As an education marketer, the goal of your education marketing strategy is to increase leads and identify new customers. Driving people to your website is good, but convincing a prospect to take action is better. Persuading them to volunteer their email address or phone number is critical to continuing the conversation. A proven way to gather that information is with an enticing CTA – a Call to Action.
CTAs come in many flavors. Emails, articles and blog posts often contain appeals such as “Click for more information” or “Download the free report,” and opt-in forms to gather reader information. But in today’s noisy marketplace, companies need to be smarter about capturing email addresses by offering free, relevant and valuable content that prospects actually want. Melding a desirable offer with a CTA is by far the most effective way to gather and nurture leads.
Here are some simple tips to make every CTA you write a strong, lead-generating tool for your education marketing strategy.
Keep it Brief
When embedded in an opt-in form, a CTA often needs to fit within a clickable button. So the fewer words, the better. Even without this limitation, it helps to think of your CTA as a short directive. Make the request clear and concise, using three to five words at most.
Create a Sense of Urgency
Consider using words that have more emotion behind them than “get” or “submit.” Depending on your company’s voice, you may be able to get away with more creative copy such as, “Count me in.” Or, “I need it now!” Such phrases grab a reader’s attention much more effectively than a tired phrase like, “Click to download.”
Write in Your Reader’s Voice
Instead of “Download Your Free Report” you might use, “I want that report!” Or replace “Click to read more” with “I want to keep reading.” Write your CTA as if your potential customer is speaking out loud to prompt them to continue through the sales funnel.
Consider Your Platform
If your CTA appears in a blog or online, it’s usually clear that the linked text will lead to a landing page. However, posting a CTA on social media is a different beast. While posting a link on Facebook is easy, posting a link on Twitter quickly eats up your character count. And other than a single link in your bio, Instagram doesn’t let you post clickable links at all.
Depending on where your prospects are coming from, you may need to get creative when explaining the benefits of what’s on the other end of your link or button. If it’s motivating, clear, offers value and is in the right place at the right time, you’ve created a Call to Action that will capture attention and lead to conversions.
Do the CTAs in your education marketing strategy need a refresh? Let’s chat.
If you enjoyed this CB&A education content marketing blog, check out these companion articles:
- Four Ways to Streamline Your Content Development Process: Content development is a vital part of any education marketing strategy.
- Creating and Maintaining a Content-based Sales Process: To sharpen your sales funnel with content marketing, you need to evaluate the role content plays during each stage of the sales process.
- Let’s Get Visual: The Power of the Infographic: Any brand can harness the power of the infographic in education marketing efforts to yield high-impact results.