Blog Should I Use Meta’s CTA Buttons?

Should I Use Meta’s CTA Buttons?

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AUTHOR: Ali Blount

Feb 12, 2024

3 Min Read

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To button or not to button—that is the question so many organizations ask. The button in this case is specifically referring to the call-to-action (CTA) button on Meta. It’s required for many campaign objectives and post types, but can also be added to most timeline posts once they’re turned into ads.

But does it make a difference if you add that little button or not? Turns out, it really does.

KEEP CONVERSIONS HIGH AND COSTS LOW

Our analysis of campaign results across clients from the last year and a half found that ads with CTA buttons always come out on top as compared to ads without buttons.

Let’s look first at conversion rate, comparing the page view and purchase rates for both types of posts. CTA buttons drive higher rates in both cases.

Conversion Rate

	No CTA Button	CTA Button
Page View Rate	2.014%	2.216%
Purchase Rate	.0247%	.0339%

This holds true when comparing cost per acquisition (CPA), too, for both page views and purchases. In this case, the lower, the better, and CTA buttons are certainly lower for both metrics.

Cost Per Acquisition

	No CTA Button	CTA Button
Cost Per Page View	$0.46	$0.41
Cost Per Purchase	$37.15	$26.98

IMPROVE THE USER EXPERIENCE

Not sold yet? Let’s take a look at a comparison with and without buttons to see how the user experience might differ.

Both example posts come from Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Meta campaign for their world premiere of Another Marriage. Both posts are also videos, and they were used in the campaign within weeks of each other.

In both cases, the copy is cut off by the “see more” break, so the link that’s included to the production landing page on Steppenwolf’s site isn’t immediately visible. However, the audience reaction video has the CTA button—making it that much easier for audiences to purchase tickets. And the post with the CTA button did indeed see stronger results.

No CTA Button CTA Button

✖️ Results with No CTA Button

Page View Rate: 4.584%
ROI: 404%

Swipe/tap to see how the button made results jump →

✔️ Results with a CTA Button

Page View Rate: 5.251%
ROI: 510%

THE VERDICT: CTA ALL THE WAY

If you have the option to add a CTA button to your ad, you absolutely should. It’s one way to improve the user experience while also boosting ad performance. A small adjustment can make a big difference!