A/B Testing Social Media Ads: 3 Things to Test

If you feel you’ve got a handle on creating and launching ad campaigns on social media it may be time to start A/B testing! An A/B test takes two ads and compares their success.

Each ad is the same in all ways except for one: the variable! By only choosing one variable and allowing all other aspects of the ads to remain the same, social media advertisers are able to learn about what small changes can make a big impact on an ad campaign!

Here’s an example of an A/B test a small business might run. The small business wants to know if people in Town A are more interested in their sale vs. people in Town B. So, two ads are created, but they are delivered to each town separately. In this instance Location is the variable being tested. At the end of the test the business can compare click through rate, cost per click, impressions etc. This data will allow the business to choose a “winner” who they will send targeted campaigns to in the future. Take a look below at 3 things you can test to start sending better ads!

3 Things to Test to Increase ROI on Ad Spend

1 – Audience Age

Set up an A/B test and see if age range has an impact on your ads. Knowing the age of your clientele may also impact which platform you advertise on (consider subscribing to our blog to be the first to know from us which platform best suits your audience).

2 – Ad Content

Test out what content is working! You can test funny vs. serious, videos vs. pictures, etc. Finding out what kind of content your target audience responds to will allow you to create more effective ads. Developing engaging content is easier when you have a professional digital marketing agency available to help.

3 – Offers & CTAs

What is it that drives traffic to your website? Could it be a free consultation or just the promise of learning more? Figure out what your audience expects in exchange for their attention.

So how does A/B testing increase a business’s ROI? It’s simple: by spending money targeting people who are responsive to a company’s content, imagery, etc., the company will spend less money sending irrelevant ads. To see an increase in ROI requires a detailed testing strategy that is flexible to incoming data – you never know what a target demographic will like best, and that’s why it’s important to test!

Haley Harckham – Noble House Media