CTA

What does CTA stand for?

Call-to-action

Marketers know that CTA stands for "call-to-action." A call-to-action is any phrase, ad, or clickable button that instructs a consumer to TAKE ACTION NOW, lest they miss out on the offer at hand.

Calls-to-action take a variety of forms, depending on the medium they're delivered through, the marketer they're created by, and their intended audience. For example, podcasters often deliver CTAs at the end of their in-podcast ads, telling listeners to visit a specific website. Marketing emails, on the other hand, contain colorful CTA buttons peppered with phrases like "Don't Miss This Deal" or "Give the Gift of Gorgeous," which take consumers to a website when clicked.

The most blatant CTAs hope to inspire a sense of FOMO or urgency in consumers, in an attempt to get them to take action without thinking. If you've ever been told to take advantage of a "limited time offer" or to "act now, before supplies run out," you've encountered one of these more-pushy CTAs.

Example

What's your CTA for your Giving Tuesday campaign?
We decided to keep it simple and go with 'Support Local Journalism.'
Nice

In the Instagram era, a CTA can be as simple as Swipe Up

Related Slang

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Updated December 2, 2020

CTA definition by Slang.net

This page explains what the acronym "CTA" means. The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been written and compiled by the Slang.net team.

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