Calls to action encourage your audience to take action, typically at the end of your video. What’s the secret formula?
Active or Passive
Avoid ending your video with just a “Thank you for watching”. By this stage, you will have worked so hard to grab and keep your viewer’s attention, so take the opportunity to convert their attention into an action. Use an active or passive call to action so your viewer knows what you want them to do, or what they can expect from you.
An active call to action sets the expectations of what you want your audience to do next. Keep it clear and concise with a strong verb at the start of your call to action.
e.g. “Buy now”, “Register today”, “Subscribe”, “Comment below”, “Download here.”
A passive call to action is more subtle. It sets the expectations of what your audience can expect from you next. The tone of voice here is a lot softer:
e.g. “See you next week!”, “Stay tuned”, “In store now”, “We will call you”, “Expect an email”
In any case, keep it enthusiastic and maintain a single focus; don’t overwhelm them with too many options or requests.
Link to your video goal & KPIs
An effective call to action is based on the goal and KPIs set up for your video. This means that a good call to action is one that contributes to what you're trying to achieve, and one that helps you to measure the success of the video.
Let’s say that you're making a video to encourage people to tune into a webinar that you're live streaming next month, and that you're aiming for maximum awareness (reach). An active call to action to “register today” would make more sense than a passive call to action “see you there.”
Timing
Typically, a call to action sits at the end of your video to make it stick. It can be challenging to get your audience to end of your video, so sometimes you might choose to place your call to action earlier in the video, before your audience drops off. Make sure you know how to grab and keep attention with video and your optimal video length so you know where to place your call to action.
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