What is a call to action? In marketing, a call to action or CTA is an instruction to the audience to provoke an immediate response, usually using an imperative such as “call now”, “learn more” or “schedule an appointment”.
Calls to action take on many different guises and purposes when marketing your real estate business. You are in the business of selling homes so you need to generate new leads and referrals and to do so you need to direct leads to engage with you. This is where calls to action can help. A button, banner and links are calls to action and always work best when there is a sense of urgency.
Common calls to action
Discharge. Whether it’s a First Time Buyer’s Guidemy gold Tips for getting a mortgageOffering prospects something of value in exchange for their email address is a great call to action. Remember not to ask too much in return or you will suddenly become a burden and the prospect will not deliver. Just ask for a name, email, and maybe other information like a phone number. The more you ask, the more you risk a higher dropout rate.
Share. It can be a button or a hyperlinked word. Use this CTA when you want someone to share your social message or blog post. There are plugins available that will appear in places of your choosing in the blog post, but usually a shared CTA at the top of the post works best. Facebook offers businesses a call to action on their pages. Take advantage of these to direct visitors to your website to get connected.
Subscribe. If you have a blog, add a “subscribe” button. Place it in a few places on your blog, particularly on the first page of a column to the right or left of your content. You can add a “subscribe” popup when viewers are almost done reading your article.
Planning. Offering a link to an online scheduler is a great call to action, as your prospect can schedule an appointment with you without calling, leaving messages, or any hassle. A link to a scheduler in an email or on a web page is easy for the visitor to use outside of office hours. A scheduler offers a calendar that shares only your available time. The client sets the time and you receive a notification. You can confirm the appointment or send an alternative time. Online appointment booking is easy and customer friendly, and the best part is that appointments can be made seamlessly through their 24/7 email system.
Keep in mind that the online scheduler is probably the least used and offers the most value within emails. Take advantage of the online scheduler within your “new listing” emails to help customers schedule tours or schedule appointments to sign documents. Add a link to your email signature and remind customers that they can book appointments on THEIR schedule using the scheduler.
Get more information. This call to action is usually at the end of an article or a web page. The CTA is for answering additional questions by contacting you or entering information in a contact form.
These are just some of the CTAs commonly used in marketing to convert a prospect into a customer. Add CTAs to every web page, blog post, and email newsletter to build interest while also providing another touchpoint, a reason to connect with you.
Try an online scheduler within your email signature. You have a call to action in every email you send. Clients can schedule appointments online and reserve time on their calendar, without calling, emailing or any hassle. See how calls to action like online scheduling can increase your business.
