S2 Ep. 31 Everything you need to know about calls-to-action

 
Ah, The Call-To-Action. Or the ‘CTA’ as those in the know refer to it. It’s quite possibly one of my favourite parts of the video-making process. Namely, because it’s where I ask my audience to get involved and be part of the story. 

When I began producing impact films over a decade ago, I wasn’t familiar with using a CTA.  It wasn’t as common. Passively viewing entertainment was the absolute norm. So I really had to think about what would be effective when asking the audience to do something.  Audiences weren’t used to being asked to do something. 

And, how effective your call-to-action is can honestly make or break your video. I know that sounds a tad dramatic but it really is true. Especially if you’re in the business of making impact films.. If I didn’t include a call-to-action at the end of my videos –long, short or micro – I’d probably be quietly banging my head against a wall right now, wondering why on earth my film didn’t drive the action I’d expected it to. 

The thing is, it doesn't matter how great your video is. Even if you have an incredible storyline. Amazing on-screen talent. Beautiful cinematography. A title so catchy it becomes part of the everyday lexicon. Because all of that won’t matter if your audience gets to the end credits and simply thinks, ‘Gee, that was an excellent film. What’s for dinner?’’ 

So, if you want your audience to do more than watch, you need to tell them to do something. It might seem obvious to you what folks should do once they see your film but you’d be surprised by how direct, tactful and persuasive you have to be to make sure they actually follow through and do the thing you’ve asked them to do. 

In this episode, I’m taking a close look at the call-to-action. I’m going to unpack what it is, why you need one, and how to craft one that will get your audience to do whatever it is you want them to do. 

Listen now! (Yes, that was a call-to-action I just dropped in, sneaky ha!).

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Transcript

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The ins and outs of the call to action. Well, a call to action, also sometimes referred to as a CTA, who doesn't love a good acronym. Now you might think it's just for marketing or advertising. Buy now is a really good example of a sales call to action. But if you've got your heart set on creating an impact film or a film that gets people taking up your action, then a call to action is critical for your film's success. And it's quite possibly one of my favourite parts of the filmmaking process because it's where you get to ask your audience to get involved and be part of the story, or rather the solution. It's inspiring, it's empowering, and it's enabling. And when you produce an impact film and people take the action you've asked them to, well, it's really rewarding. You know you've done your job well if you're telling a powerful story that's inspired action. And what better recognition of your work could you really ask for than seeing it have an impact? So welcome to the Moonshine Moonshot Podcast. I'm your host, Sue Collins, and I'm sharing with you the things that I have learned from working as an impact filmmaker for well over a decade. I've also just launched the Moonshine Communications Academy where you can learn more in-depth about aspects of impact filmmaking and communications. So check that out if you're looking for some deeper learning. When I first started out, it was really hard to find information and learn about how to make an impact through film. Others were doing it, but it was quite a new type of filmmaking and it wasn't really taught. So the techniques weren't documented. And I don't think that they really are even now. So I self-taught and I self-learned, and now here I am sharing what I know so that you can apply it to your own work. Partly this is because I am tired of seeing films that have completely wasted the chance to make a difference, simply by not asking the audience to do anything or giving them a way to get involved. And also because I'm really sick of negative news and bad stories that leave you feeling powerless or hopeless. And impact filmmaking designed for a positive social outcome is the exact opposite. It gets people involved with solutions and it helps keep them motivated to help make a positive difference. And calls to action are a big part of how to achieve this. When I began producing impact films, I wasn't familiar with using calls to action. It just wasn't as common. Passive viewing entertainment was the absolute norm. So I really had to think about what would be effective when asking an audience to do something. Audiences just really weren't used to being asked to do anything. So how effective your call to action is can honestly make or break your video. I know that sounds a little bit dramatic, but it really is true, especially if you're in the business of making impact films. If I didn't include a call to action at the end of every single video, long, short, or micro, I'd be banging my head against a wall right now, wondering why on earth my films didn't drive any of the action I'd expected them to. And I know you're really creative and produce great work. That is not the issue. The thing is, it doesn't matter how great your video is. Even if you have an incredible storyline, amazing on-screen talent, beautiful cinematography, a title so catchy that it becomes part of everyday lexicon, because none of that will matter if your audience gets to the end credits and simply thinks, wow, that was an excellent film. Hey, where should we go for dinner? So if you want your audience to do more than just watch, you need to tell them to do something. And it might seem screamingly obvious to you what folks should do once they see your film, but you'd be surprised how direct, tactful, and persuasive you have to be to make sure that they actually follow through and do the thing you've asked them to do. So let's unpack the call to action. What it is, why you need one, and how to craft one that will get your audience to do whatever it is that you want them to do. So what is a call to action and why are they so important? A call to action is marketing speak for getting a reader, a viewer, or a listener to do something. It's designed to trigger an immediate response like buying a product, watching another episode of a TV series, or subscribing to a podcast. It's possible you haven't thought about it before, particularly if you're just starting out in this film and video making business. But you'll start to notice call to actions everywhere, peppered into every bit of content you consume, be it Netflix shows, radio ads, YouTube videos, almost all of them end with some kind of message asking you to stay engaged or take a next step. And as I mentioned at the start, one of the most common examples of a call to action is buy now. You probably get pummeled with this type of messaging every single day, if not hour, via Google or Instagram or Facebook. Companies far and wide use the good old buy now call to action to push you through their sales funnels. But filmmakers need to take a different approach because you're not usually selling something. Unless, of course, you're making a video to sell your product or service. But I'm not really talking about sales videos here, it's not my specialist area. What I'm focusing on is film, and usually a film has to engage the viewer through effective storytelling that connects and resonates with the audience. It has to inspire them to want to take an action. And then you give them a way to take that action and act on that inspiration, and that is with drum roll, please. You guessed it, a call to action. So as a filmmaker, I tend to include calls to action that encourage my audience to keep watching my videos and stay engaged with my content. Take the weekly Moonshine Moonshot Companion YouTube series, for example. My co-host Mike Hill and I release new episodes every single Tuesday. And at the end of each one, we always encourage viewers to subscribe to the channel. And this is really important because it helps Mike and I know that the viewers are enjoying the content we're producing and it means we can continue to make more of what they like. We tend to use this same call to action at the end of every episode because we know that new viewers are unlikely to subscribe straight away. But once they've sat through a few episodes and have gotten a feel for what we're all about, we've built some rapport and they're more likely to click that shiny red subscribe button. When it comes to a call to action, you cannot be afraid to repeat yourself. It's actually one of the best ways to ensure that your audience follows through. By the way, I just released a new ebook and it's all yours if you'd like a copy. The link will be in the notes, but it's called The Ultimate Guide to Video Storytelling, and it is packed with great info to help you get started on your next video projects. It's got loads of info on how to create powerful messages, how to get your team on the same page, and how to produce your project. And it's all yours, just head over via the link in the description or just go over to Moonshine Communications Academy and you can get your own copy of that. Now, a question that comes up a lot with calls to action is can I include more than one call to action in my content? It's a really good question. And it's something I used to get stumped by as well. Because nine times out of ten, if you're making a video, particularly if you're making a video series for a platform like YouTube, you do want your audience to do more than one thing. You want them to watch another episode, to subscribe to your channel, to leave a comment, to share the episode with their friends. And if you have a presence on social media, you likely want them to follow you there too. Oh, and maybe you'd quite like them to join your email list, download that ebook you just created, and listen to this podcast series that you're producing as well. And on and on it goes, right? But honestly, I think one of the biggest mistakes filmmakers can succumb to is adding too many calls to action at the end of their videos. As a general rule, one is better than many. People only need one thing to do, just one. More than that, and you confuse them. And if you give your audience too many options, they'll likely just end up feeling completely overwhelmed, and that really results in them doing nothing at all. So pick one thing. What is the most important thing that can drive your mission forwards? Ask them to do that right there and then. And once they're part of your community and really invested in your content, then you can pepper in other things and you can ask them to do something else. Now look, this isn't a hard and fast rule. If you're making a one-off feature length documentary, there may be room to ask your audience to do more than one thing. We recently premiered our impact film Take Heart, Deadly Heart, and we asked audience members to do two things when we hosted the screenings, and one was to host their own event, and the other was to write a letter to their local MP. And in this instance, the delivery was more tangible. We handed out physical postcards with these two requests clearly outlined, inclusive of a QR code that linked through to the web pages that would enable them to take that next step. While many of them took the action on the night, the audience could also take the postcard home and complete the action in their own time. And there's been more than 150 event screenings of Take Heart, Deadly Heart since March this year. So, yes, many did take up our call to action. And this film is all about raising awareness for rheumatic heart disease, a deadly but entirely preventable disease. So the more people who know about it and understand the disease, the more likely they are to help and be part of the solution, which is to stop kids from getting it in the first place, which will mean that they don't then die from it. So it's a really important story. And that call to action, getting people to actually take that call to action was critical. Now another question I'm often asked is do I always need to add the call to action at the end of my content? Look, the placement of your call to action is certainly something you can play with, but traditionally they are positioned right at the end. And in my opinion, this is something you should stick with. Someone who's made the effort to watch your content all the way to the end is highly engaged and in a prime position to take that desired action. And that's a really good case in point for a feature film when you're showing it in a cinema and they've sat right through to the end, they're going to be primed and ready to do something. But that being said, platforms like YouTube are notorious for seeing drop-offs, meaning it's pretty common for people to only watch the start of your video. So having the call to action placed nearer the beginning of your video can also be really effective. And if you go down that route, you could actually toy with two calls to action. For example, you might right at the start, you might say keep watching to learn more and subscribe so you don't miss next week. And then at the end, you might say subscribe to the channel so you don't miss an episode. So you're using pretty much the same call to action, but you're using it at the beginning and then at the end as well. And the real key is ensuring that your call to action is in active and persuasive language. As I mentioned at the start of this podcast, your call to action is critical to the overall success of your video. You might be creating a video to increase funding to your organization, for an example. And in this instance, you would ask your audience to donate now. Or maybe you want your audience to host a screening of your film for their friends and family. And if that's the case, you might say host a screening. All in all, the words you use must be short, punchy, and spell out exactly what you want your audience to do. And this is definitely not the time to be subtle or coy or confusing. So things like subscribe now, visit our website, watch here, download your copy here, post a screening, donate now, leave a comment, like, follow, share. All of these examples ask your audience to do something very specific. And they are to the point and easy to take action on. And of course, the right language to use for your call to action will be determined by who your audience is. Who are you speaking to? Which means getting really familiar with your audience. And if you need support with that, the online course to find your ideal audience over at Moonshine Communications Academy is a great place to start. And you can find more about that on the website. You can also find out more over at Moonshine Communications Academy. And I'm giving away a few bonus courses this month too. So if you've been thinking about signing up for a while, now is the time. This month, September 2022, and you'll get the bonuses as well. Now I hope this has helped you to understand what a call to action is and how to apply one to your project. As I mentioned, it's really rewarding when your audience takes up your call to action. It's fulfilling and it helps you feel like your efforts have cut through. And as many of you know all too well, it is not easy to put your creative work out into the world. Open to criticism, or worse, crickets. So having someone take up the call to action is like feedback. It's affirming. No matter what type of impact film or video you're producing, having someone take an action will fill your cup and keep you going. It's one way to know that your work really is making a difference. So if you have any questions, I would love to hear from you. So please leave a comment over at Instagram at Moonshine Communications Academy and hit subscribe on whatever platform you're listening to so you don't miss another episode. They are out every Tuesday. So hopefully you'll hear from me next week if you've hit subscribe. See you then.