Call to action examples work best when they ask for one specific action tied to what the post just delivered. Below are 25 CTAs organized by goal, follow, save, comment, and click, for use in captions, on-screen text, and Stories. A post can earn a view on its own, but it needs a direct, specific ask to turn that view into anything else.
A weak or missing call to action is one of the most common reasons content performs well on views but does nothing for growth or sales. Viewers finish a video, feel something, and then scroll to the next post because nothing told them what to do with that feeling. The content did its job. The ask never showed up.
This guide covers where a CTA belongs in a post, 25 examples organized by what you’re actually trying to get someone to do, and the mistakes that make a CTA get ignored.
Key Takeaways
- Every post should have one clear ask, not three competing ones. Pick follow, save, comment, or click, and lead with it.
- The CTA should match what the content just delivered. A tutorial earns a save. A hot take earns a comment.
- Specific CTAs outperform generic ones. “Save this for your next shoot” beats “like and follow.”
- Say the CTA out loud or in text, don’t rely on a caption nobody scrolls to. Most viewers decide whether to act before they read the caption.
- The bio link CTA is different from the page it lands on. This covers the ask in your post. Get more clicks on your link in bio covers what happens after the tap.
Why a specific ask outperforms a general one
Telling someone exactly what to do next removes the decision-making friction that causes most people to simply keep scrolling. “Follow for more” asks for a low-commitment action but gives no reason tied to what they just watched. “Follow if you want the rest of this series” ties the ask directly to value they’ve already seen, which is a much easier yes.
The same logic applies across every platform and every type of ask. A CTA that names a specific, small next step converts more often than one that asks for a vague, general commitment.
CTA examples by goal
| Goal | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Follow | You’ve delivered value and there’s clearly more coming | ”Follow for part two, dropping tomorrow” |
| Save | The post is reference material someone will want again | ”Save this before you forget the third step” |
| Comment | You want to spark discussion or gauge interest | ”Comment your biggest struggle with this and I’ll answer it” |
| Click the bio link | You have a specific destination worth the tap | ”Full guide is one tap away, link in bio” |
Follow CTAs
“Follow for part two, dropping tomorrow.”
“New one like this every Tuesday, follow so you don’t miss it.”
“If this helped, follow, there’s a full series coming.”
“Follow before I take this down and turn it into a paid guide.”
“Following gets you the next five tips I didn’t fit in this one.”
“Hit follow if you want more like this and less fluff.”
Save CTAs
“Save this before your next shoot, you’ll want it.”
“Bookmark this, it’s the checklist I wish I had a year ago.”
“Save now, thank yourself later when you’re stuck.”
“This is a save, not a like. You’ll need it again.”
“Screenshot the second slide, that’s the one you’ll forget.”
“Save this thread, I’m not repeating it next week.”
Comment CTAs
“Comment your biggest struggle with this and I’ll answer it.”
“Which one of these have you tried? Tell me below.”
“Comment ‘guide’ and I’ll send you the full breakdown.”
“Disagree? Tell me why in the comments.”
“Drop a 🙋 if this is you right now.”
“What would you add to this list? Comment below.”
Click-the-link CTAs
“Full guide is one tap away, link in bio.”
“The template I used is in my bio, free to grab.”
“Everything mentioned here is linked in my bio, organized by category.”
“Booking link is in my bio, I’ve got three spots left this month.”
“Tap the link in my bio for the version with all 12 examples.”
“The tool I use for this is linked in my bio, first block.”
Where to place your CTA
Put the CTA in three places at once when the format allows it: spoken or on-screen in the video itself, repeated in the first line of the caption, and reinforced with a Story if you’re pushing something time-sensitive. Viewers who missed it in the video catch it in the caption. Viewers who don’t read captions catch it on screen.
Stories carry their own CTA options worth using deliberately: a poll sticker doubles as a soft CTA that also boosts your reach, a countdown sticker builds urgency for a launch, and a link sticker removes a full step compared to sending someone to your bio. For the mechanics of that last one, see links in your Instagram Story.
CTA mistakes that get ignored
The most common mistake is stacking three asks in one post, “like, comment, and follow,” which spreads a viewer’s attention across none of them effectively. Pick the one action that matters most for that specific post and ask for only that.
The second mistake is a CTA disconnected from the content. Asking someone to “check the link” without saying what’s there, or why it matters, gives a viewer no reason to interrupt their scroll. Tie the ask to the specific value they just got, and say what the click delivers, not just that a link exists.
The third mistake is treating the caption as the only place the CTA lives. Captions get truncated after the first line or two until someone taps “more,” so a CTA buried at the bottom goes mostly unread. Say it in the video first, then repeat it in that visible first line.
Every post CTA eventually points at the same destination: your bio link. Get more clicks on your link in bio picks up from here and covers what makes that page convert once someone actually taps through. Pair a strong CTA with a strong hook, see hook ideas for creators, and plan both ahead of time with a content calendar instead of writing them on the fly. Once someone clicks, tracking link in bio clicks tells you which CTA actually worked.
A good CTA gets the tap. What happens after that tap is on the page waiting for it. Create your More.You page so every click your CTAs earn lands somewhere built to convert it.
FAQ
Should every single post have a call to action?
Most should, but not every one needs to sell something. A CTA can be as simple as asking for a comment or a save. The goal is giving the viewer a next step, not always driving a sale.
Is it okay to ask for a follow and a comment in the same post?
Generally, no. Stacking asks dilutes both. Pick the action that matters most for that specific piece of content, and save the other ask for a different post.
Do CTAs work differently in Stories versus feed posts?
Yes. Stories support interactive stickers, polls, questions, links, and countdowns, that give you CTA formats a feed post or Reel doesn’t have. Use those instead of just repeating a caption-style CTA in a Story.
How direct is too direct for a call to action?
Direct rarely hurts as long as it’s tied to real value. “Comment ‘guide’ and I’ll send it” is direct and works because it promises something specific in return. Vague direct asks, like “engage with this post,” tend to underperform because there’s no clear reason attached.
Where should the CTA go in a caption?
The first line, not the last. Captions truncate after a line or two until someone taps to expand them, so a CTA buried at the bottom gets far less exposure than one delivering the ask up front, or spoken in the video itself.
Sources
More.You product brief, docs/moreyou/01-product-brief.md, sections 2 and 4.
