A great online presence is directly related to capturing and keeping more clients. vcita's Online Presence tools give you the ability to easily design your own online calls-to-action that invite clients to act from any webpage.

Create custom links for different call-to-action types (e.g., scheduling, payment, and more) without any special technical skills required. You can then publish these links in any venue of your choice. Here are some examples:

• Add a Scheduling Link to an email campaign so clients can schedule directly from the marketing message.
• Add an action link to your next Tweet to promote a specific service or special from your Twitter account
• Add a vcita contact option on your YouTube videos
• Add a Pay Now button on your website to let clients easily pay for any service

This article covers everything you need to know to start using Call-to-Action links:

• Creating Direct Links
• Creating Call-to-Action Links in Website Widgets
• Selecting Call-to-Action Settings
• Tagging Your Link for Source Tracking

Creating Direct Links

This section explains how to generate direct links to different pages of your Client Portal. Once you create the links, you can copy them and add them to your emails, text messages, social media posts and more.

To get started, select Client Portal from the menu on the left-hand side. Then, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Create Direct Links.

The Create a Link page will open

This is where you can select which link type you would like to create. Follow these three easy steps to create your link:

1. Choose a link type 
2. Generate the link
3. Review and copy the link

Step 1: Choose a link type

The option you choose here determines which page or portion of your Client Portal is presented. 

You can select ONE of the following:

• Visit your Client Portal: Creates a link to the landing page of your vCita Client Portal.
• Schedule: Creates a link to the Schedule Now page. 
• Pay: Creates a link to the Make a Payment page.
• Share document: Creates a link to the Share a Document page, where clients can share files with you. These files are saved on your vCita account, and both you and your client can access them at any time.
• Contact: Creates a link to the Leave Details page. This page lets clients send you their contact details and other information. 
• Other Client Portal action: Open the Choose action list and select one of the options, e.g., Get Directions. Many actions listed here create links to the same pages as the main options, but let you present a customized title on the page. 

When you select the Pay, Schedule or Contact option, you will be prompted to choose additional action-specific settings. For more information and examples, refer to Selecting Call-to-Action Settings.

Step 2: Generate the link

After selecting a link type,  the Create a link popup opens, displaying the selected option. At the lower right corner of the popup, click Get Link. 

Your link is then generated and displayed. 

Step 3: Review and copy the link

Now you are ready to use your link:

• Click  to get a preview of what your clients will see when they click the link.
• Click Grab Link to copy your link. You can then paste it to the target position in your email, post, etc. 

Creating Call-to-Action Links in Website Widgets

This section will guide you through the three easy steps of creating a Call-to-Action link for placement in a website widget. The steps are:

1. Choose the target window type 
2. Select the action type
3. Implement the link

To get started, open the Online Presence menu and select Website Widgets. Then, on the right side of the page, click Customize Your Actions.

The Email, Links and Buttons page opens.

Step 1: Where would you like to add a call-to-action?

The option you select here determines what type of link or button is generated. You can choose ONE of the following:

• Website (Floating Window): Generates a button that (when clicked) opens the call-to-action in a floating window on top of the current webpage. When you use this option, your clients can take action without leaving your website.
• Website (New Window): Generates a link that opens the call-to-action in a new window or tab. This option is less recommended, as it is generally less effective than the Floating Window option.  

Step 2: Choose an action

The option you select here determines what type of action is presented to clients. 

You can choose from the following:

• Go to Client Portal: Generates a link for the landing page of your vCita Client Portal.
• Make payment: Generates a Payment button to let you easily collect fees. 
• Schedule appointment: Generates a link for a scheduling action of your choice. 
• Share documents: Generates a link that lets clients share files with you. The files are saved on your vCita account, and both you and your client can access them at any time.
• Send message: Generates a link that lets clients send you contact details and other information. 

When you select the Make payment, Schedule appointment or Send message option, you will be prompted to choose additional action-specific settings. For more information and examples, refer to Selecting Call-to-Action Settings.

Step 3: Grab your link

If you selected the Email, Social network or Website (New Window) option in Step 1, a simple link will be displayed at the bottom of the Email, Links and Buttons page. Copy the link to the location of your choice in an email, social network post, website, etc. 

If you selected the Website (Floating Window) option, vCita generates the action link together with the HTML tag to add to your website. Follow the instructions provided at the bottom of the Email, Links and Buttons page. 

Selecting Call-to-Action Settings

When your call-to-action involves scheduling, payments or sending a message/contact information, the system will prompt you to select additional settings to help ensure that your link behaves in the way that is most helpful to you. The following sections explain these extra settings. 

Schedule an Appointment

By default, the scheduling link will display your full service menu and allow clients to schedule an appointment on the first available day in your calendar. If you prefer to direct clients to the calendar of a specific service and/or schedule with a specific staff member, select the relevant service / staff member from the dropdown lists. 

The following example shows a scheduling call-to-action with default settings.

Note: vcita can even generate a direct link to your hidden services - this feature lets you offer "specials" on hidden services via email campaigns and/or social media, or you can allow premium clients to schedule “after hours” appointments. To learn more about how to set up your service menu, set service-specific availability and hide certain services, click here.

Send Message / Contact

The Send Message (Contact) link allows clients to send you contact details and other information. The additional settings let you customize the subject line and the message content. If relevant, you can create multiple messaging links and set each one with a different subject line and message text. You can then add these links to different pages on your website.

You can change the default Contact Info form displayed by customizing your Client Card settings to collect any data you might need to provide optimal services.

Make Payment

By default, the Make Payment link allows clients to pay any amount, for the service of their choice. If you prefer to get payments for a specific service, select the Predefined service radio button, click in the field and choose the relevant service from the list. To set a fixed payment amount, select the Fixed amount radio button and enter the amount in the field to the right.

 The following example shows a Make Payment call-to-action with custom settings.

Tagging Your Link for Source Tracking

Since you can use the same call-to-action link in multiple channels, it is often helpful to tag the link. Tagging allows you to track the source of call-to-action responses. For example, links that you send in a campaign can be tagged with the name of the campaign. If you place a link in a website, the tag can be the URL of the website. 

The source tags that you create and use are included in the source tracking information provided in your vCita Inbox and in Booking reports. Source tags can also be forwarded to any other applications you use, through vCita's API.

vCita offers the following tagging options:

• o=SOURCE NAME
• s=URL

Here are some examples:

https://live.vcita.com/site/janeandrews/online-scheduling?o=NewYear2018Campaign

https://live.vcita.com/site/janeandrews/online-scheduling?o=SocialMediaName&s=MyURL