PUT INTO WORDS: CASE STUDY
How Changing Caption CTAs Increased Reach By 8.9%
Client Bio/Insight:
@put_into_words has joined @thegrammartrini for joint case studies on Call To Action (CTA) formats. With both accounts aiming to elevate the social media management industry, it was the perfect space to test what format of CTAs works best for clients to match their business and social goals.
The Case Details:
Challenge/Problem
Both Shurland from @thegrammartrini and I have clients that are service-based businesses, and our goal is to create copy that helps businesses meet their Key Progress Indicators (KPIs). That often requires us to create CTAs within captions and creative to direct followers and leads to the desired result. However, with the guidelines dropped by Meta on “engagement bait,” we wanted to test to make sure that the formats and wording we have been using in the past are not negatively impacting our clients in the present. See screenshots below on Meta’s policy on engagement bait (CTAs).
Social Media Goals
To take five samples from both @put_into_words and @thegrammartrini pre-changing our normal CTA copy and five samples of each from a 30-day period of time without using common CTA’s like:
- Like this post if…
- Comment below…
- Double Tap
- Share this post with…
- Tag a friend who…
- Head over to our Link in bio…
Our goal was simply to see if there is a dip/difference in the effectiveness of the copy we use with “Traditional” CTAs vs “modern” CTAs that avoid words that Instagram may flag as engagement bait. The telling insight to focus on here here would be reach.
How we reached the goal/Strategy
First, we gathered insights and screenshots of posts from the previous 30-day period that utilized our standard CTA copy. Then we conducted a month of routine posting for 30 days with the only variable being changed was avoiding the words listed above. Here are the results.
The Results
Shurland and I had a combined reach over ten posts with “traditional” CTAs of 2,769 and a combined reach over ten posts with “modern” CTAS of 3012 (an increase of 243).
April Post
CTA Link in Bio
MAY POST
NO CTA – GOAL LINK IN BIO (Reel)
CTA Save and Share
 NO CTA: GOAL – SAVE “Feel Free to use”
REEL format: Cta Save
NO CTA: GOAL SAVES
CTA: LINK IN BIO
 NO CTA GOAL LINK IN BIO
CTA DROP IN THE COMMENTS
NO CTA: GOAL COMMENT
The GrammarTini Results
Single Image, Post about Social Media
Traditional
Modern
Carousel, Post about Social Media
Traditional
Modern
Carousel, Post about Communication
Traditional
Modern
Carousel, Motivational Post
Traditional
Modern
Single Image, Self-Care Post
Traditional
Modern
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE FOR YOU:
The conclusion? Between both accounts tracking the reach of both “traditional” and “modern” CTAs, we found that post reached 8.9% more accounts. This is not a dramatic difference indicating that if you use the word “like,” “comment,” or “link in bio,” your reach will tank. However, this does show that you can achieve the same amount/more reach using “modern” CTAs. *** Remember to take into consideration your goal metric for each post (reach, saves, shares, etc.).Â
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A special thanks to Shurland of @thegrammartrini. Make sure to follow him on Instagram for great grammar, writing, and copy tips.Â
