How do you know if you are finding success in your social marketing? There are hundreds of variables to consider from the kind of creative to run, landing pages to use, viable messaging and what targeting works. One way to help you determine what kind of ads work for you is to implement A/B testing in your social marketing campaign.
A/B testing is a form of testing where you alter variables in a set of ads to determine which ad performs better. It is important to remember when you are altering variables that you shouldn’t change too much between a set of ads. Making one change between the set of ads will give you a better reference for what change made the difference in your marketing.
Examples of variables you can change between a set of ads include altering the color of photo in an image ad, changing the headline, altering the base text of the ad or the landing page. You can also use different offers, add the word “FREE” to your text or even change your targeting.
When you decide to implement testing, keep track of your results so you can track patterns in the data and continue to build on your results.
Let’s show some examples of Facebook ads with different variables to give you a better idea of how A/B testing can be implemented.
Examples of A/B Testing
Joe Smith is running for Mayor of his little town – Smithsburg. Even though he is running on the Republican ticket, his views are more moderate and can appeal to a broader range of people. He decides to set up ads on Facebook. He creates a set of ads for testing.
The first ad is targeted to 35-64 year old adults, in Smithsburg, with an interest in Republican views.
Joe then decides to implement some testing so changes his targeting. He is still going to target 35-64 year old adults, in Smithsburg, but he is going to remove the Republican interest target. He keeps his ad copy and photo the same as well.
Joe then decides to implement one more test. Using the two methods of targeting referenced above (one targeted towards people with Republican views and one not targeted towards Republican interests) he then decides to use the same ad text, but with a different image.
Joe now has four ads with which he has implemented changes in variables to make sure he can test the ads and measure results.
Measuring Results
How do you know what ads are working and what ads aren’t doing as well? You’ll want to look at the obvious numbers – clicks, impressions and the click-through-rate, but you’ll also want to look a little further. Look at your analytics and see which ads led to conversions on your website. Check out which ads resulted in a longer view times on your website or the number of leads generated, or larger purchases from shopping carts. Ask yourself how you really measure success and track the ads you implement to see which one leads to better success for your business.
Just when you think you’re finished testing, think again. Testing is an ongoing process and can only keep improving over time, as you collect more information. Testing should also take place over an extended period of time due to the variables you can’t control, such as weather, holidays, special events, traffic and more. When you decide to implement a social marketing campaign you should also implement testing with the campaign and just as campaigns take time to generate responses and reactions, so does testing.
Bio: Tiffany Johnson is the Owner and Media Strategist at Xente Media, LLC. She enjoys helping businesses develop strategic plans in digital and traditional media to help them find success. You can follow Tiffany’s tips and writings on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and on the Xente Media blog.
