Facebook A/B Testing Tips

Intro

A/B testing is an integral part of the social media advertising process. Facebook allows you to A/B test ads quite easily, so you can determine the most effective ones. According to HubSpot research, "Facebook is the top distribution for content and provides the biggest ROI for marketers. Over half of marketers agree that Facebook is where they see the most ROI, and Facebook Advertising is one of the top features for hitting those goals." This is why you should use A/B testing on Facebook to increase your advertising success. A/B testing can be like a science experiment. Read on to learn how to win the science fair!

A/B Testing Best Practices

1. Test one variable at a time

While it may take time, testing one variable at a time is the only way to assure your results are accurate. Start by running two ads simultaneously with one difference, such as color. Once you've found out which color is better, change something else. Keep on repeating this process until you have the best ad.

2. Make sure your Hypotheses are testable

If your hypothesis can't be tested, there is no point in conducting an A/B test in the first place. To make the process of coming up with a hypothesis easier, start broad and work your way into something more specific. Suppose you want to know what type of text you should use in your ads. Figure out what variables you want to test, in this case, it can be font type. Your hypothesis can be, "I hypothesize that Times New Roman will work better for my ad than Helvetica." Test it out!

3. Use a large audience

The more people you sample, the more faith you can have in the accuracy of your results. Use audiences that are large enough for your test and make sure the people you are testing for this test don't overlap with people from other groups in other tests. If your audiences overlap, you may have contaminated results.

4. Use a good time-frame

Facebook recommends running your test for at least 7 days to get accurate results. Don't run your tests for more than a month, as that could be an inefficient use of your budget. Run tests for 7-30 days for optimal results.

5. Budget appropriately

A/B testing isn't free. Make sure you have substantial funds before committing to a test. Facebook provides a suggested about for your budget. If you have this amount or more, you may receive optimal, useful results. If you have less than the suggested amount, you can still conduct a test, but your results may not be as accurate.

A/B Testing Tips

Keep A/B testing so you can build on your learnings!

After testing audiences

1. Run the same test with a new campaign objective
2. Test a new ad creative with the best audience
3. Test different placements with the best audience

After testing creatives

1. Run the same test with a new campaign objective
2. Test different audiences with the best placement

After testing delivery optimizations

1. Keep testing with the best conversion window
2. Keep testing with the best optimization event

Conclusion

A/B testing doesn't have to be difficult. If you have the budget and the time, run A/B tests with Facebook so you can find the best ads. Test one variable at a time with large audiences for optimal results. Hope these tips help!

About the Author

Nikith Deo is the Digital Marketing intern for Sparrow Marketing. He is a senior marketing student at San Jose State University.