Written by Spot MarketingFebruary 24, 2014

Calls to Action: What Should Your Reader Do?

Clients oftentimes ask us what they can be doing to increase sales, drive more traffic to their website, increase their social media presence, etc. Though every client, business and industry is different, there is one thing we recommend to each and every client who walks through our doors: Calls to Action.

What are calls to action? Click here to learn more about calls to action. Call us now to schedule a calls to action seminar. A call to action tells your viewer what to do with the information you’ve given them. What you don’t want is for your potential customer to read your raving testimonials, fall in love with your products, and then say, “Okay, but what now?” Without a clear invitation to take the next step, they might just go somewhere else that makes it easier for them to figure out what to do.

There are countless examples of successful calls to action, and many more unsuccessful ones. Here are a couple we think work well, and why.

1. Digital Marketing Agency PortlandThis call to action (from our client PAHU) gives a reason why you should do what they’re asking, then right after they’ve convinced you, give you the next step at the click of a button. Easy.

2. This call to action is ideal because it’s specific, unique, and of course, for a good cause, taken from the site we gifted for Schoolhouse Supplies, a local non-profit we love. This is a feel-good button. The clickee gets instant gratitude from the verbiage of this call to action disguised as his or her own idea. Digital Marketing Agency Portland

3. This call to action is actually two-in-one. First we get the viewer to identify as an Oregonian or Washingtonian, then we show them plans available to them. Now they’re halfway to signing up for a plan and we only had to get them to the home page. (Taken from Warshauer Agency, a great client of ours!) Digital Marketing Agency Portland

 A few other things to note:

  • Leave some space. You want your call to action to be noticeable. While it doesn’t have to isolated, it’s better if it’s clear where your viewer should click.
  • Make sure it works. The worst thing you could do is ask your viewer to do something, then have a broken link or lack of functionality.
  • Avoid negatives. Keep your calls in the positive. Use “Sign-up for our Newsletter!” instead of “Don’t miss out on our Newsletter!” You don’t want your viewer to feel scolded or bullied into following your advice.
  • Don’t write a novel. Keep it short and sweet. If you’re going to use a hyperlink, underline part of the phrase. i.e. Click here to learn more about our services is too long for a button. Instead, tell them what you want them to do (learn more about your services) then make the hyperlink or button short with Learn More or Click Here.

Above all, don’t make your viewer do absolutely everything. Reward them for finding you, provide them with rich and up-to-date content, and then tell them how they can take the next step. Just think of how frustrating it is to sift through six inside pages, follow link after link, and still wonder how to buy the darn thing. Websites are like drive-thrus; if your customer wanted to come into your store and browse, they would. They visited your website for the quick and dirty stuff to inform them what to do!

 

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Written by Spot MarketingFebruary 6, 2014

Social Media for Small Businesses: 101

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…oh my! With the abundance of social media platforms to choose from, it can be confusing to know when — and what — to post for your business. Though there is contrasting information everywhere, Spot Color would like to share posting guidelines we (generally) live by.

1. Facebook

How often should I post? Research suggests posting to Facebook 1-4 times per week. You will increase likes with one post a day, yet you will lose engagement if you are posting more than once a day. Apparently users like to know you’re there, but not barraging them with information. So save your daily post for something worthy. Quality of posts is more important than quantity.

What time should I post? Facebook tends to have the most observers during the work day (next blog post: How to Increase Productivity perhaps?) but there is a definite spike in user activity around 7:00 p.m. With that in mind, we suggest posting around lunch time and right after rush hour.

What should I post? We like to break topics down into categories. Though this scratches the surface of an endless realm of posting possibilities, we feel that if you’re within these guidelines, you’re probably on the right track.

  • Links to Products: Be sure to include a photo of the product and a reason why your reader should care about it. This could mean an anecdote, product history, trend data, etc. Be sure to post only the cream of the product crop or your readers will be annoyed that the only thing you seem to be communicating is “buy, buy buy.”
  • Links to Outside Articles: By linking to articles that discuss current events, trends, history, or what-have-you, you can offer your customers a glimpse into the soul of your organization. For example, you sell shoes, so you post an article about what the ladies were wearing 60 years ago and what aspects of those styles have remained timeless. Pair it with side by side photos of styles that have survived the ages.digital marketing
  • Something Funny: Unless your product or service is no laughing matter, don’t be afraid to show your company’s lighter side. For example, you are an IT firm and you post this:
  • Shout-outs to Friends & Followers: It’s always nice to know you exist. Friend some of your Facebook “likes” and mention them in posts where you can. For example, you have a sale in-store, snap photos, tag them and post. Voila! Your customers feel you value them as individual people.

2. Twitter

How often should I tweet? Research says you should tweet 4 – 5 times per day. If this is too hard to manage, shoot for at least once or twice per day.

What time should I post? 

  • The highest percentage of retweets happens around 5 p.m. EST
  • The highest percentage of people who click on links happens between noon and 6 p.m. EST
  • Twitter usage spikes towards the end of the week and on weekends.

What should I tweet? Because of the 160 character limit, tweets should be quick shout-outs or retweets, links to relevant articles that share something in common with your company, and to announce sales, promotions or events.

3. Pinterest

Visuals are everything here. This would be a great place to post interesting product shots. Make sure to use accurate descriptions and integrate keywords.

4. Instagram

Instagram is the place to highlight the people of your company and their lifestyle. You want to show who your company is. Take shots of products in the warehouse, or an employee putting something out on a rack. Maybe snap a photo of the “lunchers” in the break room. However, Instagram is for the young and filtered; if you work in a dingy basement, perhaps skip posting the work environment on this social media site.

5. LinkedIn

Posting on LinkedIn is less important than making sure your company page is up-to-date. Be sure to upload your logo, accurately and thoroughly describe your services and update important information that changes.

Most importantly… your social media platforms should speak to your company’s values and let your customers and clients know you want to engage in conversation with them. An interesting stream of information might just be the thing to set you apart from your competitors.

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