As marketers, we’re used to abbreviations like CRM, CMS, CRO, and CTA; some of these are the bread and butter of what we do and how we do it. However, it’s easy to fall into a pattern with these concepts—to distance ourselves with abbreviations and routine, forgetting the true impact of their work. This brings me to the story that inspired this blog.
I was talking about marketing with someone who is not a marketer but who is a consumer and has therefore seen their fair share of ads. I asked them if they knew what “CTA” stands for, and their response shifted the way I think about CTAs in my own work: they guessed that “CTA” stands for “Call to Adventure.”
While I could have corrected them, the truth is that CTAs are often exactly that—invitations to the next adventure. With this framework in mind, let’s explore how we, as higher ed marketers, can rethink our approach to CTAs, inspire action, and achieve better outcomes.
How Much Difference Can a CTA Really Make?
A well-constructed Call to Action can be the difference between a prospective student choosing your institution or getting frustrated and looking elsewhere. They enhance the efforts of your enrollment strategies by telling students exactly what to do next, whether that’s visit, request information, register for an event, apply, etc.
We know that, overall, CTAs can help boost conversions by over 160%. Yet there are so many factors that make a CTA effective. Consider these stats:
- Personalized CTAs perform 202% better than basic CTAs.
- In a recent study, CTAs shaped like buttons saw a 45% increase in clicks.
- CTAs above the fold have a 73% visibility rate compared to 44% when the CTA is below the fold.
- Center-aligned CTAs outperform left or right-aligned CTAs (they can receive over 680% more clicks!)
With this information in mind—and our new mantra, “Call to Adventure”—we can start to make thoughtful decisions about our CTAs to improve campaign outcomes.
Six Tips for Crafting CTAs That Convert
1. Your Words Matter—Don’t Be Boring
While some students may prefer clear and direct Calls to Action so they know exactly what they’re getting into, your CTAs don’t always need to be standard phrases like “Apply Now” or “Submit Deposit.”
Mix up your call-to-action language to keep it fresh. For example, instead of relying on “Learn More,” try action-oriented phrases like “Start Your Journey,” “Reserve Your Spot,” or “See Yourself Here,” depending on your campaign goal.
But beware—you don’t need to reinvent the wheel here. Quick, clear, and to-the-point CTAs still have their place. Content type, platform, and audience are often good indicators of where you can get creative and where you can keep things basic. For example, your graduate audience might not respond the same way high school seniors do to a “Join the Family” application CTA.
Bonus tip: Test creativity—and the rest of our tips—for yourself to see what works best for your audience and audience segments. You can perform an A/B test to see if your prospects respond better to creative versus generic CTAs, if more users click a button versus an anchor text CTA…the world is your oyster!
2. Segment CTAs so They Feel Personal and Relevant
Tailoring your CTA messaging to different student segments and stages in the decision-making process can inspire action and help boost conversions because you’re speaking to your students’ specific needs, concerns, and motivations.
“Prospect” and “inquiry” segments are a common way to accomplish this. A prospect is someone who may have never heard of your school, like a high school senior just starting their search. An inquiry is someone who has already made contact with your school, for example, through filling out an RFI form. The goal is for your prospects to become inquiries and your inquiries to become applicants — and then hopefully enrolled students!
And with different goals, why give them the same Call to Action? For inquiries, you can get even more granular with segmentations like “visited/have not visited” or “filed FAFSA/have not filed FAFSA” — giving them CTAs based on those goals. For prospects, you can create segmentation like in-state or out-of-state, creating CTAs like “attend a virtual info session/in-person info session.”
Want to take it a step further? Consider your CTA language. A CTA that says “Become a Bulldog” might not perform well in an introductory email aimed at high school sophomores and juniors, because they don’t know what a Bulldog is in this context. In this case, something like “Get to Know Us Better” or “Add Us to Your List” is more appropriate (and more inspiring than the generic “Learn More”).
Carnegie’s Slate Student Search and Communication services can help you tailor communications based on academic, demographic, psychometric, and custom data points.
3. Find the Sweet Spot—Keep CTAs Short
Your user is likely viewing your ad or email on their mobile device, which means space is limited. Especially when there is ad copy to consider, ensuring your CTAs are short will save precious space.
Not to mention, if your CTA has a form component, you’ll want to keep that short as well. Students can be hesitant to provide their information to schools, so in addition to saving space, reducing the number of fields can increase the chance that students actually fill out your form.
As a best practice, aim to ask only for the information you absolutely need, like first name, last name, and email.
4. Top of the Page, Top of Mind
That brings us to CTA placement. CTAs are much more visible when they are above the fold, the part of a page that is visible without scrolling. While that may seem obvious, it’s important to keep in mind, especially when designing copy for mobile viewing.
In addition, the alignment of a CTA can also make an impact. If you’re able to, put your CTA in the middle of the page — and at the top and bottom — to position it (literally) for greater success.
5. Let’s Get Visual—Opt for CTA Buttons
Remember that stat about the increase in clicks for CTAs shaped like buttons? It makes sense, right? People want to click buttons!
When it makes sense to use them, opt for CTA buttons instead of anchor text. You won’t always be able to accommodate this, and in some cases may be limited by what’s possible in-platform, but it’s definitely a hack worth knowing. This is also why keeping your CTAs short helps — you can easily fit “Get Started” in a button, but “Reach Out For More Information” will look a bit clunky in button form.
6. Use a Sticky Nav on Landing Pages
If you’re using a landing page in an ad campaign like PPC, or if you want your program pages to be conversion-friendly, try using a sticky nav with two to three of your most important CTAs there.
By utilizing a sticky nav—a navigation bar that remains visible as your user scrolls the page—you ensure that no matter how far down your user scrolls, your “Calls to Adventure” are always visible and ready to click.
Check out our blog: How to Create High-Performing Academic Program Pages on Your Website.
7. Don’t Be Stingy With Your CTAs
CTAs are a renewable resource. That means they should appear in all of your marketing efforts, including your social media posts. Often, we see colleges and universities cultivate a lively social media presence, only to leave out critical CTAs.
Every post is an opportunity to guide prospective students toward their next step, whether that’s scheduling a campus visit, requesting more information, or starting their application. Your audience is looking for direction, and clear, compelling CTAs help them move forward in their college search journey.
And even if an ad already has a CTA, like Meta, your user has to scroll to the bottom of the ad to see it. Including an additional CTA in the ad description ensures it’ll be seen, helping you keep your conversion step where the user engages most.
Ready to Transform Your Enrollment Marketing?
The creative and strategy teams at Carnegie are here to help your higher education institution craft CTAs that convert interest into action. Start a conversation today—how’s that for a Call to Adventure!