Successful examples of A/B testing on social media

Interested in getting the best results in your social media marketing campaign? How do you recognize which type of advertisement is better for your brand?

A/B testing (also known as split testing) on social media is a great way to figure out the differences among various advertising elements.

Fortunately, there are several successful examples of A/B testing on social media. We’ll let you know why and how you should include them in your social media strategy to reach the best ROI.

Why A/B testing on social media?

As you might know, split testing is even older than the current digital marketing and other means of advertising. Surprisingly, it’s still so beneficial that digital marketers are increasingly using A/B testing.

Different advertising strategies on social media might be expensive and time-sucking processes. So you have to try testing them on a portion of your target audience to know how well they go. Then you can choose the best practices and optimize your digital marketing strategy.

Marketers usually do these tests by changing an item in an advertisement to see how differently it gets impressions. So you can decide better according to the tests’ results. By using this method, you get the chance to save your time and budget, and target your audience more efficiently.

Social media is the most recent area for implementing these kinds of tests. If you can match your social media ads with your audience’s attitudes, you can definitely generate more leads and increase your sales on social networks.

A/B testing is perfect for this purpose and has recently become sought after among social networkers for optimizing social media advertising.

Here are the best examples of A/B testing on social media that can help you know how to use these tests in your campaigns.

Successful examples of A/B testing on different social networks

Currently, Facebook and Twitter are the most common platforms that marketers use to test their media advertising. However, LinkedIn and Instagram are also suitable for social A/B testing.

First, you need to learn various variables in these kinds of tests. Of course, there isn’t any certain formula for categorizing tests, but you can consider these major types:

A/B tests focusing on different images
An important kind of A/B testing focuses on variations of the image in social posts to test the users’ reactions.

In other words, the item that changes between the test “A” and “B” is the image of the post. Users’ reactions are certainly different from one image to another, and as a marketer, you need to know your audiences’ appetite.

For example, in the test below, you can see the effect of changing the image in social media advertising on Facebook. The variation in the style of the image has led to an increase in impressions.

This shows that the followers have interacted with a more relaxed and emotional picture better than an official image.

In fact, the left side of your audience’s brain is responsible for analyzing facts and reasons. Emotions, on the other hand, are processed by the right side of your audience’s brain.

So make sure you can identify your target audience to know which kind of image is effective for your product/service.

Usually, images that are more transparent and close to the day-to-day life of users can get more impressions on social media.

A/B tests comparing an image and a video

You can do a similar test by replacing an image with a video.

Attitudes of social users have recently shifted towards videos. That’s why videos consume a significant portion of internet traffic.

Despite this trend, you can’t still be sure which one is better for your ad. You can test your audience’s choice by an A/b test comparing images and videos.

Here are two different examples of this kind of A/B testing on Facebook and Twitter.

Example 1: Hootsuite

In this example, a combination of replacing a picture with a GIF and also changing the text has been tested.

A more formal text has been used with GIF, but the caption of the image has an emoji, as well as an extra text offering some tips. In this case, the GIF has not been successful against the picture, and it might be due to the emoji and the tips.

In multi-item tests, you have to be careful about users’ different reactions to various items. Because you might face troubles when analyzing the results.

Example 2: Exploratorium

As another example, you can see that replacing an image with a video has led to an increase in the number of impressions on Facebook.

Of course, it’s important what kind of videos you use. Video marketing is on the rise, but try to perform a suitable A/B testing to know which kind of video is suitable in terms of length, type, tone, etc.

A/B tests focusing on the link format

Adding your link in a post is one of the most common marketing techniques, especially on Facebook and Twitter. This is a useful approach to drive traffic to your site.

The format of adding a link is important as it can influence your visitors when they see your post on their timeline.

In the examples below, you can see the difference between linking to similar content on Facebook. Of course, the appearance of the post can significantly change the reaction of users.

Example 1: Think with Google

In this test, the format of displaying the link has been tested, and the impressions have increased.

As you can see, a graphical representation can significantly change the reaction of users to your social post.

So you can try more extensive testing to figure out which format of displaying your link is better for your niche audience.

Example 2: Datasine

In this ad also the representation of a link has been tested. In the second one, which contains a real photo in a funny mood, social impressions have significantly increased.

Clicks and CTR are respectively 2878 and 2.9% after implementing the variation. However, they were respectively 1593 and 1.5% in the original post.

You can see the same result in many other social ads that the more fun, entertaining, and transparent your posts are, the better. Also, social ads with photos get higher engagement rates compared with ads that only include graphics.

A/B tests focusing on the CTA

You must be interested in getting as many click-throughs as possible. This can significantly increase the traffic to your website. A Call To Action (CTA) is what you exactly want your visitors to do on social media and is an important variable.

Changing the CTA is another type of A/B testing and can help you recognize which one appeals to your audience.

Here is a perfect example of this kind of test on Facebook. As you can see, a simple change in words can considerably change users’ reactions.

A/B tests focusing on the hashtags

Hashtags are an important part of searching algorithms on any social network. Having a good set of viral hashtags can significantly help your posts to get high exposure.

Although there are useful tools to generate viral hashtags, you can do an A/B test to find out which hashtags are suitable for your business.

The picture below is an example of testing your post with or without hashtags.

The difference is trivial in this case, but hashtags are worth testing more and more with a diverse set of branded and niche hashtags.

A/B tests focusing on the post text

Although visuals are central in content marketing, you can’t ignore the power of texts.

A compelling caption can add context to your images or videos and encourage your users to interact with your posts. So testing different texts is also a useful way to recognize what kind of ad is more impactful for your business.

You can change the items below in your text:

• Length
• Emoji
• Tone of voice

Here are three good examples of using this kind of A/B test on Twitter and Facebook.

Example 1: IKEA USA

There is a simple difference in the tone of voice between “A” and “B.” As you can see, after implementing the variation, the impressions have slightly increased.

Generally, the more conversational you speak with your audience, the higher engagement rates you’ll get.

You can see a similar result in the other examples of this kind. So you have to consider speaking on a personal level with your audience.

Example 2: The New Yorker

As you can see in this case, increasing the text length has led to an increase of around 20% in impressions.

So you can find the suitable length for your posts by a simple A/b testing on social media.

Example 3: Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series

In the example below, there isn’t a significant change in the text length. But you can see a change in the style of it.

Of course, you should learn to use the tone of voice your audience like. Split testing on social media enables you to figure this out and use a suitable tone in your future ads.

Wrapping up

A/B testing on social media is a tricky way to measure your audience’s reaction to different items. Of course, you need to use social media analytics to make sure about the results and choose between the options “A” and “B.” Your business’ type, size, and industry are essential when selecting a good split testing on social media. Another useful point is that you can combine various kinds of the mentioned tests. However, it works best if you were careful to avoid misinterpreting the result. It’s also good to use social media automation and scheduling tools to get maximum exposure for your tests.

About the author

Lina Stewart

Lina is a content writer at Social Tradia who turns social media data into stories worth reading. Off the clock, she's reading a novel, sipping cold coffee, or losing the couch to her cat.

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