The key to understanding what works is to test, test some more, and then test again. If the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company has built his business on the principle, then you know that there’s something in it.
“At any given point in time, there isn’t just one version of Facebook running, there are probably 10,000.” – Mark Zuckerberg
Testing how your message is received will give you a better idea on how to better serve your fans. By doing so, you’ll also learn what they resonate with. This principle shouldn’t just be employed when using Social Media platforms. If you were to test tracks with fans you’d have a much better idea on how to craft tracks that REALLY resonate with your listeners. Most bands won’t do this as it is more work than they are willing to put in. But, if you’re really looking to get an edge, testing IS the way to go. The world’s richest companies are built upon the principle.
What can you test on Social Media?
Your goal is to get better engagement, especially shares, as this will signal to Facebook and other platforms that your content is highly relevant. When you remember that Social Media sites are in the business of giving users the content they want (they test this A LOT) then it makes your life, as a creator, easier to understand how things work.
There are direct A/B testing tools within Facebook Advertising which makes it very easy to test 10’s or even 100’s of different variations. You can vary the text, image, landing page and video to see what is working best, and then run with that.
Have a look at this introduction to testing inside Facebook:
If you don’t use Facebook Advertising then you’ll have to do it organically, this is a lot slower method and not as accurate in the results as you’ll have to manually collate the results, which leaves a lot of room for error.
So, what might an A/B test look like? I have taken an image from online to illustrate what a test looks like. The differences are quite subtle but what you’re trying to ascertain is what text, image or video is getting users to click on the post.
When you also take into account personality types you can directly appeal to whichever one you’d like to test on that particular day.
A/B testing is very, very powerful and yields very valuable results. Start doing it today.
