Best practices in financial marketing may be outdated, as millennials — the largest generation in American history according to the American Banking Association (ABA) — have different consumer behaviors than previous generations who lacked the technology and social awareness that drive spending habits today.

It would be wise for banks to start paying attention to what's important for people in this key age group, which spans those born between 1980 and 2000. That's a wide range, but what unifies millennials are the tech-savvy habits and purpose-driven philosophies that are undeniably becoming the new norm.

Even the best lawyers need to market their firm and its services to build a strong base of clients. But lawyers aren't marketers and running an efficient small business marketing strategy often isn't second nature.

Call-to-action phrases (CTAs) can make all the difference when it comes to return on investment. While you want to write compelling copy to engage customers, you also need to figure out how to take that engagement one step further and drive traffic to your site and product pages, which is where CTAs step in.

Check out these five effective call-to-action phrases, and learn why they work and how to write your own. These CTAs don't necessarily have to be the button copy, but they should make your customer want to click.

Though the text of your call-to-action phrase is very important, getting the design just right is also crucial for marketers looking to increase conversions. It might not seem like details such as color, page placement and font could directly influence consumer behavior, but marketers who take a little bit of time to do some design testing and research can enhance the effectiveness of their call-to-action and actually boost conversions.

1. Inspire Action With Color

Research reported on by the Better Business Bureau found that color can have a huge effect on conversions, with one study finding that bold colors like orange and red can actually increase conversion rates by over 32 and 20 percent, respectively. Of course, practicality is important here, and obviously, you shouldn't go crazy turning your entire website red and orange in an effort to boost consumer action. Something you might want to do, however, is look for ways to add orange or red accents to your design, and use complementary colors to make sure calls-to-action stand out.