A/B Testing: Benefits And How To Use It Efficiently
Written by Courtney Raguso, Social Media Content Creator
Is my content presented in the best way possible to my audience? That is the golden question for any marketer. Luckily, there is an answer to that question. A/B testing is a marketing strategy that allows you to test different versions of your campaign by making small changes in variables. For example, you can show one section of your audience one version and another something different. Small changes can really make a big difference in your results. A/B testing is highly effective because it can work for any business in any industry. There are many benefits to this type of marketing strategy, so why not test what works best with your audience? As a brand, it’s always important to look for ways to improve your communication with your audience and make them more likely to become loyal. Testing your campaigns are cost-effective while providing more value to your audience. As you learn more about what works best for your audience through testing, you’ll be able to adjust your campaign to reach them in a more effective way. By having the ability to test your content and find better ways to target your audience, you can ensure that you are sending the right messages to the right people. A/B testing is a great way to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Choose what you want to test and compare results. It’s simple and effective. Let’s talk more about it. 
When it comes to conducting efficient A/B testing, there are several steps you’ll have to keep in mind. First, you will want to identify your goal and select a variable to test. Variables are the elements of your campaign that you’ll need to change in order to test to see which performs better. You will choose one variable to change, with one being the independent variable and one dependent. Testing too many variables at once can become confusing and ineffective. Some of these changes can include subject line, imagery, copy, and post time. Just remember you are only changing one variable for each version with the rest all being the same. In other words, you’ll be creating a control and a challenger, with the version you’re testing as your “control”. Your control will be in its original unaltered form and the challenger will be the altered version. After you determine the control, or the variable you want to test, you can then create a different version you’ll test against the control. Once you create the variable you want to test, you then divide your audience equally and randomly when necessary. Thanks to the software available, you can control the audience variable and split. When running your test, you will want to test both versions simultaneously. Allow them the proper amount of time to run and gather the necessary data needed. Then collect the recipient data to measure the results and determine the campaign that performs best with your main goal in mind. When choosing the winning version, it can vary depending on whether you are testing email content or a social media ad campaign. For email, you’ll want to determine the winning version by its click rate. With website testing, measuring the bounce rate tends to be a useful indicator on performance. A/B testing is a strategy that you should always be using in your marketing. At the end of the day, none of this will matter if you don’t take action based on your results. Be intentional with your testing, set goals and conduct regular testing in order to ensure you’re getting the most out of your time and money.
There are many benefits to A/B testing such as improved content engagement, reduced bounce rates, and increased conversion rates. It allows you to create personalized content, collect feedback, generate traffic to your site, and increase leads. There are many pieces of content you can perform A/B testing on including emails, webpages, social media posts, and advertisements. As you gather useful data from your results, you can use it to make an informed decision when you re–target them. Just by making tweaks and improvements to your content along the way with the use of audience data, you can start fostering more engagement. For example, one Facebook ad might be tested in two versions with the changed variable being the graphic used. With the input of audience data from A/B testing, being able to determine which type of graphic the audience prefers will be helpful towards future campaigns. The same goes for websites and emails. You can test the copy, imagery and headlines to see what type of content the audience responds better to. If your website has low traffic, using this strategy can help you keep visitors on your website longer, reduce bounce rates, and of course, figure out what type of content helps move your visitors to make a purchase. Email is another powerful way to A/B test because it allows you to segment your emails and target users. For example, you can test the subject line of an email or a link and present it to a split audience to see which version performs better. Email marketing is a form of direct marketing and is an excellent way to promote your business and engage with your audience because it calls for action. It also offers opportunities to educate your audience on your brand and its values. In fact, email generates a return of $38 dollars for every $1 dollar spent. Although AOL is history, email is here to stay and so is A/B testing. With the chaos that is managing a business and dealing with many moving parts, it may be unrealistic to commit to A/B testing on everything you put out.
At MSM DesignZ, we put in the time and energy needed for success, so you can ensure you are using every dollar for maximum return. With over 20 years in the business, we have seen what works and what doesn’t. We know the ins and outs of creating, promoting and testing content. There are no short-cuts for success, so that’s why we’re here to make it easier for you! We will always continue to place our clients’ needs at the heart of our operations. From web development to social media management, we’ll work directly with you to build a personalized strategy to not only retain but also gain business. We are assisting in all areas for our clients. Visit our contact page at https://www.msmdesignz.com/contact/, and we’ll work with you to devise a custom plan that will keep your brand alive and well. We look forward to working with you!
Sources:
https://mailchimp.com/help/about-ab-testing-campaigns/