Content marketing can be a tricky game. From figuring out how to present your brand to promoting and marketing it to new clients, there are many questions that can come up along the way. It’s easy to wonder if you’re using the right content for your company. A great strategy to try to avoid this guessing game is A/B testing. If you have tried it already, here is how to utilize A/B testing to improve your content marketing strategy.
What is A/B Testing
Before you dive in and start changing all of your different content to see what works, it’s worth understanding exactly what really goes into A/B testing. A/B testing is a content marketing strategy in which you test out two or more types of content. You can show different types of content to viewers on your site and then look at the results of which content got you the best results.
When it comes to content marketing, there are many different elements of A/B content testing. You can test content on your website, your advertising as well as your on your social media pages. A/B testing is a valuable tool to get a handle on what your audience likes to see and what type of content can drive more results.
How to Start A/B Testing Your Content
A/B testing can be extremely time-consuming. You’ll need to create enough content to test as well as plan out when and how to test the content. If you find that you need to take the time to focus on other aspects of your business, a foolproof technique to start your A/B testing is to work with a digital marketing agency.
When you work with a digital marketing agency, they’ll be able to advise you on the types of content you should try to test with. They will also create a content calendar on your behalf and run the tests. Once the tests are complete, they will come back to you with the results and a marketing strategy that you can stick with moving forward. You can learn more about the value of working with a digital marketing agency with these detailed tips from these detailed tips from ntergrowth.
Run Your Own A/B Tests
When you run a business, you know the ins and outs of the day-to-day as well as the audience you are trying to target. So running your own A/B tests shouldn’t feel too overwhelming. It can be a fun way to better understand your audience and how they relate to your brand. Some common A/B tests you can try at the beginning include user experience tests and content tests.
A user experience test will show if people like using your site and content as is, or if the experience could be improved. One example is if you have a call to action button on the bottom of your normal webpage, you can create another page that shows the button on the top of the page. This way, you’ll know if users are more likely to react to your call to action and engage in your content from the get-go.
Test One Thing at a Time
When you run your own tests, you want to make sure that you only test one variable at a time. If you don’t you won’t be able to get the data you are looking for. When you are looking for things to test in your content, take a look at pieces that can be edited easily. This includes the type of content you write on your site, design elements that can be swapped or have the color changed as well as the layout of your sites.
Something as simple as changing the color of a call to action button could increase the results you’re looking for. You can make multiple changes to a page at once, but only track one measurable change to get the best results.
Use the Data and Feedback
When you run an A/B test, you get valuable data that can affect your marketing efforts. You should be aiming for actionable goals when running these tests. Once you get your data, you can then make decisions that will optimize your content strategy. If you noticed that your audience was spending more time on a web page once the layout was changed, you can make that a permanent change. If you had a higher click-through rate on a new type of email newsletter, you can continue to incorporate that into your strategy.
You may find that the results are easy to read. One variable may have had statistically increased results as compared to the control. If you see this, you know you can take action. If both variables had the same reaction, you don’t have to make drastic strategy changes. You can also ask for feedback from clients and users to understand what they are looking for in your content. All of this data can help you create a more strategic content plan for your business.
Conclusion
A/B testing is an incredible way to see what content resonates with your audience. Any content on your site can benefit from A/B testing. Your business will gain valuable consumer data all while creating an improved content marketing strategy.