How to Craft a Compelling Video Call to Action

If you’re like the majority of first world people, you’ve probably watched countless videos online and—as they get to their video’s call to action (the point that most people normally ask you to “subscribe”)—you just skip on to a different video.

Come on, I know you do it too.

But that’s something you definitely don’t want people doing to your videos, right?

This begs the question, how can you make sure that your audience stays engaged right until the very end?

The answer lies in getting a lot more specific about what you want out of your online videos. The end of your video should always include some video call to action (CTA) for your potential customers. If someone has watched your video all the way to the end, they’re showing they’re interested, and a CTA is a lot like a sales pitch.

Let’s dive a little deeper into how to make a video call to action effective.

Know What You Want Your Customer to Do

Every video you post should include a call to action (CTA). But, if you want your CTA to be effective, you need to ask yourself, What is my goal with your customer at the end of your video?

Honestly, this answer will probably vary significantly depending on where your video is being displayed.

For example, if your video is a YouTube ad that’s going to be playing before the video your potential customer is about to watch, then you’ll probably end up leaving them with a call to action to “learn more” or “visit your site” or maybe even both of those things. The only problem with that is that it has been used so much that now it feels a little tired.

Instead, it’s a good idea to find ways to make your CTA more creative and attention-grabbing. Perhaps make it more specific to your site, or make it more fun by daring them to actually visit your site. Whatever you can do to set your call to action apart, do it.

On the other hand, if your video is native to a page on your site, you might end it by inviting people to fill out a form that’s found on the same page. Just asking them to visit your site here would seem a little dumb, wouldn’t it?

Additionally, you might post a video that you want to use to encourage discussion. For this, rather than generically ending with “comment below” you might want to try a little bit more specificity and ask questions that you think will lead people further along the funnel for you.

Just be specific with what you want your customer to do. Specificity brings results.

What Else Can You Offer?

As you think about your business and what you can specifically offer to your customer, you might realize you have an eBook or blog post that might be perfect for the people who are watching your video.

Offering something like this can give them the opportunity to learn more and can build some great trust between you and your potential customers as you actually offer them things of value. Just remember, when they hear a generic offer that says, “download our eBook” they won’t be likely to click on it just because.

However, say they were watching a video about how to save bats by building bat houses. If you were to offer “download our eBook for more detailed instructions on how to make your own bat houses”  you might find a better response than just an eBook offer where they don’t know what they’re going to get.

This is how you make your video call to action irresistable. You need to craft a CTA that will match the messaging they’re currently engaged with, and then they’ll want to know more.

Clicking on your CTA will seem like the natural next step.

If you’re making lots of videos, you might even consider linking through to other videos that you have that could relate to the one you’re making. If you can lead potential customers from one engaging video to another, they’ll be more likely to see the value you can offer them.

That’s really what calls to action are about. They are there to convince potential customers that you have more to offer them, and to invite them to take action.

Conclusion

When making a good video call to action, it all comes down to specificity. Be aware of where your video will be appearing, and make the call to action appropriate to the video’s setting.

Be creative with your calls to action and have a little bit of fun with them. People are more likely to interact with something that doesn’t feel boring to them.

Consider what else you might have to offer someone who had just watched your video. What might they be interested in? Tie your call to action to something like an eBook, blog post, or even more of your own videos to help your customer see just how much value you can give them.

Finally, make sure your video calls to action help your potential customers see just how trustworthy you are so that they can take the next step…a little bit closer to you.

By the way, if you’d like some help crafting a great CTA for your video, let me know here or in the comments. I’d love to help!

Have you used any of these call to action types? What do you think of the ones I’ve suggested? Do you have any other good ideas for or examples of creative calls to action?