The Bottle Rocket Media team was having a very serious conversation about ice cream sandwiches today when my colleague so eloquently said, “there’s really no better ice cream delivery vehicle than the chocolate cake-like biscuit of an ice cream sandwich.” I agree wholeheartedly. How is this relevant to video marketing? The perfect delivery vehicle – for ice cream, it’s the sandwich, for a marketing call-to-action (CTA), it’s video.

A call-to-action is a button or link that guides your viewer, your lead, and encourages them to take the next step. And, there is no better way to deliver a CTA than video. Here are some tips to do it well.

Know your “why.” Make sure you have a very clear, single objective. Don’t get muddied up in asking too much of your viewer. Be clear on what you want your audience to do next.
And…action! You know what you want your audience to do next, now ask them to act on it. “Click here,” “Download,” “Watch another video,” “Press to buy,” “Share.” We did a piece for Dyson where Dyson was very clear on what they wanted their viewers to do next: “Click here to find the Dyson air purifier that’s right for you.”
According to Idea Rocket (hey, cool name!), marketers should craft their CTA in the form of a simple command: “Download My Book,” and give people a straight simple path to conversion. So true. Consider the simple path the path most taken.
Remember that your CTA should offer something of value to your audience. Think of it as an invitation for more information. A great example of this is Dollar Shave Club. Dollar Shave Club seems to always nail their marketing and their call to action on their landing page is no exception. The value add? Great shave. Delivered. Simple and to the point. Their invitation? Try us for just $1. How great is that? You can get a great shave with their product without having to make a commitment and only spending a buck.

Craving more inspiration (or an ice cream sandwich)? HubSpot compiled a list of examples of effective CTA’s. Each one is creative and strategic in guiding the viewer through a buying journey. All are simple and some have really catchy action phrases. Give us a call and let’s talk about how to bring your call-to-action to life in video — over ice cream sandwiches. (No joke. We take video and ice cream very seriously here at BRM HQ), who said you can’t have it all?