Estimates by Statista suggest American companies will spend nearly $60 billion on B2B advertising in 2024. Businesses can get better bang for their buck, though, by speaking directly to customers with a well-crafted call-to-action (CTA).
B2B marketing focuses on connecting businesses with other companies, where engagement and trust-building are essential for driving results. CTAs serve as a direct prompt, encouraging prospects to sign up for a demo, download a whitepaper, or request a consultation.
However, not all CTAs work the same across every platform. Tailoring your B2B CTA to fit a specific marketing channel, including a website, email campaign, or social media page, can significantly enhance its effectiveness. This article explores the best practices for creating powerful B2B CTAs by channel.
Quick Takeaways
- Position CTAs strategically within your email to ensure visibility and engagement.
- Use either simple text CTAs for a personal touch or graphic buttons for a visually compelling approach.
- Align the CTA with both the email content and landing page to create a seamless experience.
- A/B experiments test different CTAs to determine which drives the highest click-through and conversion rates.
Email Call-to-Action Strategy
Email CTAs can drive readers anywhere. The keys are where you place them and how they appear.
They need to stand out. With a quick skim of any email, you should see the message’s goal.
However, using buttons is not the only way to do this. Generally speaking, there are two types of email styles: a plain text email and a graphic/ HTML email.
Plain Text Email
A plain text email is the kind that we most commonly send to colleagues and friends, featuring simple text. This type of email takes advantage of the familiar style we’re used to seeing in emails, offering a message that feels more personal.
In addition, simple CTAs, positioned correctly, can be used in a plain text email. This type of email may appear low-effort, but the form and naturalness of the language stand out against more branded emails. And there’s no confusion about where to click to continue with the blog post.
Graphic/ HTML Email
A more graphically designed email has several advantages, including branding, image visuals, and the ability to guide a reader’s attention more.
Graphic emails are helpful if you have a substantial amount of content you want to share in the email but still need to make a clear path to a B2B CTA.
Both plain text and graphic emails follow the same principles: simple and short copy that introduces the subject, even spacing that guides readers’ eyes, and direct CTA language.
Landing Page Call-to-Action Strategy
Like email CTAs, landing page CTAs can drive users anywhere. However, for landing pages, the key is to have one linkable CTA.
The rest of the landing page—every graphic, line of copy, and image—should support your single CTA.
Why?
It’s not always easy to get visitors to arrive on your landing page, so once you do, you don’t want them wondering which action to take next.
Place that CTA above the fold and make sure its color contrasts with its surroundings. Eyeballs should go right to it.
Having subpages along a navigation bar is generally ok because of the landing page conventions we’re accustomed to.
CTA Language
Landing page CTAs need to convey what they link to and the benefit of clicking. As a result, you’ll want to avoid one-word CTAs.
Poor landing page B2B call-to-action examples include:
- Download
- Click
- Learn
- Read
Better B2B call-to-action examples might include:
- Download This eBook
- Get Free Quote
- Learn to Juggle
- Read Ten Best Practices
A good practice is to imagine erasing everything but your landing page’s CTA. Someone who has yet to see the page should still get its purpose.
Some landing pages use GIFs to accompany content. Videos are also becoming more popular on landing pages as a content asset that helps promote the CTA without requiring additional copy. The less actual copy, the more the CTA stands out.
Blog Call-to-Action Strategy
There’s a good chance blog readers have arrived via search engines or social media. As they’re reading, they might not know or care what your company or product does.
They are likely hungry for content – not a pitch. You have whetted their appetite with an informative post. Now, let’s serve the main course.
Provide a CTA that directs to another, perhaps more in-depth, piece of thought leadership, like an eBook, white paper, or video.
You can include a lead generation form that readers must fill out in exchange for access. Or, you could subtly transition readers to your company and product with a B2B CTA that drives them to a case study or testimonial.
Great blog CTAs that lead to further content and have a very strong link with the blog subject work well. While offering content unrelated to the blog subject at the bottom is better than nothing, more connected content will almost always perform better.
For experimentation, try using non-disruptive CTA’s throughout the body of the content, in between select paragraphs, as a test. This approach is seen widely in news publications for related articles. See if you get more clicks or more bounces and adjust accordingly. Different audiences will respond to different approaches.
Social Media Call-to-Action Strategy
The goal is for users to engage with your content and share it with others. You might not think it, but simply telling people what to do works very well.
For example, if you post a blog entry on Facebook, include a CTA encouraging dialogue, such as: “Read the blog post, and then tell us what you think!”
Strong and highly shareable social CTAs ask visitors to participate actively with content. Usually, this requires your content to have interactive elements to it.
CTAs that rally engagement can include language like:
- Take the quiz
- Rate yourself
- See where you stand
- Which are you?
Using these phrases can gain your audience’s attention and drive results.
Paid Advertising Call-to-Action Strategy
In paid advertising, whether on Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, or other platforms, your B2B CTA needs to be concise and action-oriented. B2B audiences often seek clear, direct solutions, so a CTA like “Get Your Custom Quote Today” instantly communicates the next step.
Focus on using decisive verbs and a sense of urgency to drive action, but keep it simple to avoid overwhelming the audience. CTAs that are clear and to the point are more likely to grab attention and inspire clicks.
Aligning With CTAs in Your Ad Copy
Consistency between your ad copy, CTA, and landing page content is essential. For example, if your ad promotes a free trial, your CTA should directly reflect that offer, and the landing page should continue this narrative. Mismatched messages can confuse users and reduce conversions.
For instance, in a SaaS product ad, a CTA like “Get Your Custom Quote Today” invites potential customers to take action while emphasizing personalization. This kind of CTA works well because it speaks directly to the needs of businesses looking for tailored solutions. From there, you’ll have to make sure your landing page continues with information on the custom quote and directs customers to where they can receive it.
Testing Different CTAs for Maximum Impact
You can often find the most effective CTA by running A/B tests. Experimenting with different CTA formats and content means you can measure which ones generate higher click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates.
Testing helps refine your approach and ensure that your CTAs consistently perform well. Metrics like CTR and conversion rate provide valuable insights into user behavior and can guide future optimizations.
Optimizing Your Content CTAs
Creating channel-specific CTAs can drive engagement and conversions. Tailoring your CTAs to match your website, email, social media, or paid ads helps you better connect with your target audience and guide them toward meaningful actions. Of course, clear, actionable language is vital in encouraging prospects to take the next step.
Marketing Insider Group can create the content your business needs to reach the next level, including a highly effective B2B CTA, with our Content Builder Services. Reach out for more information or book your free consultation with our team.
