Social media A/B testing is a powerful tool for making the best ads for your specific situation.
A/B testing goes back to the days before the internet. Direct mail marketers have used this to run small tests on some of their contact lists before committing to the big print and the cost of mailing a full campaign.
A/B testing on social media generates insights in real time. When you make this a regular part of your social media campaign, you can improve your strategies instantly.
This article will help you understand what A/B testing is and how it can work for your brand.
What is A/B testing?
A/B testing (also known as split testing) applies the scientific method to your marketing strategy. In it, you test small variations on your social media content to find the content that best reaches your audience.
To do A/B testing, also known as split testing, you randomly divide your audience into two groups. Each group is then shown a different variation of the same ad. After that, you compare the responses to determine which variation works best for you.
Depending on your social media strategy, you can use different metrics to measure success in the way most relevant to you.
When performing such social tests, be sure to change only one item in two variations. You measure your audience’s reaction to the entire ad. For example, if you change the image and the headline, you won’t know which is responsible for the difference in perception of your two ads. If you want to test a large number of items, you need to run multiple tests.
A/B testing is important because it helps you understand what works for your particular context. There are many studies that look at what are the most effective marketing strategies in general. General guidelines are a great place to start, but general best practices are not always the best in every situation. By doing your own tests, you can turn general ideas into specific results for your brand.
Testing tells you the specific likes and dislikes of your target audience. It can also tell you about the differences between certain segments of your target audience. After all, people who follow you on Twitter may not have the same preferences as people who follow you on LinkedIn.
You can A/B test any content, not just ads. Testing your organic content can also provide valuable insight into what content is worth paying to promote.
Over time, you’ll get an idea of what’s best for you on each social network. However, even when you think you have a winning formula, you should keep testing small variations. The more you test, the better your understanding.
What A/B testing can you do?
You can A/B test any component of your social media content, but let’s take a look at some of the most common items to test.
Message text
There are many things you can test about the type and style of language in your social media posts. E.g:
- Post length (number of characters)
- Post style: for example, a quote against an important statistic or a question against a statement
- emoji use
- Using a number for posts that link to a numbered list
- use of punctuation
- Tone of voice: formal versus casual, passive versus active, etc.
Source: @IKEA
Source: @IKEA
In these two tweets, IKEA kept the same video content but changed the ad copy that accompanies it.
Link preview content
The title and description in a linked article preview are highly visible and important to test. Note that you can edit the title in the link preview so it doesn’t have to be the same as the title on your website.
calls to action
Your call to action (CTA) is another important part of your marketing. This is where you want readers to engage. Getting this right is crucial, so make sure you focus on the best CTA through social media A/B testing.
Source: Facebook
The World Surf League has kept the same advertising structure. But each version has Install now as CTA, the other Use App.
Use of images or videos
While research suggests that posts with images and videos perform best overall, it’s important to test this theory with your target audience. For example, you can test:
- Posts with only text and images or videos
- Normal image and animated GIF
- Graphics or infographics with photos of people or products
- Length of the video
Source: @seattlestorm
Source: @seattlestorm
Here, Seattle Storm took two different approaches to the footage while introducing shooting guard Jewell Loyd. One version uses a single image while the other uses two in-game images.
ad format
Test different formats to see which are most effective for your content. For example, in your Facebook ads, carousel ads may work best for product announcements, but a native ad with a “Get Directions” button works best when opening a new store.
A/B testing Facebook ad formats against each other can help you determine which one to use for each type of promotion.
hashtags
Hashtags can broaden your reach, but do they annoy your audience or reduce engagement? You can find out with social media A/B testing.
Don’t just test using hashtags, not hashtags. You should also test:
- Multiple hashtags versus a single hashtag
- Which industry hashtags provide the best engagement?
- Hashtag placement (at the end, at the beginning or in the middle) within the messaging
If you’re using a branded hashtag, be sure to test it with other industry hashtags as well.
Target group
This is a little different. Instead of showing variations of your post or ad to similar groups, you show the same ad to different audiences to see which gets a better response.
For example, A/B testing Facebook ads may show that some groups respond well to ad retargeting, but others find them intimidating. Testing theories like this can tell you exactly how certain audience segments are responding.
Targeting options vary by social network, but generally you can segment by gender, language, device, platform, and even specific user characteristics such as interests and online behaviors.
Your results can help you develop specific campaigns and a strategy for each audience.
Profile items
This also works a little differently. You don’t create two different versions and send them to different groups. Instead, you should follow your profile on a particular social network to determine a baseline number of new followers per week. Then try changing something like your profile picture or bio and watch how your new follower rate changes.
To minimize the impact of your posts and maximize the impact of the profile change you’re testing, try to post the same type of content and the same number of posts during the weeks you’re testing.
For example, Airbnb frequently updates its Facebook profile picture to coordinate with seasonal events or campaigns. You can bet they’ve tested this strategy to make sure it helps rather than hurts Facebook interactions.
website content
You can also use social media A/B testing to help you make decisions about the content on your website.
For example, A/B testing social media images can provide an insight into what works best with a particular value proposition. You can use this information to influence which image is placed on the landing page of that campaign.
Don’t forget to test it to make sure the image performs as well on the website as it does on social media.
The core process of A/B testing has remained the same for decades: test small variations one at a time to discover what works best for your current audience right now.
The great news is that social media has made this much easier and more efficient, so you can run tests instantly instead of waiting for months for results to arrive in the mail.
Remember: the idea is to test one variation against another, then compare the responses and pick a winner.
Here is the basic structure of an A/B test on social media:
- Select an item to test.
- Search available information for ideas on what will work best, but never be afraid to challenge assumptions.
- Create two variations based on what your research (or instinct) tells you. Note that only one item differs between variations.
- Show each variation to some of your followers.
- Track and analyze your results.
- Choose the winning variation.
- Share the winning variation with your entire roster, or test it out with another small variation to see if you can improve your results even further.
- Share what you’ve learned across your organization to build a library of best practices for your brand.
- Restart the process.
Best practices to keep in mind for A/B testing
Social media marketing tools make it easy to generate lots of data about your target audience, but lots of data and lots of insights are not the same thing. These best practices will help you
Know what your social media goals are
A/B testing is a tool, not an end in itself. Once you have a comprehensive social media strategy, you can use social testing to push your brand to goals that are relevant to your overall business plan.
You have a clear question in mind
The most effective A/B tests are those that answer a clear question. When designing a test, ask yourself “why am I testing this particular item?” ask.
Learn the basics of statistics
Even if you don’t have a quantitative research background, knowing a little about the math behind your social tests will pay off.
If you are familiar with concepts such as statistical significance and sample size, you will be able to interpret your data with more confidence.
Moyens I/O can help you manage your next social media A/B test. Plan your posts, track the success of your efforts, and use your results to adjust your strategy.
