One of the best ways to measure the success of your marketing is through A/B testing, also known as split testing. The essence of this approach involves releasing multiple versions of an advertisement (usually two) with varying copy or images, etc., and then observing which performs better. A/B testing is an excellent way to hone your online marketing to be its most effective. As you repeat A/B testing for multiple campaigns, you’ll zero in on what resonates with your audience and potential customers. Nowhere may be more relevant for A/B testing than the social medium that is Facebook.
Why Do A/B Testing on Facebook?
Today’s modern business must have a strong and solid online presence. Often, the key to success involves not just a high quality website, but active and engaging social media profiles. For a wide range of industries, Facebook tends to be the best performing medium. And with 17 million Australians active on Facebook (and counting), it’s probably a given that it’s a place your business should have a presence.
But Facebook can be a challenge. It’s not as simple as posting an update to your Facebook page and having all of your customers see it. In fact, research shows that organic reach (and thus engagement) on Facebook is on the decline. This means that every post must be purposeful and well-devised. Without the right approach and a focus on what is effective, you’re missing out on getting your content seen by the right audience. This is why getting it right is so vital, and why A/B testing can help.
A/B Testing Your Facebook Ads
Facebook knows how important results are to marketers. That’s why there is a split testing tool for Facebook Ads. This feature enables you to test the performance of multiple versions of your intended advertisement. You can then tweak to improve engagement based on those initial results.
This tool allows you to change only a factor or two for any given instance, making it easier to pinpoint which changes are having an impact. You can adjust audience, ad placement, and delivery settings.
When using the Facebook split testing feature and beginning a new ad campaign, you’ll first need to select your overall goal. It may be traffic, conversions, or another outcome. This is the action you hope viewers will ultimately take when interacting with your ad. Once this is set, you can choose to split test based on audience, delivery settings, or ad placement. Audience split testing allows you to send your ads to two different audiences that you’ve created. This can help you track which one is more engaged with your ad content.
Delivery settings allows you to try out Facebook’s delivery options to see which yields better results, such as an objective of link clicks vs. conversion. Facebook uses a different pricing model for its varying delivery options. A cost-per-click model is used for link-click optimisation, while conversions (along with daily reach and impressions) utilises the cost-per-impression model.
Lastly, using split testing for placement changes up where your ad appears, on what devices, location on the feed, etc. This can help you find better ways to spend your ad money in the future.
Split testing is an important step to continual improvement of your web marketing strategies. And as the Facebook algorithm is often changing, it may be more important than ever. Here’s a quick guide to setting up Facebook’s A/B testing for yourself, but when in doubt, don’t hesitate to seek expert assistance.
Have you given A/B testing a try for your Facebook ads?
