Social Media Calls to Action

What is a “call to action”? You may recognize calls to action on a website, for instance a giant button (or subtle text link) that you instinctively click to take you the desired next level of interest on that site. Your “Make a Reservation” button is a call to action.

Wikipedia defines a call-to-action as
One of the most important concepts in marketing and promotion: “Call to action” (CTA) is a single focused command used after you have established you have got something good to offer, and you want the customer to act upon it. A “Call to action” is copy used in advertising to encourage a person to complete an action as defined by the advertiser.

Examples of “Call to action” words are “Click here”, “Click to download”, “Buy Now”, “Enter Now”, “Call now!”, “Bring your coupon”

How can we put calls to action to work on our social media platforms? How can we invite your fans and followers to dig deeper into your website without seeming too sales-pitchy? Remember, social media is not a sales gimmick tool, but a community builder. If you’re pumping out nothing but sales pitches on Twitter and Facebook, you’re not getting the most out these tools, and may in fact be turning your audience (and customers) away by doing so.

Let’s explore a few ways to include calls to action in your social media efforts

• Include links to content with shortened URLs.
  This practice not only saves scads of tweet real estate (you are limited to 140 characters including your Twitter name), it makes for easy reading in your tweet, and more importantly – it is more readily re-tweetable. There are several URL shorteners out there. My personal preference is Bit.ly because I can track my links. Example: http://twitterforrestos.com/menus/dinner.html becomes http://bit.ly/t4rmenu
• Link to a photo
  Not only do you want to tweet about your award-winning baguettes, but they’re fresh out of the oven and here’s what they look like. Its true – a picture says a thousand words. Take a pic of a great entree, cocktail, product, the sandwich board out front, or the resident dog to put an “action shot” into your tweets and posts. If you have a smart phone with a camera, you could upload on the spot, from your favorite Twitter dashboard, or Facebook.
• Link to your other social media outlets
  Its possible that your followers don’t know you have a Facebook Fan Page. Tell them about it and include a link. Likewise Facebook Fans may not know you’re on Twitter. A little post with your Twitter address and message about special deals to followers will show up on all of your fans’ walls. Have a YouTube Channel? Tweet/post about a video you just posted from a special event or cooking class the chef organized. Ideally you also feature your YouTube videos and Facebook ‘events’ on your website, and linking to the pages on which they live is where you want to point people with your links. Additionally, creating a social media landing page on your web site can be a one-stop shop for all of your online presences, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, your blog, Flickr, email sign up form, etc.
• Ask trivia questions for little prizes
  Put a tweet out once a week asking a trivia question relating to your menu, history, staff, etc. Let responders know that the answer is buried somewhere on the website. For instance:

   

  Q: What is the name of the sauce that accompanies Dragonfish’s Lime Rickey Shrimp?
  A: Lemongrass vodka sauce.

  The likely ‘prize’ for the first correct response might be that very appetizer. Good will spreads good will, and they’ll be talking about you and your contest. They and every other would-be winner would have dug through your online menu looking for the answer as well. Ideally you’ll have other interesting items on your site to entice them to come through the door even if they didn’t win that week. Making that effort a regular thing is recommended. Followers and fans will come to expect it. Tip: There’s more information on how to create contests for your followers in the ebook.

What kind of “calls to action” are you using to promote your restaurant on Twitter and Facebook?

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