It’s been nearly a year since Facebook introduced its call-to-action (CTA) buttons for admin posts. Marketers across a spectrum of industries have attached these buttons to brand posts, but not all businesses equally benefit.
In fact a recent study by retargeting technology platform AdRoll says that 74% of CTA buttons on Facebook posts read, “Shop Now”, with shop being the second best performing call-to-action on a button; the first is “Learn More.” Conversely, buttons that call for users to download or sign-up seem not only underutilized, but simply lack in performance.
Here, Sean MacMannis, senior director of global product marketing at AdRoll, explains the study findings, why CTA buttons seem the most effective for retailers, and whether Facebook is truly an effective lead-generation channel.
It seems retailers benefit the most from Facebook CTA buttons. Why do you think this is?
In the online world today, ecommerce is booming, and there are many advertisers offering online shopping capabilities. From apparel, to electronics, to household goods, merchandise is never more than a few clicks away. The list of online shopping providers and the merchandise that can be bought online is endless. So, the adoption of CTA buttons in this vertical has been the most significant. Because retail items tend to have a shorter buy cycle than say education or tech verticals, providing a strong and clear call-to-action helps ecommerce players maximize engagement and performance.
The infographic indicates that download is among the least effective CTA buttons on Facebook. Is this because Facebook isn’t an effective lead generation channel or is something else at work here?
Facebook is actually a very effective lead generation channel. For lead gen campaigns that utilize content marketing, advertisers will typically use the CTA learn more or sign up. The download button is typically used to encourage mobile users to download an app. For app install campaigns, download performs extremely well for verticals such as gaming, chat or messenger and travel. It’s important to note that the mobile apps industry is still quite nascent and we’re likely to see significant performance improvement in 2015.
Any advice on CTA buttons on Facebook for marketers who are not in retail?
User behavior is a complex science and a button that works well for one advertiser might not work that well for another. This performance gap might not be evident for the onset. Testing different CTAs provides a powerful opportunity for advertisers to learn more about their customers.
Also while there are five main CTA options on Facebook, there are other buttons that can be used through other types of Facebook ads. If you are an insurance provider, for example, you can create an ad to offer claims to the user, the CTA button on that ad could read “Get Claims.”
