The Call to Action: You Can Get What You Want

Sparrow Posts not only give you a way to communicate, they also let you get reader reactions and even ask them to perform certain tasks.

A “Call to Action” and is simply the part of your post (or video) in which you explain to the reader what you need them to do once they’ve read your post.

Because you’re asking them to do something AFTER they finish reading (or watching) your post, the call to action is normally placed near the end of your written content or video dialog.

For example, let’s say you need to find out how many people will attend an up-coming staff retreat. You need a head count so that you can arrange transportation, accommodations and so on.

You’ve created a survey questionnaire that asks for all the information you need, and now you want people to go and fill it in.

Publishing a Sparrow post is an ideal way to accomplish this, so you create a post that reads something like this…

Just put up a questionnaire on transportation, accommodations, food, etc. for the up-coming retreat. It’s at http://retreatsurvey.dlsurveys.net. Thanks everyone!

Let’s also imagine that you choose a great image and craft a killer title for your post. Perfect, that’s exactly what you should do, but you’re not quite there yet. There’s one, very important element missing from your post that can mean the difference between success and failure for your survey.

Don’t Forget To Ask for What You Want

You wrote a post about your questionnaire. You provided a link to your questionnaire. So, it’s pretty obvious that you want your readers to actually go and fill in your questionnaire, right? Of course it is!

Unfortunately, most readers will do nothing unless you TELL them WHAT, exactly, you want them to do and HOW, exactly, they’re expected to do it.

You need to tell them to click on the link provided and you need to tell them to fill in and submit the questionnaire.

This doesn’t mean that your readers are brain-dead. It’s simply a reality that most people will not take action unless they’re told to do so. It’s not a question of intelligence, but rather one of overcoming inertia and, to some extent, fear of the unknown.

Most people will NOT take action on their own unless they know what’s involved and what the outcome will be. Naturally, the more involved the action you want them to take, the more explicit your instructions will need to be.

Do I REALLY Need to Ask?

By explaining what you expect the reader to do, and by giving clear instructions on how to do it, the number of readers that will actually take action will increase dramatically.

This is why you almost always need a call to action, even when you’re asking for something that most readers are already doing naturally.

Sparrow Communications – Encouraging Two-way Traffic

Sparrow not only allows you to push information out to your readers, it lets you get their opinion of your content through “Reactions.”

Post reactions allow readers to quickly and easily provide feedback by choosing from various reaction symbols, such as “Thumbs Up”, “Thumbs Down”, and others.

Some of your readers, especially those active in social networks, will naturally provide their reactions without being prompted to do so. Still others will either be reluctant to give feedback, or will be unaware of what giving feedback is or how to give it. So, how do you help those folks out? That’s right, with a Call to Action! For example,

“Your opinion matters, so please remember to leave feedback – good or bad – by adding your reaction. Just touch the green ‘Thumbs Up’ icon and choose the reaction you honestly want to give.”

This call-to-action will help you gain reactions from those who are hesitant, or who don’t know how to provide feedback.

By creating a clear call to action, you help Sparrow be the true, two-way communications tool that it’s intended to be, and which will allow you to collect opinions as well as relay information. You’ll learn more about your reader’s wants and needs through their reactions, and by taking their opinions, and incorporating what you learn in future posts, you’ll help make Sparrow posting an ever more valuable communications tool in your organization.