Have you ever heard the rejoinder, typically used after someone has been accused of cutting in line or doing a bad parking job “Oh yeah? What are YOU going to do about it?”? A Call To Action, or CTA if you want, is a friendlier version of that particular rejoinder, much less likely to start a fist fight, and an absolute necessity for your marketing messages.

Furthermore, considering the popularity of texting, a good CTA becomes an essential component of text message marketing. Let’s take a look at some reasons why having a strong Call To Action is a good idea. Then, after you finish, read the article “Why Your Text Messages Need a Call to Action” for more in-depth information.

A good call to action makes people sit up, take notice, and act!

All Revved Up And No Place To Go

Picture this: your business has posted this amazing piece of marketing content, something truly outstanding, entertaining, and informative. People read it and are all fired up. Then … what? There you have it; all of these people all inspired and feeling well-disposed towards your business, but no way to turn that positive energy into an action that would ultimately benefit you. A Call To Action placed in a well-written piece gives these people a way to continue the good experience, and increases your odds in converting them.

It Establishes An Ongoing Relationship

Somewhat related to the previous point, a Call To Action is the audience’s gateway to your business. By providing a strong CTA, you draw the reader onto your website and make it easy to turn them into repeat visitors. If you add incentives for people to recommend your site to others, then you stand to widen that audience so much more.

Text Messages Are Limited

If you rely on text message marketing for the lion’s share of your advertising, then you’re limiting yourself to roughly 140 characters’ worth of content. By inserting a CTA into your text message, you’re leading the recipients to a place where you can offer them something in return for them finding out more about what your business does.

People Read Texts

According to a survey cited by Venturebeat.com, the open rate of promotional texts and offers is 98%. That’s absolutely staggering. Do you know what the open rat is for emails? Try 22%. A Call To Action added to a text message is a Call To Action that will be seen by far more people, and subsequently increases the likelihood that they will respond to it.

Everybody Is Texting

Speaking of surveys and polls, recent polls show that at least half of smart phone users would rather text people than talk to them. You need to send out your Call To Action where the people are, and the people are on their mobile devices, texting away at each other.

What’s A Strong Call To Action, Anyway?

Long story short, a strong Call To Action is brief, to the point, offers maximum reward for minimal effort, demands an immediate response, and uses active verbs that stress an imperative: Press, Visit, Go, Click, Send. There is no room in a good CTA for passive tense or the idea that the audience has all the time in the world. It’s a lot less of “Why not visit our site and take a look around when you get the chance”, and more “Visit our site now, and bring a friend! We got prizes!”

As mobile text messaging continues to rise in prominence, the savvy marketers will improve their skills in creating a strong Call To Action, and using CTAs often. The alternative is to be left in the dust of obscurity, drowning in emails that no one opens up anymore. Using a good CTA keeps a business competitive and current.