14 Real-Life Examples of CTA Copy YOU Should Copy

Moving people to act is a challenging task. With just a few words, CTA copy needs to show that you see where your audience is coming from and empathize with their issues. That CTA (call-to-action) must also motivate them to move toward a solution.

If the CTA copy you craft doesn’t keep your visitors’ attention, it can hurt your click-through rate, lead conversions, and ultimately, sales.

So, a CTA needs to inspire, encourage, and coax a person into action, but not bore, scold, or distract. Clearly, writing CTAs is a tricky balance of skill, influence, and awareness. But how can you write the perfect CTA copy on your own?

Keep reading or skip to a section to learn:

What is CTA copy?
Real-Life Examples of CTA Copy YOU Should Copy
How to Write CTA Copy That Converts

When marketers think about call-to-action (CTA) creation, the first thing many of them tend to focus on is design. And while CTA design is critical to initially drawing the attention of your visitors, it’s CTA copy that has to be compelling enough to get them clicking.

Bring your calls-to-action to life with HubSpot’s 28 Free CTA Templates. Simply add your own copy, adjust designs as needed, save as an image, and upload to your CMS.

Looking at CTA examples can also help when you’re writing. The following examples can inspire you and compel your visitors to click and convert.

Real-Life Examples of CTA Copy YOU Should Copy

1. HubSpot

HubSpot is all about growing better, and visitors quickly get that message from the call-to-action at the top of the page. Then, the copy outlines how HubSpot can help your business grow better.

The next CTA is highlighted with a button, “Start free or get a demo.” This gives you two different choices with a single click, meeting the needs of many different users with a single action.

2. Kate Spade

This compelling CTA asks readers to “treat yourself” and “shop self-gifting.” The contrast of traditional Valentine’s day terms like “romancing” and “heart” with a unique statement makes this CTA stand out. It also highlights a specific audience that’s often ignored on this holiday, inviting them to flip through and “make the moment all about you.”

3. KLM

The language of this call-to-action (“50,000 Bonus Miles online offer”) is written in a way that gives visitors context even if they skim over the copy listed below it. The bottom line of text uses punctuation and uppercase letters to emphasize urgency. It’s effective because it’s both specific and action-oriented.

4. Duolingo

The copy of the call-to-action button here is so descriptive that visitors can move immediately into action, either getting started or continuing to use the app. This straightforward CTA tells you exactly what this app does and why you want to use it. Remember — sometimes being to the point is all you need to drive conversions.

5. Eventbrite

The text outside the call-to-action button here serves to create an incentive. The best time to find an event is now, so there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t just go ahead and find one. While this app is best known for creating events online, this CTA shows that Eventbrite also invests in promoting events posted on the app, creating more reasons to use the platform.

6. American Red Cross

This is an inspirational CTA example. It starts by reminding each individual who visits the site of their potential impact with one phrase — “You Can Make a Difference.” Then, it outlines how a financial gift can help. This framework creates an experience that feels more inspiring and less transactional, while still supporting the goal of collecting donations.

7. AWS

In this example, the text above the call-to-action — “Start Building on AWS Today” — gives specific details about the action visitors will be taking if they click. It reveals the ‘how’ of “Get Started for Free” too, with detailed sections for builders and decision makers. This copy clearly sets expectations before conversion so visitors know exactly what they’ll get in return for their click.

8. GoTo

This CTA starts with “One solution. So many ways to stay connected.” It goes on to describe the value of their cloud phone system. Then GoTo uses CTA buttons to clarify exactly what visitors will get after their click(s): either “See Plans and Pricing” or “Get a Demo.” The lesson is simple, if your button text is short and simple, clarifying copy can give visitors an extra boost to click.

9. Fitbit

In this example, the CTA copy tackles the problem of decision overload. Some companies use a CTA to compare their products to a competitor, then offer their best product as the best choice. Instead, this CTA assumes that the issue isn’t whether to purchase from Fitbit, but which Fitbit product to buy.

The CTA copy calls out a problem in a friendly way — “Trouble choosing? We’ve got you covered.” Then, it offers an immediate solution — “Start the quiz.” While some customers have complicated problems, you can simplify by looking at your ideas from your customers’ perspective.

10. Turbo Tax

When a web page offers many different choices, you may need to display more than one CTA. Each CTA needs to be powerful by itself, conveying a compelling and targeted offer through both visuals and copy. In this example, the language of the calls-to-action here gives readers solid context around three distinct offers.

11. Secureworks

This call-to-action gives visitors enough information to take the next step without needing to give away much background information. This text is a teaser that tempts people to keep reading, making a subject that can sometimes seem boring (cybersecurity) more enticing.

12. On24

The main call-to-action in this example urges action. Then, the text above each follow-up CTA highlights details about each offer. This language offers clarity and sets expectations for the visitor, eliminating any guesswork.

13. Upwork

This CTA starts with a motivational message — “How work should work” — then shifts the focus to direct action. The CTA buttons offer two different ways to engage. First, a CTA that asks visitors to start using the platform for hiring. Next, a CTA for people who aren’t sure how to hire and may have a longer buyer journey before they start using the platform.

14. Citizen Group

Simple doesn’t mean boring. This example offers creative CTA copy that aligns with the voice of the organization. CTAs like “Building Citizen Brands,” “Connecting Through Culture,” and “Let the Work Speak” offer a clear idea of what visitors will find after clicking. At the same time, the tone and voice of each CTA feels unique to this brand and makes the act of clicking more exciting.

Check out this post for more clickable call-to-action examples.

CTA copy is often the shortest copy on the page, so to some, it can be mystifying that it’s often the copy that takes the longest to write. A call-to-action is like a bumblebee, with its big body and tiny wings. It carries a heavy load with just a few carefully chosen words.

To create a CTA that makes the most of every blog, landing page, email, and button, check out these tips.

1. Use active language.

Using active voice puts the reader in the center of the action. It also helps cut down on wordiness. An example of active voice is, “Jack eats cherries to stay fit.”

In contrast, passive voice talks about action in a more roundabout way. For example, “The cherries were eaten by Jack for fitness.”

A writing tool like Hemingway Editor can help you test your copy for active voice.

2. Make your message specific.

CTA copy needs to be original, eye-catching, and drive action. That is a lot of work for a small number of words. So, to meet conversion goals with your CTAs, be specific.

Specific copy focuses on a single focused topic. Then, it uses language that makes it easy to visualize both the problem at hand and how the CTA offer can help.

If you’re not sure whether your language is specific enough, ask a few friends or colleagues to quickly scan your copy. If they all come up with the same meaning, chances are your CTA copy is specific enough. But if your proofreaders come back with different ideas about your offer and meaning, you probably want to rewrite your CTA.

3. Short and simple copy is best.

CTA copy should be easy to scan and understand. People tend to scan when they read online, and CTAs should draw their eye and be quick to take in.

Positive language with simple word choices can also help you create more effective CTAs. Check out this post for more tips on how to write clickable copy.

4. Avoid cliches and trends.

If you’re not sure what to write for your CTA it can be tempting to mimic what competitors are doing or to add a familiar cliche. It’s easy to understand why you’d do this, but it may impact your conversions.

Cliches are easy to remember because you’ve heard them so many times. Jumping on what competitors are doing might make readers think your business lacks creativity.

These approaches to writing copy may give your CTAs meanings that you don’t intend. They’re also something your reader has seen or heard before, so they’re likely to skim over and ignore your call to action.

Instead, use your CTA to tell an authentic story or make an interesting point. This will spark curiosity, and make your reader more likely to engage.

5. Focus on practical value.

Online readers are often searching to solve a problem. And the most effective CTAs make it quick and easy to see that you are offering a solution to that problem.

There are many ways to entice a reader to take a desired action. But being direct can be surprisingly effective. You can often get readers to do what you want them to do by offering a practical solution to a specific problem.

More resources:

Types of CTAs
Call-to-action formulas

6. Connect your CTA to your other copy.

Context is essential when you’re building trust with a customer. For example, say you’re at a dog show. If you’re selling dog food, you have a good chance of making a sale. But if you sell cat food, you may not have as much luck. You might even draw negative attention.

CTA copy needs to align with its context too. If you’re writing a landing page for a product, the action you want users to take needs to match the intention that brought that person to the page. Then the CTA copy you write needs to combine the content of the landing page with that offer.

To do this, use phrases and emotional words that match the two pieces of content that you’re connecting with your CTA. Then, edit your copy to emphasize why that connection is useful to your reader.

This post offers more dos and don’ts for CTA copy.

7. Target a specific audience.

You might have a broad target audience. But CTA copy needs to connect with that audience at a particular moment in their journey to drive conversions.

It’s important to know who you’re speaking to. Is it a new visitor to your site arriving from a referral page? Is it a current customer who’s looking for answers? Or a lead hoping to take the next step toward a purchase?

Take some time to look at your content and offer from a target user’s perspective, then write a CTA that will connect to them at the right moment.

8. Test your CTAs for results.

While you can jump into a new CTA and gauge your results by looking at your conversion data, there’s a less risky way to try out new calls to action.

The most popular way to test CTA copy is with A/B testing. You can test CTA performance on different landing pages, with unique designs, or test different versions of CTA copy.

This testing approach isolates one variable at a time so that you can see how the copy of your CTA is impacting performance. Then you can make changes to optimize your CTAs.

Write Copy That Inspires People to Take Action

When it works a CTA can transform your buyer journey, drive conversions, and fuel business growth. But a lackluster CTA can damage your brand reputation, product sales, and more.

CTA copy is how you connect your marketing and sales content to the value your business offers. Writing this copy is both a craft and an art. It takes practice, research, and hours of effort to put together just the right message.

Use the tips and examples in this post to develop your CTA know-how. Then, track your results to refine your skills and keep learning.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2012 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Mobile Conversion Rate: What It Is and How To Increase It

Is your website ready to attract and convert mobile website visitors into leads? 

According to Adobe, companies with mobile-optimized sites triple their chances of increasing mobile conversation rate to 5% or above.

If that’s not enough to sell you on the importance of delivering a mobile-optimized experience, Google recently announced that more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 different countries including the United States and Japan. 

All this talk of mobile got me thinking about how website visitors were accessing our offers. And after a closer look, I discovered that conversion rates on our landing pages were 20-30% lower from visitors coming from mobile. (As a lead generation geek, you can imagine how psyched I was to uncover such a huge opportunity for gathering more leads.)

With this information in tow, I set out to solve this problem — and I think you’ll be intrigued by what I found. 

The Methodology 

The hypothesis of this experiment was that by making content more easily digestible on mobile devices, it would increase conversion rate. However, getting inside the heads of our mobile visitors took a bit of reflection. I had to ask myself, “What would cause someone to bounce?”

Some answers I came up with were:

The form is too long.
There is too much text on the landing page to read.
The design isn’t formatted for a mobile phone.

When presented with information that is not super mobile-friendly, a visitor won’t hesitate to bounce from your landing page.

Why?

Not only are poorly formatted pages time-consuming, but they also don’t appear very reputable, which often causes visitors to lose trust. With that decided, we knew we needed a way to condense all the information on the landing page to fit the size of a mobile screen. 

The Experiment 

To give you a better idea of what we were working with, check out what our landing pages looked like initially:

As you can see, it was quite long with a lot of content. So in order to improve the user experience on these landing pages, we leveraged smart content to shorten the display for mobile users. (To learn more about how smart content works, check out this resource.)

The first step we took was shortening the content and formatting the images for mobile: 

Once that was completed, we tackled the form:

Voilà! With the help of smart content, mobile visitors are now shown a shorter, more digestible form.

The Analysis

With the changes in place, we decided that measuring the page’s bounce rate would help us determine if the mobile smart forms helped improve our conversion rates. Essentially, bounce rate refers to the percentage of people who only viewed a single page — it’s the number of people who visit our landing page and then “bounce” without converting on a form. 

For this experiment specifically, we needed to figure out how many people filled out the form that came from a mobile device. Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how we approached this:

We used Google Analytics to find the number of “new users” to hubspot.com. I measured new people to hubspot.com on mobile (and not repeat visitors) because existing people in our database would not be net new prospects (which is what I’m solving for). 
I used HubSpot to determine the number of new prospects from the mobile smart form. 
I calculated the conversion rate using the following formula: Conversion Rate = New Prospects / New User PVs 
I calculated the bounce rate using the following formula: Bounce Rate = 100% – Conversion Rate

The Results

Results from Mobile Smart Form Test

By switching to mobile smart forms, we managed to decrease bounce rate (and therefore increase conversion rate) on each landing page tested by an average of 27%. Bounce rates that were previously between 50-90% are now between 20-50%.

Visitors now have a smoother experience and are less likely to leave the page before viewing and completing the form. 

Results from Mobile Optimized Content Test

After optimizing the mobile smart forms, we tested shortening the content and optimizing the images for mobile. This produced a 10.7% decrease in bounce rate. (We expect this number will keep decreasing with continued optimization.)

The Takeaways

Through this experiment, I learned to solve for the user. I also learned the importance of placing myself into the shoes of the user to better determine why and how conversions happen (or don’t happen) in the first place.

While marketers don’t always think of UX, this experiment proved that there is no denying its importance. If your website is slow to load, visitors might leave. If the user has to scroll through six screens worth of content to reach a form, they might leave. If the form they arrive at has 10 tiny fields, they might leave.

See my point here? To improve the odds of a conversion actually taking place, always solve for the user.

9 Product Category Marketing Examples to Inspire Your Own

People want a sense of direction when they’re shopping. They want to see their choices grouped together — whether they’re looking for spoons, granola, or winter coats. Brands make this happen with the product category.

Product category marketing helps your brand stand out among related items, so your company’s products wind up in the shopping cart.

Let’s explore product categories and see some examples in action. Continue reading or jump to the section you’re looking for:

What is a product category?
Examples of Product Categories
What is product category marketing?
Why Product Category Marketing Is Important
Product Category Marketing Examples

Product categories are sometimes confused with product classification. Both are organizational strategies that help guide marketing decisions. But product classifications are much broader (think convenience goods, shopping goods, or specialty goods).

A product category can also improve the user experience. With clear product categories, products are easier for customers to find and understand. Product categorization is also useful for businesses to streamline processes and follow product regulations.

Examples of Product Categories

Your distinct products and customer personas should guide your product categories.

Some businesses use product categories that are broad and based on industry and competitor analysis. These companies may use product categories such as:

Mobile phones
Game consoles
Household furniture
Home appliances
Clothing

For example, Dick’s Sporting Goods offers a variety of outdoor and sports gear. Top-level categories on their site include Sports, Outdoor, and Exercise and Wellness.

Then, it breaks each of these categories into interest-based categories. Categories within outdoor gear include:

Snow Sports
Camping & Hiking
Yard Games

This company sells many types of products, so its website has several levels of categories before a user reaches products for sale. But as competition grows, a business may get more niche and target a specific consumer.

The cosmetics industry is competitive. Customers looking for cosmetics and skincare have many choices. So, the target audience needs product categories that let them quickly find exactly what they’re looking for.

For example, the skincare brand Dr. Jart+ offers product categories such as:

Moisturizers
Masks
Exfoliators
Serums

This company also organizes products on its website using customer concerns such as oily skin, blemish-prone, and dullness. These categories give users several ways to find the right product online.

Businesses also categorize products using guidelines from the platforms they use to sell their items.

For example, platforms like Facebook, Shopify, and Google have standard product categories for sellers. Most also offer the choice of adding a custom category, but many new businesses use these product category choices as a guide.

Some companies promote individual products, but as a business grows they often shift to promoting groups of products. Marketing by category helps companies brand and promote that group of connected products.

Product category marketing amplifies why a company is the best choice within that group of products. It helps you explain why customers opt for your offering rather than your direct competitors.

Why Product Category Marketing Is Important

Product category marketing improves the customer experience.

Imagine shopping at a grocery store without any signs pointing you in the right direction. Odds are you’d spend a lot of time wandering the aisles until you found what you needed.

Using the right categories makes products easier to find and understand. Marketing for those categories helps businesses highlight how those products can ease customer pain points.

Product category marketing builds trust.

When consumers have positive experiences with a specific product category it also builds brand trust. This often expands to other categories through the halo effect.

Grouping products creates a larger pool of data to understand your customer buyer journey. This helps you meet expectations and build trust in your brand.

Product category marketing improves brand awareness.

It’s more effective to figure out a brand proposition for a group of products than for a single product. This approach can appeal to more customers and increase attention for your brand.

Product category marketing can increase leads and sales.

Gaining brand recognition and appreciation across a product category means greater returns for your efforts.

Product category marketing helps users spend more time with your products. It connects audiences to new products related to the ones they already love.

Product Category Marketing Examples

1. Fenty Beauty

Product category: Skincare

Admittedly, it helps to have singer and business powerhouse Rihanna at the helm. But Fenty Beauty innovated the idea of foundation makeup “for all.” Its commitment to inclusivity made the brand an instant hit.

Beyond foundation, the Fenty Beauty Face products include bronzer, highlighter, powder, and concealer in shades that work for everyone. The launch was an industry transformer.

The next product category innovation falls under the brand Fenty Skin. Departing from other cosmetics approaches to skincare categorization, this brand includes product categories for fragrance, facial, and body care. It also has a campaign-specific product category, the Game Day collection that ties into Rihanna’s 2023 Super Bowl performance.

Why it works: Fenty’s success underlines a simple truth about today’s consumers: they are belief-driven. Increasingly, consumers want to see brands improve the world while making a profit. Fenty aligns with this shift by keeping diversity and inclusion top of mind with its product offerings — and by featuring models across a spectrum of skin tones.

2. Orvis

Product category: Dog beds

This Vermont-based retailer has been a big name in fly-fishing and outdoor gear since 1856. But they’ve also carved out a product niche with dog gear — and dog beds in particular. The brand draws people who want comfortable dog beds for their furry pals in styles that enhance their home decor.

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The marketing images of dogs sleeping or lounging on Orvis beds is enough to inspire a nap. And its social feeds are chock full of irresistible images and videos of dogs, including puppies in a hammock.

Why it works: The company has built a loyal following with the fundamental belief that pets are significant members of the family. Orvis has made its site a resource for dog health and behavior topics, and they boast a variety of dog beds for dogs of all sizes, ages, and health issues.

3. Ikea

Product category: Home textiles

Putting together its furniture may be a tough task, but at least Ikea supports your relaxation too. The marketing of their bedding shows off playful sheets and prints for kids — plus a mix of bold designs and neutrals for adults. The bed linen product category falls under ‘home textiles’ with curtains, quilts, pillows, and towels.

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A recent Ikea ad campaign combined this product category with a multi-category collection celebrating the Lunar New Year. This move makes it easy to find practical items like gorgeous pillowcases. At the same time, it adds seasonality for shoppers who already have a home full of IKEA basics.

Why it works: By grouping a variety of products under one roof — the FÖSSTA collection — Ikea presents an opportunity to up-sell. After all, if you buy new bed sheets, you may also need new lamps, pillows, and placemats.

4. Swarovski

Product category: Jewelry

For more than a century, Swarovski has put the sparkle in gowns, tiaras, jewelry, sculptures, and even luxury cars. For its jewelry product category, Swarovski puts luxury within reach with a mix of modern and classic crystal necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and watches.

It sustains brand awareness with seasonal collections, collaborations with designers and celebrities, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Doja Cat, and Penelope Cruz, and social media campaigns with influencers.

The brand also partners with a range of other brands. For example, a collaboration with BMW features Swarovski crystals inside the headlights and running lights of their 7 Series G70 and X7 models.

Why it works: Swarovski has taken its medium, crystal, to new heights with creative partnerships and continued innovation. It’s these efforts that keep the brand — and its products — fresh and exciting even after 125 years in business.

5. Target

Product category: Grocery essentials

Target is known for its positioning across product categories, including affordable fashion, electronics, and cleaning supplies. Though their grocery section is smaller than most supermarkets, it covers all the ‘must-haves’ on any shopping list — from milk to salads to pasta.

In 2023, Target’s focus is on one-stop shopping, with grocery product categories that highlight the range of products you can buy at Target. So, shoppers looking for grocery mainstays can also buy kitchen tools from their favorite food influencers.

Why it works: Target uses private labels and exclusive brands to its advantage. If you get hooked on a Target-exclusive product — like an item from their Good & Gather line — you can’t go anywhere else to buy it.

6. Dove

Product category: Skincare

Launched in 2004, Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign was far ahead of other brands in promoting body positivity and self-acceptance. Their recent ad campaigns challenge toxic beauty standards with confident messaging and a wide variety of body types and skin colors. With this in mind, product categories like “Skin Cleansing” and “Men + Care” emphasize self-care.

Rolls, wrinkles, cellulite, and stretch marks are all on proud and beautiful display across its social channels. Dove body lotions and soaps are also frequent fliers on “best of” lists for affordable skincare.

Why it works: In an industry that typically profits from consumers feeling unhappy with their appearance, Dove stands out with a marketing strategy that centers on building self-confidence. Dove energizes its brand with a higher purpose that most women — their target audience — can get behind.

7. Michaels

Product category: Holidays & Occasions

The company known for DIY is also a go-to spot for holiday and seasonal decorating. Michaels stores transform constantly with festive décor for each season plus Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Independence Day, Pride Month, and more.

Michael’s also does an exceptional job engaging with the creative community. Most stores offer online and in-store classes, demos, and events that anyone can attend.

Why it works: Michael’s continues to find new ways to engage with new and existing customers — from festive in-store displays to free classes and demos. It positions itself as more than a supply store, but rather a source of fun and inspiration.

8. Patagonia

Product category: Eco-friendly outerwear

Patagonia’s brand purpose isn’t just about making the best product. The brand seeks to “Cause no unnecessary harm” and the company’s marketing efforts lead with its commitment to sustainability across product lines. Its website urges consumers to buy sustainably, with product categories like “Trade In, Get Credit,” and “Used Gear.”

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When you visit its Facebook or Instagram pages, you have to hunt a bit to find posts highlighting particular products. Instead, the feeds focus on pressing issues, such as environmental stewardship and fair labor practices.

Why it works: Patagonia effectively weaves its core values into its marketing messages. When you do need to purchase a new (or used) piece of outerwear, consumers know they are supporting a company that actively minimizes its negative impacts.

9. Grove Collaborative

Product category: Green cleaning products

The company offers eco-friendly cleaning supplies, like soap and detergent refills and reusable glass bottles. It sends these products out in recurring monthly shipments.

The company uses product categories to highlight seasonal programs and initiatives. For example, the “New Year, No Plastic Waste” product category highlights products that can help consumers reduce their use of packaging and products that can help cut added plastic.

Why it works: The company’s marketing reflects its minimalist ethos. Grove also uses social media, namely Instagram Stories, to attract new customers with product images, cleaning tips, and funny videos.

Each of these brands has clarified where their products fit in larger retail categories. This helps them market their distinct value to target customers and, ultimately, earn a greater market share within their industries and niches.

How can the right product marketing category impact your business?

What consumers want changes every day, and those habits can bring dramatic changes to your business.

Choosing the right category can help you organize your products around what your target audience wants. They’re a simple way of sharing your brand values. And they make it easier for every website visitor to trust your knowledge and the quality of your products.

So, take a look at your product categories today. Think about how you can make them more useful and relevant to your customers. Then, find a way to use each product category to reach an even wider audience.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Twitter Marketing in 2023: The Ultimate Guide

Twitter is a social networking tool and search engine in which I can typically find the latest information about virtually any topic. This also includes updates from the companies and businesses I care about.

Businesses, like HubSpot, are able to market on Twitter to engage users and followers, increase brand awareness, boost conversions, and more (we’ll discuss the “more” shortly). No matter what, Twitter makes it easy to distribute content with countless users.

The thought of reaching hundreds of millions of leads through a free social media platform sounds intriguing, right? But how do you actually ensure you’re generating fantastic content those people will want to interact with?

In this guide, we’ll answer that question along with some others, including what a Twitter marketing strategy is, how you can use Twitter for your business, and what tips and tricks you can implement to help you improve your marketing efforts on the platform.

Let’s get started.

What is a Twitter marketing strategy?

A Twitter marketing strategy is a plan centered around creating, publishing, and distributing content for your buyer personas, audience, and followers through Twitter. The goal of this type of strategy is to attract new followers and leads, boost conversions, improve brand recognition, and increase sales.

Creating a Twitter marketing strategy will require you to follow the same steps you would if you were creating any other social media marketing strategy.

Research your buyer personas and audience
Create unique and engaging content
Organize a schedule for your posts
Analyze your impact and results

So, you might be wondering what makes Twitter unique. Why would you want to actually invest the time in creating a profile and content for the platform?

What makes Twitter unique?

Twitter is a great marketing tool for a number of reasons. The platform …

… is free to use.

… allows you to share and promote branded content in seconds.

… expands your reach.

… allows you to provide quick customer service and support.

… works as a search engine tool for you to search for your competitors and their marketing content to see which tactics they’re using.

… can be used as a search engine tool for prospects to find and learn about your company.

… allows you to converse with your followers, share the latest updates about your company, and address your audience.

Now that we’ve reviewed what a Twitter marketing strategy is and what makes the platform unique, let’s cover the ways in which you can use Twitter for your business. These tips will help you boost conversions, create lasting relationships with your followers, and improve your brand awareness.

As you begin using Twitter for your business, there are some steps you’ll want to take to ensure you reach your target audience. Depending on your goals, company size, and industry, you may or may not choose to work through each of the following steps (or you may have already completed some of them), so tailor them to your needs.

Learn how to use Twitter for business to better share, engage, and market on the platform.

1. Customize and brand your profile.

When someone looks at your company’s Twitter profile, you want them to automatically know it’s yours. You should therefore customize and brand your Twitter profile with your logo, colors, and any other recognizable and memorable details you want to incorporate. There are a few locations in which you can customize your profile.

Handle: Your Twitter handle is your username (for example, our handle is @hubspot) — this should include your company’s name so your followers, customers, and fans can easily search and find you on the platform. You create your Twitter handle when you sign up for an account.
Header: The header on your Twitter profile is your background image. You might choose to create a unique image for your header, use your logo, or another branded image.
Profile picture: Your Twitter profile picture represents your company’s every move, interaction, post, and tweet on the platform. It’s the image that sits above your bio and might include a picture of your logo, company’s initials, or CEO.
Bio: A Twitter bio provides everyone who visits your profile with a brief synopsis of what they’re about to see in 160 characters or less. It might include your mission statement, a blurb about what your company does, or something humorous and engaging.
Website URL: Beneath your profile picture and bio, there’s a location where you can include your URL to direct traffic straight to your website.
Birthday: In the same location as your URL, you can insert your company’s birthday — or the day when the company was founded — so your audience gets to know your business on a more personal level.

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2. Create Twitter Lists.

A Twitter List — which any user has the ability to create and view — is an organized group of Twitter accounts you’ve selected and put together in specific categories. For example, at HubSpot, lists include Leadership Experts, Top Marketing Experts, Top Business Podcasters, and more. When you open a Twitter List, you only see tweets posted by the accounts on the list.

Twitter Lists are great if you want to follow only specific accounts. You might segment your lists into groups such as business inspiration, competitors, and target audience so you’re able to easily review their posts, interactions, and content.

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3. Host a Twitter Chat.

You can schedule and host a Twitter chat to engage your followers, discuss a topic, create a sense of community, and ask your audience for their opinions or input on something you’re working on.

To host a Twitter Chat (or TweetChat), you’ll need to choose a topic, set a time and date for the chat to occur, and create a hashtag for the chat. You can share this information with your followers in a tweet, on your website, in your Twitter bio, and wherever else you choose.

Everyone who wants to participate in the Twitter Chat should then be able to view all responses, questions, and comments regarding your topic of choice by searching your unique hashtag, as well as sharing their own comments and thoughts by adding the hashtag to their tweets.

Twitter Chats promote interaction and engagement on your profile and get people talking about your brand. It also creates a more personal experience between your audience members and your business.

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4. Advertise on Twitter.

Advertising through Twitter is a great way to reach your audience. This will make your tweets easily discoverable by thousands of people, helping you increase your influence and following. You can do this through promoted ads (tweets) or Twitter Ads.

Promoted Tweets

Promoted ads or tweets make your regular tweets appear in the Twitter streams or Twitter search results of specific users. This is a great option for anyone looking to get more people on a specific webpage. Your business will pay a monthly fee as long as you’re promoting a tweet.

Twitter will put your promoted tweets in a daily campaign targeting the type of audience you want to reach as previously indicated in your settings. All Twitter users have the ability to interact and engage with promoted tweets the same way they would with your organic content.

Twitter Ads

Twitter Ads is a great option if you’re using different types of tweets to achieve one goal for your business. It’s ideal if you’re looking to grow your base of followers and brand awareness significantly through the platform.

Your business can decide between different objectives when it comes to your Twitter ads, including app installs, video views, and website conversions, as well as audience targeting for your campaigns. This decision will impact the price you’ll need to pay to run your ad.

5. Drive traffic to your website.

Twitter can help you direct traffic to your website — there are a number of ways to include your website’s URL on your profile as well as add links to your web pages and blogs in your tweets. Here are some ways you can use the platform to direct traffic to your website to help you increase your conversions and sales.

Add your website URL beneath your bio on your Twitter profile.
Incorporate links to your website in your tweets.
Retweet any content that includes direct links to your website and/ or blogs other people have shared.
Embed tweets on your website with a Twitter Timeline.
Set up Twitter Ads to drive users to a specific landing page on your site.

6. Use Twitter Moments.

Twitter Moments are collections of tweets about a specific topic or event. They’re like a “best of” collection of tweets regarding your topic of choice. For example, Twitter’s Moments section includes “Today”, “News”, “Entertainment”, and “Fun.”

You can also create your own section of Moments for your followers to view on your profile.

You might organize your Twitter Moments into groups of tweets to help you market your business’ events and campaigns or related industry news. They also help with your marketing tactics by providing your business with an engaging way to promote the discussion of specific topics and/ or events that matter to your company to help you share your brand image with audience members.

7. Buy a Twitter Blue subscription to potentially get verified.

You might choose to get your Twitter profile verified depending on the size of your company and your industry. Previously, businesses and public figures applied for a verified blue checkmark, but now you can get a similar checkmark by subscribing to Twitter Blue.

Anyone can get a Twitter Blue subscription, but Twitter will double-check your account to ensure you meet eligibility criteria. Once Twitter verifies your profile, a badge with a checkmark will appear next to your handle. This symbolizes an authentic account.

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Being verified prevents your audience members from following and being confused by impersonator accounts or accounts with similar content, usernames, and handles to yours. A verified account also makes your business look more legitimate and trustworthy.

8. Focus on building your follower count.

Needless to say, the more Twitter followers you have, the more people there are looking at and interacting with your content. You’ll have a better chance to improve brand awareness and direct more traffic to your website when you build your follower count on Twitter.

Learn how to get more Twitter followers, fast.

There are a number of ways you can increase your follower count on Twitter — here are some to get you started:

Ensure your content is shareable.
Use unique hashtags.
Create engaging content (giveaways, contests, questions, surveys).
Enlist the help of Twitter (social media) influencers.
Include links to your Twitter profile on your website.
Interact with your current followers and retweet their content so they’re more likely to do the same for you.

Now that we’ve reviewed how to use Twitter for business, let’s cover some tips and tricks you can apply to your profile to improve your marketing efforts on the platform.

The following Twitter marketing tips are universal, meaning they’re applicable to any type of business, in every industry.

1. Use keyword targeting in your Twitter Ads.

Keyword targeting on Twitter is component of Twitter Ads. Keyword targeting allows you to engage Twitter users through the different words and phrases you’ve included in your content and they’ve searched for on the platform. This means you’re able to reach your target audience at the exact time your business, content, and services are most relevant to them.

On Twitter, there are two types of keyword targeting you can use including search and timeline.

Search Keyword Targeting

Search keyword targeting allows you to make your tweets show up for users who are searching for the topics that you determined relate to your business. For example, if you sell gluten free cookies, you can target users searching for tweets about baking, cookies, gluten intolerance, or Celiac Disease.

Timeline Keyword Targeting

Timeline keyword targeting allows you to act on users’ specific feelings, thoughts, actions, and emotions they’ve tweeted about. For example, if you’re a running gear company, you might target keywords and phrases users tweet about such as, “running a race”, “race day tips”, or “training for a marathon”.

2. Implement hashtags.

Tweets with hashtags generate more engagement than tweets without them.

Adding hashtags to your tweets is a great way to expand your influence on Twitter. However, there are some guidelines you’ll want to stick to when using hashtags to ensure that you reach the largest number of people possible.

Create a hashtag that’s unique to your business so your followers and target audience can easily find you and your content.
Create relevant and memorable hashtags for other groups of tweets such as ones related to a specific campaign you’re running.
Use Twitter Analytics to review your most successful hashtags so you can ensure their use in future tweets.
Don’t overuse hashtags — this may feel and look spammy to your audience (not to mention it isn’t aesthetically pleasing).

3. Organize a content sharing schedule.

As you grow your base of followers, you’ll need to post on a regular basis to ensure they stay engaged with your business and content. Not only do you want to tweet regularly, but you also want to tweet at the right times of the day. Here are some details about the best times (on average) for businesses to share their Twitter content:

Between 8–10 AM and 6–9 PM (in correlation with commuter schedules) on weekdays
Around noon or between 5–6 PM on any day of the week
For B2C companies, the best days to tweet are weekends
For B2B companies, the best days to tweet are weekdays

In terms of how often you should post your content on Twitter, there’s no real rule — it’s more about ensuring the content you’re sharing has a purpose and meaning. You can also review Twitter Analytics to take a deep dive into what your engagement looks like on the days you post more or less content to determine what’s working well for your specific audience.

Once you’ve determined when and how often you’re going to post your content, you can enlist the help of a social media management tool. This will allow you to both create your tweets and schedule them in advance so you can focus on other tasks you have to complete.

Here are a few examples of popular social media scheduling tools you can use for your Twitter marketing strategy:

Twitter Analytics allows you to analyze your tweets, understand which content is helping your business grow, and learn about your followers.
HubSpot has a social tool which allows you to schedule posts in advance, connect directly with your audience, and understand how your Twitter interactions are helping your business’ bottom line.
Sprout Social provides you with a range of features to help you reach your target audience and buyer personas through Twitter including platform analytics, engagement tools, scheduling capabilities, and details about the type of content your audience wants.

4. Create a Twitter campaign.

Social media marketing campaigns of any kind are a great way to reach your audience, drive sales, and increase your website traffic. You can create a social media marketing campaign specifically for Twitter to target users and increase your base of followers all while raising your brand awareness through the platform.

To create a Twitter marketing campaign, you’ll want to follow the same steps you would with any type of social media marketing campaign.

Research your competition
Determine how you’ll appeal to your target audience
Choose the type of content you’ll create
Share and promote your content
Analyze your results

5. Write a strong profile bio.

Writing a strong and memorable bio for your Twitter profile is crucial. This is because your Twitter bio is the first thing a profile visitor will read about your company — it’s your written introduction and should briefly explain what visitors can expect from your page and content. You only have 160 characters to do this, so choose your words wisely to ensure your bio successfully represents your brand and reflects who you are as a company.

6. Use images and videos.

When possible, try to include quality videos and photos in your tweets. It’s been proven that tweets with images outperform tweets strictly made of text. Photos and images provide an eye-catching and engaging element in your content as Twitter users scroll through their feeds. Videos are proven to actually outperform tweets with images as well. In fact, tweets with videos are likely to get an average of six times the amount of engagement than tweets without them.

Videos and images are a great way to show your audience your product line or how to use an item you sell as well as make your content feel more personal. Plus, images and videos in tweets are proven to help you increase your engagement — and who wouldn’t want that?

7. Interact with your followers.

Remembering to engage with your followers as your business grows and Twitter follower count increases is crucial. This will help you create experiences for your followers and audience members that feel personal and keep them coming back to your profile all while fostering a sense of brand loyalty. For example, if someone retweets your post or comments on your tweet, you can “Like” that person’s interaction or even tweet back to them with a response.

8. Share media mentions.

If your business is mentioned in the media, share the article, video, URL, or image on Twitter. It’ll make your business feel more legitimate to anyone checking out your profile as well as show prospective followers how many other people already know about your company and are enjoying your products and services.

This is an exciting way to broadcast your success to your audience. It also provides you with a way to incorporate backlinks in your tweets which, when clicked, take your audience members to the original source of the mention. Meaning you’ll also drive traffic to the website of the media outlet that mentioned you, likely boosting their follower count and/ or brand recognition. This could potentially help you become mentioned, shared, or featured in one of their pieces of content again in the future.

9. Keep an eye on your competitors’ Twitter accounts.

Twitter is a great way to keep an eye on your competitors’ marketing efforts. You can follow them or simply search them to see what they’re posting. You can also view basic details about their engagement such as their number of retweets, comments, and responses. This is a simple way to see some of the Twitter marketing strategies your competitors are implementing and whether or not they’re working.

10. Focus on followers’ interests and needs when creating content.

If you want to reach your audience members and ensure your content resonates with them, you’ll need to focus on their interests and needs— whether that’s in relation to the way you share content, what you share, or how you present it.

When you meet the needs of your target audience and buyer personas, they’ll be more likely to continue to follow and interact with your company. As you study your buyer personas and target audience, you’ll be able to determine the type of content they’re likely looking for you to share. Additionally, you can always tweet questions, send out surveys, ask for feedback, or even create a Twitter Chat to get more ideas about the type of content your audience is looking for from your business and Twitter profile.

11. Promote your events.

Twitter is a great way to promote your business’ events. Similar to the way you might for a Twitter campaign, you can create a unique hashtag for various events (such as launch parties, giveaways, and contests) or schedule a variety of tweets (using one of your social media management tools) to promote any special occasion your company is hosting. This way, audience members — whether or not they’re your followers — will have the opportunity to learn about your event and get all of the details they need to sign up, be in attendance, or participate.

12. Check your direct messages regularly.

Like other social media platforms, Twitter provides users with a Direct Message inbox where they can contact you in a private message regarding any questions, concerns, or comments they have. So, be sure to check your inbox regularly as this can contribute to the type of customer service and support your business is known for, as well as the type of care you provide your followers and customers.

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13. Keep track of your analytics.

With all of the work you’re putting into your business’ Twitter marketing, you’ll want to ensure your efforts are successful in reaching your goals, whether they’re related to directing more traffic to your website, increasing conversions, or improving brand awareness.

You can determine your Twitter marketing success in these areas (and many more) by analyzing your work. To do this, you’ll want to consider which metrics matter to you and then determine how you’re going to track them.

Which Metrics to Track on Twitter

Due to every business being unique and having different goals, you might not be interested in tracking all of the following Twitter metrics (or you might be looking to track additional metrics). However, we’ve compiled the following list of possible metrics for you to consider to get you started.

Engagement: Look at the number of retweets, follows, replies, favorites, and click-throughs your tweets get (including all hashtags and links they include).
Impressions: Review the number of times your tweets appeared on one of your audience members’ timelines (whether or not they’re actually following you).
Hashtags: Look at which of your hashtags are being used most frequently by your audience and followers.
Top tweets: Review your tweets with the most engagement.
Contributors: Keep up with the level of success each of your contributors — the people you give admin access to on your account — are having with their tweets so you can implement some of their tactics more regularly or remove them completely.

How to Track Twitter Analytics

There are a number of social media management tools with analytics features automatically built in. This is convenient for those of you who were already planning on choosing a management tool to assist with the scheduling of your posts. However, one of the most common analytics tools for Twitter is the one created specifically for the platform: Twitter Analytics.

Twitter Analytics

Twitter Analytics helps you understand how your content impacts your audience and the ways in which your activity on the platform can help you grow your business. The tool is free, accessible to all users, and includes information about your Twitter engagement rate, impressions, tweet activity, and information about your followers.

Depending on your business’ needs, you have the ability to incorporate Twitter Ads (if you pay for the option) data in Twitter Analytics as well. Lastly, there are a number of other third-party resources and apps you can download and use along with Twitter Analytics to take a deeper look at specific types of data such as detailed hashtag performance information or how other Twitter handles in your industry are doing.

Start Marketing on Twitter

Twitter is a powerful marketing tool and social media platform any business can take advantage of. It has the ability to help you direct more traffic to your website, improve brand awareness, engage your audience, create personal relationships with your followers and customers, boost conversions, and increase your sales. So, consider the Twitter for business tactics as well as the marketing tips and tricks mentioned above and get started sharing content on Twitter to help you grow your business today.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.