Click, read, buy. Three actions you want your social media fans and followers to take.

But they’ll never know how to react if you don’t ask.

Incorporating specific conversion tactics can make all the difference in your social media posts. But too often, businesses skip the specifics and instead choose to use a call to action (CTA) that only speaks in generalities.

This is a lost opportunity to take a casual fan or follower and convert them into a subscriber or potential client.

So, what exactly is a call to action?

According to Wikipedia,

A call to action, or CTA, is a banner, button, or some type of graphic or text on a website meant to prompt a user to click it and continue down a conversion funnel.

In other words, it’s the driving force behind the interaction, engagement, clicks and shares on your posts.

The right call to action can inspire an immediate response and turn lookie-loo’s into leads and eventual sales.

If you’re posts are failing to convert and your calls to action are non-existent, the five tips below are designed to help you increase clicks and engagement.

5 Social Media Conversion Ideas

1. Share Your Value

No matter if you’re a business professional, local business owner or online marketer, knowing your value proposition will make it simple to create a call to action tailored to meet the needs of your consumer.

Take a moment to answer a few questions before crafting your first CTA:

• What is your specific area of expertise?
• What do you teach/train others to do?
• What differentiates you from your competition?
• What do you offer that your target market can’t live without?
• What problems do you solve for your customers?
• What step (action) do you ask your target market to take?
• Once you know your what, it becomes terribly easy to share the how with the right who.

Yogurtland is a perfect example of this.

They never forget who they’re talking with. Each social media post creates an immediate connection; drawing anyone in that’s craving a tasty, delicious, and always perfectly prepared treat.

2. Be Clear

Want your social media audience to take action? Don’t leave it to chance.

Whether it’s a click-through, download or share, don’t be shy in telling your audience exactly what you want them to do.

You never want to assume that your social media fans and followers know what action you want them to take.

Kohl’s is a prime example of a brand crystal clear on each call to action they share.

Not only do they pull you in through their use of gorgeous images, but they also leave you eager to rush into the store or better yet, do a little shopping from the luxury of your computer.

3. Understand Your Market

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself. – Peter Drucker

Social media offers businesses an incredible opportunity to connect, engage and heighten awareness around a product or service.

However, simply stating what you do isn’t enough. You need to create a sense of urgency, convincing your audience to take that next step.

The Ritz Carlton does an excellent job catering to the needs of their target market.

They understand what today’s luxury traveler is looking for and know how to best position each post.

Through the power of text and graphics, the Ritz attracts anyone in need of a relaxing getaway. They also tap into the wants and needs of each visitor by sharing popular amenities and modern day conveniences.

Follow them on any of their social channels and you’ll see how laser focused they are on creating a call to action that speaks to the lifestyle of their audience every single time.

Your oceanfront table awaits @RitzCarlton #GrandCayman. Shoes are optional. #CaymanCookout #RCMemories pic.twitter.com/IjM2gu5Mxx

— The Ritz-Carlton (@RitzCarlton) January 17, 2015

4. Speak Your Audience’s Language

Do you know what your audience is searching for when researching your business, niche, product, or service? Understanding the words, phrases and terms used will help you speak directly to your audience’s needs.

Stay away from industry-speak and jargon that tends to confuse consumers. Your potential customers don’t work within your industry on a daily basis.

Make sure you put your call-to-action into terms they can easily understand.

Oreo is one of my favorite examples of a brand speaking the language of their fans and followers. Each social media post has a call to action specifically designed for Oreo lovers both young and old.

Who doesn’t look at this graphic and want to run out and buy one? (if only it were possible!)

5. Ask, Ask and Ask Again

Still not convinced about the power of a compelling social media call to action?

Just take a look at what Socialbakers found when they researched the term “retweet” and its usage on Twitter.

They found that the simple act of asking for a retweet made a huge difference in follower response. Their findings included:

• Adding “RT” to a tweet – retweets improved by 73 on average
• Adding “Please Retweet” to a tweet increased retweets by 64 on average

The bottom line? No matter how you ask for a retweet or share, you must be consistent in asking and then asking again.

Final Thoughts

Don’t make the mistake of putting your call to action out there and then moving on. Share that same call to action across each of your social networks multiple times and in many different ways.

And don’t forget to add the one-two punch of a call to action coupled with the right image.

Whether it’s Google+, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, taking the time to write a compelling call to action and add it to an eye-catching image can boost shares, awareness and the overall success of your social media campaign.

Written by Rebekah Radice – 5 Ways to Create a Social Media Call to Action That Converts.