How Businesses Can Make the Most of Facebook's Call-to-Action Feature Quality content gets shared and shares lead people to your site, so you have to begin any marketing venture with a strategy for not just attracting attention but keeping it. A call-to-action, or CTA, comes at the end of a content piece and guides readers toward their next move.

Your content is only as good as what it accomplishes. If you spend time and money crafting it, it needs to achieve something measurable and concrete, like generating new leads or educating customers. Without a clear purpose, you're just adding more fluff to the server racks.

Quality content gets shared and shares lead people to your site, so you have to begin any marketing venture with a strategy for not just attracting attention but keeping it. A call-to-action, or CTA, comes at the end of a content piece and guides readers toward their next move. For example, if you're marketing your small business app and want more downloads, your CTA may go something like, "Download our free rewards app today for exclusive access to deals and promotions! You're just a step away from savings."

See how that statement led the reader to their next move? CTAs guide your audience toward an actionable outcome rather than spilling them back into cyberspace.

Facebook's recently released call-to-action buttons -- which businesses can easily add to their pages -- are the Autobahn of sales and marketing opportunities considering the site's 1.04 billion daily active users.

Using Facebook ads to increase traffic

To effectively use these CTA button, you first need a steady flow of visitors. Facebook offers a wealth of advertising opportunities that you can capitalize on to do that, the most obvious being their built-in ads, but there are numerous ways to drive more traffic to your Facebook page. The key is crafting content that drives both clicks and conversions. A quality ad includes, you guessed it, a CTA urging visitors along the path you lay out for them. A few CTA tips can help you design compelling ads:

• Include clear action words rather than flowery language.
• Tell the reader exactly what they should do next, focusing on the benefits they'll gain when they take action.
• Keep your statements short and sweet.

Simply put, CTAs with clear directions -- like "Enter to win" or "Stop overspending" -- will attract the most clicks.

The basics of Facebook CTAs

As traffic to your Facebook page increases, the new CTA buttons can begin doing their work. Facebook lets you to add one button to the top of your page. You can choose from the following:

1. Book Now
2. Contact Us
3. Use App
4. Play Game
5. Shop Now
6. Sign Up
7. Watch Video

Prior to the feature release, many small businesses tried to create a seamless user experience by developing Facebook stores. Now, small businesses can link to their independent storefronts instead. The integration breaks down barriers for visitors, significantly reducing the amount of steps they take to connect with your business. In banner form, at the top of the business page, is an invitation to act.

What CTA button should I use?

Every small business has its own needs. Some may benefit most from growing their mailing list while others want to increase online sales by linking to their e-commerce sites. But one thing is certain: when visitors download your app, you establish a more direct and permanent connection.

Before deciding on a CTA, set some goals. What do you hope to accomplish? How would each of the seven CTA options help your small business? From there, decide which one promises the most. If your mobile app has booking, contact and shopping features, then the "Use App" CTA covers 4 options right off the bat.

Examples of excellent CTAs

• Book Now: Exploring Tourism makes great use of the "Book Now" CTA. This small business is dedicated to creating an international tourism network. The booking button helps them connect tourists with destinations quickly.
• Contact Us: Puppy Dog Bark makes it simple to seek advice about pet adoption and rescue with the contact CTA. As an awareness-driven organization, this CTA is perfect for their needs
• Use App: NIJobFinder helps job-seekers and employers with their search. They leverage the "Use App" button to expand their user base. Their app sends push notifications to users about positions matching their criteria, so getting people using and engaging with the app is critical to their success.
• Play Game: The world's largest poker site, pokerstars.net, wasted no time inviting users to play cards with them. The "Play Game" button has helped grow their user base substantially.
• Shop Now: Everyone's favorite party game, Cards Against Humanity, capitalizes on people's desire to enjoy a good time. By making the option to "Shop Now" available on its Facebook page, the company takes advantage of their social media traffic and leverages it to increase sales.
• Sign Up: Like many modern news outlets, The Huffington Post has a strong social media presence. They make the most of it with a simple subscribe button that casts a net around new visitors.
• Watch Video: Cracked.com is an entertainment website that offers "heaps of facts smothered in humor." They use the "Watch Video" CTA to showcase some of their hilarious videos.

Setting up your CTA

Check out Facebook's instructions for launching your CTA. To direct users to your app:

1. Go to your Page's cover photo and click Create Call-to-Action.
2. Choose your call to action, add a website URL, and click on the toggle below "Set up a Link to an App?"
3. To direct people using an iPhone or iPad to your app, click the dropdown below "iOS Setting" and choose "App." Add a link to the app. You'll also have the option to add a Website or App Store Link.
4. To direct people using an Android to your app, click the dropdown below "Android Setting" and choose "App." Add a link to the app. You'll also have the option to add a Package Name and a Website or Play Store Link.
5. Click Create.