You’ve crafted the perfect caption, and designed an amazing graphic to go along with it — you know this exactly the type of content your audience wants to see, so you hit publish with confidence!

...And then, crickets. You’re not seeing any comments. There haven’t been any new clicks to your website. The DMs aren’t rolling in. So, what gives?

Odds are, you didn’t give your audience an action item, or an actionable take away from your post. They likely hit the “like” button and kept it moving.

This is where a Call To Action comes in!

If you want to start creating space for conversation and relationship building with your audience a Call To Action is the way to make that happen — and, bonus: those conversations will give your engagement a boost, too!

A Call To Action (or, CTA) is your way of telling your audience what you want them to do in writing, rather than just hoping it happens.

How do you create a CTA that actually boosts engagement?

The best CTAs are the ones that encourage action simply because they’re written well. You don’t want to manipulate your audience into doing something (like saying “If you comment below, I’ll send you a discount code!”), but you do want to be slightly persuasive — their ultimate goal is to prompt action — so you want to make it enticing!

When it comes to creating a CTA that actually works, you have to actually be clear about what YOU want your audience to do.

Do you want them to add a comment and create a space for conversation?
Do you want them to save the post to come back to it again later?
Do you want them to DM you to ask questions?
Do you want them to share your post with a friend?

The clearer you are about what action is most important to you, the better your CTA will be (and the more effective it will be)!

Now, give these CTAs a try!

If you know the action you want your audience to take, but you’re still not quite sure how to say it to make it happen, we’ve got 5 CTAs for you to try today!

1. “Agree or disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! Comment below!”
2. “Have you ever had an experience like this before? DM me! I want to hear your stories!”
3. “If this is something you struggle with, save this post to come back to when you need it!”
4. “Which of these tips will you try first? Let me know in the comments below!”
5. “Want to learn more? Head to my website (link in bio) or DM with any questions!”

The best audience is an engaged audience, and these CTAs are sure to boost your engagement and help you create an active audience rather than an audience that just double taps and keeps scrolling!