Facebook has been getting a lot of pushback from small businesses recently, but they’re offering a new option for Facebook business pages: call to action buttons.
Right by your Like and App buttons on the cover photo at your business Facebook page, you can add a single, simple call to action button. This is a wonderful opportunity. People who are in the mood to shop can be sent to your online store right away, without requiring much search or extra effort.
Your Facebook page will probably offer you the option if you visit soon. “Create a button!” is the invitation. Click on it and you’ll see a pop-up like this:
You can choose among a range of calls to action (CTAs):
If you have a page where people can shop, then “Shop Now” makes sense. Can people book an appointment or buy a ticket? “Sign up” is great if you want subscribers, and of course if you have a game or an app you want folks to try, you’re set. “Watch Video” is a good choice if you have some more complex action in mind, and “Contact Us” is a fallback.
You’ll be asked to paste in the URL you want people to go to — for desktop, Apple, and Android in case you have apps or mobile sites you want to direct people to. Push the button, and your CTA is ready and in place.
The entire process took Rosie under two minutes. It took Rebecca a little longer because she was taking screenshots. So you can definitely do this yourself. You can also undo it or change it quite easily. Just click on your CTA button and edit or delete it:
Sometimes things are technically easy but require some thought, though. In this case, you need to think about where you’re sending people. Do you have an ecommerce site, but the homepage is not actually the store? Don’t send people there to shop. Can people sign up for a newsletter on your homepage — but only if they search till they find that box below the fold? Maybe you should create an easier option before you send people there to sign up.
The Facebook CTA button doesn’t give you any chance to provide instructions to visitors. Visitors may be frustrated if they click “Watch Video” and get dumped on your YouTube channel or a page with that TV commercial you once made.
There’s a natural tendency among business owners to send everyone to the company homepage. You know how great your company is and you know that, if they just take the time to explore, your visitors will love your company the way you do. But Facebook isn’t offering a “Come in and browse!” button, let alone a “Please come to our website, where you can — if you are persistent — find out all your want to know” button.
If you don’t have a page or app to send visitors to, don’t set up the button till you have one. Need some help sorting out your visitors’ path to purchase and coming up with a good place to send them? We’ll be happy to help. Contact us.
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