Can’t Help But Click: What Does CTA Stand for in Marketing?

If you’ve spent any time in the marketing arena, then there’s no doubt that you’ve come across the term “CTA.”

The simple truth is that the CTA is one of the driving forces behind a successful marketing campaign. A good CTA can skyrocket conversion rates and campaign profitability, while a poor or missing CTA can completely torpedo an entire marketing strategy.

In this article, we’ll answer the question, “what does CTA stand for in marketing?” and also tell you how to develop a good CTA.

What Does CTA Stand for in Marketing?

The short answer is this: CTA stands for “call to action.”

The concept behind a call to action is fairly simple. Whenever you create a piece of marketing content, whether it’s a billboard advertisement or a blog post, there is a desired result that you want to induce in your target audience.

Maybe you want the billboard to get would-be customers to call in and schedule a consultation. Or perhaps you want your blog post to get your website visitors to sign up for an email newsletter.

Either way, neither of those things will happen without a call to action, because a call to action is what directs people who see the marketing content to complete your desired action.

So for a billboard trying to generate phone calls, the call to action may be as simple as “Call Now for a Free Consultation!”

For a blog post trying to generate subscribers, the call to action may simply be “Subscribe now!”

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing a good call to action. Your call to action may be short or long, colorful or not, in a funky font or in a normal one.

How to Write a Good Call to Action

There are a few governing rules that you need to remember as you try to create productive call to actions that induce your desired result.

First, use strong verbs. The stronger the verb, the better. Make no bones about it: you’re letting your customer know in no uncertain terms that they need to complete this action in order to get the benefit you promise.

Next, remember that what stands out gets noticed. If you want people to see your call to action — the most important part of your marketing material — you need to ensure that it stands out from the rest of your website design or whatever content channel you’re using.

Lastly, leverage the power of numbers. Numbers have a unique ability to make potential benefits seem far more tangible and weighty.

Instead of “Call now for a free consultation!”, for instance, you could use “Call now to improve your insurance settlement by 230%!”. Folks are much more likely to sit up and take notice of the latter.

Use a Strong CTA

Now you know the answer to the questions “what does CTA stand for in marketing?” and “how do I write a good CTA?”

You’re well-equipped to start making your marketing campaigns all the more profitable with a strong call to action!

For more marketing advice, be sure to check out the rest of the articles on our website.