The call to action (CTA) is the secret sauce for B2B lead generation. If your CTAs aren’t effective at capturing people’s attention and persuading them to click, then it makes the offer useless, which stalls your lead generation and sales efforts.
CTAs can be used on product pages (non-landing pages), in display ads, email, social media, direct mail and pretty much anywhere you can market your offer. But not all CTAs are created equal. In a world where every brand is fighting for consumers’ attention, it’s critical that prospects choose your offer over those of your competitors.
Here are six ways to make your calls to action more effective lead drivers:
Calls to action do best “above the fold” — the space on your web page that is viewable without the user having to scroll down. According to heat map analysis, anything “below the fold” will only be viewed by 50% of people who visit your page, HubSpot reports. Doubling impressions on your CTAs can significantly increase your lead count.
Often, marketers will put more focus on being clever than being clear. Be crystal clear about what offer is in your CTA. And be specific. If you’re giving away a free guide, say “Download our FREE guide to X.” If you’re hosting a free webinar, say “Register for our FREE webinar on X.” X should clearly convey a compelling benefit of receiving the offer. This is much more effective than “Download Now” or “Get a Free Article.” These simply aren’t specific enough.
A call to action is meant to stand out, so if your CTA blends in too much with your site design, no one will notice it. You want as many eyeballs to land on that CTA as possible, so use contrasting colors to make the CTA stand out, and more importantly, use design to make it clear it is a clickable CTA.
This tip might seem minor, but it’s incredible how often businesses miss this opportunity. Calls to action are meant to send visitors to a dedicated landing page where they receive a specific offer. Do not use CTAs to drive people to your homepage. While your website is your greatest sales tool, sending to a home page will create a non-cohesive message and diminish the effectiveness of your B2B lead generation strategies. Even if your CTA is about your brand or product (and perhaps not an offer, like a download), still send them to a targeted landing page that is relevant to what they are looking for. If you have the opportunity to use a CTA, send visitors to a page that will convert them into leads.
Calls to action shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. If your company offers various products or services, consider creating a different offer for each of them. Then you can place CTAs linking to each offer on the website pages that are most relevant to that offer.
Even if someone completes a form on your website (and thus has converted to a lead), don’t stop there. Increasing engagement is also a top priority for marketers so that prospects turn into loyal fans. Once someone reaches a thank-you page after completing a form, use that space as an opportunity to promote more offers and content. For example, if visitors download a guide on email marketing, they can be given another offer for an email RFP for a chance to see a demo of an email marketing platform.
Knowing how to create irresistible CTAs is a great way to move visitor to your website along the path of purchase. To learn more about other B2B lead generation tactics, download J&C’s free eBook, “30 Greatest Lead Generation Tips, Tricks and Ideas.”
Topics: Digital Marketing
