miss Out On FOMO

FOMO, the ‘Fear Of Missing Out’, is “a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent” (2013:Gladwell)

Depending on the type of brand experience you’re building, utilising this fear in consumers is an extremely effective motivator in persuading prospective clients. Tapping into the human desire to perpetually stay interconnected with the rest of society is pretty simple, so here’s some examples of how you can incorporate FOMO traits into your CTAs:

•     Right Now, Limited Time, Whilst Stocks Last
•     One-Time Offer, Only X Left

Utilising phrases like these in your CTA highlights exclusivity, leaving little time for prospective customers to deliberate, FOMO compelling the customer to grasp the opportunity to be a part of something. Layer this with a ticking clock, social feed of other buyers or users and you’re building a serious desire for action in your audience.

One last thing, KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid

The KISS rule is something to always consider when crafting a CTA, though ‘simple’ doesn’t always equate to ‘short’. Prospective customers still need to understand the complete message being conveyed.

Don’t forget to ask yourself “can this be distilled into something more easily digestible?” We’d never want to dilute a CTA for the sake of brand, it must always make a moment stronger!