If you could put yourself in the shoes of a high school senior for a moment, imagine the amount of emails, blog posts, social ads and display ads you encounter while surfing the internet. This content is targeted specifically to high schoolers, so you can see how a typical student might be flooded with higher education content. What separates one ad or blog post from another? It’s in the details – your call to actions (CTAs).
CTAs Matter in Higher Education
A CTA is a button, line of text or image that asks users to do something, such as download an ebook, sign up for a free trial or enroll in a workshop. CTAs can be placed in emails, social media pages, websites, blog posts, ads and more. As simple as a CTA may appear, it’s more complex than meets the eye. Some even say that CTAs are a balance between art and science, which I couldn’t agree with more.
Bottom line: Give your CTAs some love. They need it. We’ll show you how.
4 Ways to Optimize CTAs and Conversions
CTAs guide users and encourage them to click and convert. In a highly competitive landscape, how can you optimize your CTAs and copy to make them click worthy? Follow these four practical tips, which include A/B testing your higher EDU ads!
1. Write Helpful Copy
Even if you’re using a button or image, some type of text will be included in your CTA. Make this text count. It should be thoughtfully written to your audience. Though you only have a few words to work with, there’s a big a difference between “click here” and “claim your free guide”. Plus, using a few more words allows you to show off your personality, which may be enough in itself to get students to convert.
2. Choose the Right Location
Location matters. The placement of your CTA has a significant impact on its success. When you think about it, it’s not surprising. A good location with high visibility draws attention and engagement.
Where are some of the best places to position your CTA?
On pages where you have a lot of content, such as blogs and web pages, CTAs can be placed on a sticky header or footer so it doesn’t get lost when scrolling. Placing a CTA at the top or bottom may be missed depending on where the student is. You can also try placing the CTA in the middle of the content, which is effective for those who have made it halfway and are interested in learning more.
3. Add a Visual Punch
CTAs that are visually appealing are more likely to draw attention. Choose a visual that is eye-catching, but also blends well with the rest of your content. In the higher education sector, there are plenty of ways to go about this. An ad for your nursing program might feature an image of nursing students during an internship. A general ad might highlight your perfectly landscaped common grounds.
4. Test the Details
One last tip is to split test your CTAs. This is important because it tells you what works for your school and your audience. You may find that a green button is better than a red button, or images with real students convert better than stock photos. By making simple changes to your CTAs and testing the results, you can create beautiful, compelling CTAs that lead to conversions.
Need help optimizing your college’s CTAs? Call SEMGeeks – we specialize in higher education digital strategies that get your content in front of the right students!
