49 \\ Use This Simple Call to Action To Drive Lead Generation for Your Small Business

Tired of showing up online, posting your heart out and still hearing crickets? Are you doing all the right things, but wondering why your content isn't converting? Your DMs are dry and your audience isn't buying. You're not alone, and this podcast is exactly for you. Welcome to Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses, where strategy meets soul and connection. Well, that's the secret sauce. Hi.
I'm Cheyanne Cleyman: A wife, proud mom of three, former actress and fitness trainer turned serial entrepreneur and online relationship expert. Over the last decade, I've built my own brands, helped dozens of others grow theirs, and discovered one powerful truth: connection is the real currency. If you're a service based business or high ticket brand that wants more leads, trust and sales from social media without the burnout or fake hype, you're in the right place. Each week, I'm bringing you short, powerful and packed episodes that feel like a coffee date with a best friend and biz coach all in one. Let's turn your followers into clients and content into connection. This is Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses, and it's about to change how you show up online. Let's dive in, boss.
Hey, hey, hey, bosses, okay, I'm about to give you a little bit of tough love here, because this is something I see all the time, and we've been together now for almost 50 episodes. Can you believe it? This is the 49th episode of this podcast. So whether you're just joining in, or you have binged all previous 48 episodes, I'm glad you're here, because I have a hard truth to share with you. Are you ready for it? If your post doesn't have a clear Call to Action (CTA), it's just taking up space on the internet.
I mean, think about it. You've poured your heart and a lot of your time, I'm sure, into writing that perfect caption. You've chosen the absolutely perfect image or reel cover. Maybe you've even found yourself obsessing over which emoji or hashtag to use, and then people just scroll past. Like, how rude, right? I mean, maybe they like it, maybe they don't, but they definitely don't do anything. Right? We want people to take action, and it's not because your content wasn't any good. It's simply because they didn't know what to do next, and that's what we're diving into today.
Why your CTAs, or as we call it in social media marketing, your calls to action, are the make-it-or-break-it factor in your content's success, and ultimately, it could be the factor in why your content is not converting to clients. I'm going to walk you through the psychology behind why they work, the three main types of CTAs you need to rotate through, and how to make them sound natural, not salesy or forced at all, because this is where it comes real. The real is when you start adding intentional calls to action, you'll go from getting passive views to actual movement in your business. I'm talking clicks, DMs, downloads, consults, and real conversations with potential clients. How do I know? Because I've been there and so have so many of my clients. I am ready to help you get there too.
All right, let's go ahead, everybody. Let's dive in now. Every piece of content you create should have a purpose, right? Otherwise, you're just filling space, and there's not a lot of space out there in the internet lately, if you haven't noticed. A call to action is simply an invitation, right? That's it. You're not forcing people, you're not pushing people, you're guiding them, right? You're saying, "Hey, here's your next step." If this resonated, I've actually talked with several, one of my clients, who have said, "Well, Cheyanne, we don't want to treat people like they're stupid."
The thing is, people aren't stupid. They're just saturated. They're oversaturated and inundated with so many messages out there that sometimes it just can gloss over. They don't even think about what they're supposed to do next, unless you tell them. Without that invitation, more than likely, your audience is just not going to take that next step. It's like handing them a beautifully drawn map, but with no destination. Why would they travel down it?
Right now, here's what I see most small business owners get wrong. They think that every post has to sell something. Nope. Not every CTA is actually a "buy now" or "book a call". It can be. But if you think about what is action, right? So a CTA can be as simple as: I'm going to give you four examples. "Okay, comment below if this hit home for you"—that literally is a CTA, right? Or tag a friend who needs to hear this today. Download my free checklist, the link's in the bio. Or my favorite one: save this post for later when you need the reminder.
Okay, so your goal is to simply prompt action, not someone's wallet. Okay? And those micro-actions are what build long term momentum in your content, and they ultimately build trust in your audience. Because for one, you're showing like, "Hey, I care about you." I don't want you to just swipe off this and move on to the next content, but I'm also not going to push you to just buy, buy, buy every time you see something from me. I really want to engage with you. So hey, let's start engaging together.
Because when your audience starts engaging, when they start saving, sharing, commenting, the algorithm is also going to take notice. So whether you love or hate the algorithm, or feel a little bit in between, the algorithm can help your reach expand organically. So you see, calls to action—they're not pushy. They don't have to be. They are actually your secret weapon. They are very, very powerful.
Now that you realize how CTAs work and what they are, let's break down the three buckets of CTAs that every small business owner should rotate through.
First up: Engagement CTAs. These are the easiest and honestly, the least intimidating to use. Think when you see this on social. If you spend any time on social, you're going to see these every single day. So think of something like, "Hey, drop an emoji"—like praise hands, clap hands, drop a heart if you agree. Simple: "What's your favorite from these options," and then you list some options, right? Or "Tag your business bestie who needs this reminder". These CTAs are about sparking conversation. They train your audience to interact with you and your content, and ultimately that interaction boosts your visibility. So it's a win win all around.
And I wouldn't be a lead generation specialist without jumping in here real quick to say that those are gold, because once people join that conversation, please don't leave them alone in the room. Please do not ghost them. So if you're going to use these CTAs, make sure that you or an assistant of yours goes in and acknowledges every single comment, even if it's an emoji, and do more than just give it a thumbs up or an emoji back. If you've been listening to this podcast, you know that I'm super anti-emoji when it's the only part of the conversation. They send you a heart emoji. You start a conversation, you bring it out of them, and don't forget to ask a question, because that's going to spark conversation.
Now, after we do those engagement CTAs, next we've got List Building CTAs. So these are really gold, because this is where you invite your audience to take a smaller, but more meaningful step closer to your business. So this is going beyond the conversation, right? Like the engagements are all about sparking the conversation. This is kind of like, if you think about the dating world, this is giving someone your phone number. Or in the business networking world, this is giving someone your business card or asking them to follow you on social media, right?
So this is downloading your freebie, signing up for your checklist, or DMing you a keyword to get access to a resource. Here's a simple example: "Want to see exactly how we track leads? Well, grab our free lead tracker, the link's in the show notes". It's that simple, but it starts nurturing the relationship that ultimately leads to clients later, because when you collect them and they give you their email address, you then have another way to be able to serve them later on.
And finally, the final CTA we're going to talk about today is Sales CTAs, right? So this is your clear, confident invitation: Book a strategy call, join my 30-day program, apply to work with me. Yada yada yada. Notice how none of these are overly aggressive, right? But they are clear, they're confident. And when you use them intentionally, your audience gets used to you guiding them, and that's what builds trust.
So what is the key takeaway? Not that I'm a tired mama sometimes, the key takeaway I wanted you to grasp from this episode is to make sure that you rotate through all three of those call to actions. Doing a call to action is very, very, very important, and that's the top thing I want you to take away. But secondly, just as important is to make sure you don't overuse one of the three. You really want to make sure you rotate them, because, say, if every post is a hard sell, you're going to exhaust your audience. But also the opposite: if none of your posts ever sell, you're going to confuse them, and your business is going to stay in the passion project mode and never be monetized. So your job is to build a rhythm that feels natural, human and confident.
Now let's talk about briefly how to make your CTA sound natural, right? Not like a jarring sales pitch at the end of your content. The best CTAs feel like it's actually part of the conversation, right? So for example, if you're sharing something that could be categorized as a teaching post, say, "Three mistakes you're making on Instagram," your call to action should be, "If you want to see the full checklist of what to do instead, grab it free in my bio". I mean, how awesome is that? You just shared with them the three mistakes that they're making. So you're saving their skin. You're saving them, but they also are left with a question like, "Great. Well, then what am I supposed to do?" And boom, you already answer that for them. So you've given them so much value in just one post.
Now, if you're sharing a story, something like, "Have you ever been through something like this? Comment below so I know I'm not the only one". These are great, especially if you work in an industry where you're helping people through a transformation, one you've been through yourself. This is very much like a "me too" post, and they can see your vulnerability and it gives them permission to be so too, and trust can be built from posts like this.
Now, if you're doing a reel, you could put something like "double tap if you've been there", or "send this to a friend who needs the reminder", or re-share in your stories. Again, remember, it is something that's very simple. It's all about getting more interaction and getting the conversation going.
Here's a little insider tip: test your call to actions in your stories first. Your stories are where you can be super casual and conversational, right? Because those are only shown and seen by people who already follow you. So watch how your audience responds. Do they click? Do they vote? Do they reply? Do they just tap through? You want to pay attention to your analytics there, because then you can bring your strongest performing story CTAs into your main content, and that's where you're going to grab your new followers and your new audience. It's an easy way to make your calls to action feel less like a marketing move and more like a little friendly nudge.
So here's what happens when you start using CTAs consistently: You train your audience to expect to take action with you, and that's when things start to shift for you on social media. I promise, you're no longer just another voice on their feed. You become a trusted guide who gives direction. Let's break it down and think of it like a conversation at a coffee shop, right? If I share something valuable and then just stare at you, awkward, right? You'd think, "Okay, well, great. Now what?" But if I say, "Hey, if you want to dive deeper into this, I actually have a resource that could help". That feels natural. I've literally had a conversation like that at the gym, at the grocery store. I can name so many different things. That's all a CTA is: a bridge from value to next step.
And here's the coolest part, especially if you're a bit of a numbers nerd, like I am: CTAs give you data when you track them. And yes, this is why we built our beautiful lead tracker. You start to see which CTAs convert best. Maybe your audience responds better to story polls than to link clicks. Or maybe they DM you more when you use certain phrases. That's how you start marketing and working smarter, not harder, and that's exactly what we do for our clients at Kuleana Connect. We make sure that every single piece of content does double duty: building trust, sparking conversation, and leading people to the next step.
So if you're not sure which CTAs are actually working for you, go ahead and grab our free lead tracker. It's in the show notes, and you have heard me talk about this a few times already, right? It's going to show you exactly what's leading to action and what's not. So you can double down on what's actually moving the needle. If you just went to the show notes or you plan to do so after this episode, I want to show you that that was literally me using my own words, like using my own advice in the middle of this podcast episode. By the time I just shared with you to go grab the lead tracker in the show notes below, I had actually already mentioned the lead tracker about three or four times. Did you notice that? Maybe you did, maybe you didn't, but it was so natural, and I wasn't pitching you before. I was not selling you the lead tracker. I was just telling you how organically I use it in our own business and for our clients.
And I hope now I've given you that call to action to go download it for yourself, because I know how beneficial it's been for us, and I would really love to see how much easier it made your life. So once you go download it below, use it for a few days, and please hit me up and let me know how it works for you. Before you do that, here's your challenge for this week. My favorite part of every episode: your action step. I want you to go back to your last five posts. Ask yourself, did each one have a clear call to action? If not, rewrite or just boldly go and repost them with a stronger invitation. It doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be intentional. This tiny shift will completely change the way your audience engages with you, and it will turn your content from filler into a flow of opportunities. I'm speaking it out for you.
Well, once again, I just want to say thanks for tuning in to Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses. If this episode gave you that "aha" moment, share it with a business friend who needs to hear it, and don't forget to screenshot this episode. Tag me on Instagram at The Energized Mompreneur and tell me your favorite call to action that you're going to test this week. I'd love to come over and give you some love and boost your algorithm on your own social posts this week, because remember, engagement doesn't just happen. You invite it. See you next time, boss.
All right, my friend, that's it for today. But let me leave you with this: If your content is not converting, it's not your fault. Chances are you've been taught to prioritize the algorithm instead of the actual humans reading your words. And that, that ends right here. Go ahead and grab my free guide, "Five Quiet Reasons Your Content Isn't Converting and What to Do Instead". It's packed with real talk, practical shifts, and quick, immediate wins. Link is in the show notes below.
And if you're ready to stop guessing and start connecting with ideal clients who actually buy from you, book a free connection call with our team at Juliana Connect. We don't do content. We do connection that converts, because at the end of the day, it's not about going viral, it's about being valuable. Thanks for hanging out with me again. I'm Cheyanne Cleyman and I'll see you on next week's episode. See you later, boss.