A/B Testing Social Media: What SMBs Should Known

A/B testing is one of the most effective ways to research your audience. However, a true A/B test compares two versions of a piece of content (email, blog, video, etc.) by sending it to different sample groups. The version that performs better is then sent to most of your customers.

That’s easy when you send an email because most marketing platforms have A/B testing tools. But what about social media? 

A/B testing for social media is a little different. There are more elements to test and variables you need to control. In this post, I’ll show you how to conduct an A/B test for social media and examples of what you can test with your content.

In other words, you’ll need to create your own A/B test. I’ll show you how to do that later in this post, but first, let’s take a peek at what an A/B test looks like. 

Here’s one for an email or website page:

Notice how it’s the same ad, but the button in the middle is different. This test determines which call-to-action is better: “Book Your Appointment Online” or “Call Us Today.” By sending this message to two groups of customers, you can see which performs better before sharing it with the rest of your audience. 

Some social media platforms (Facebook, TikTok, YouTube) have A/B testing features to share your content with two sample audiences. You can also conduct manual tests by posting similar content on different channels or similar themes within the same channel. 

Here’s an example. The Red Sox posted this picture of Rafael Devers and his dog on Instagram: 

A week later, they posted Jarren Duran and his dog, Titus:

These are two very similar posts, but one got 39K likes, and the other got 38K. Why did one perform better? Maybe it had a different caption. Or, they posted it at a different time of day. Or, maybe just one dog is cuter? 

The point is: A/B testing in social media helps you measure these differences. You can improve your strategy over time by testing different elements and studying the results. 

Why is A/B testing important in social media?

Social media is an evolving landscape. What’s trendy one day is old news the next. You need to stay active on your social media channels to create effective content and build your following. 

A/B testing helps you test new theories and fine-tune your content strategy. Over time, you develop themes and patterns that consistently generate engagement. In other words, you know what to post, when to post, and where to post to grab your audience’s attention.

When should you use A/B testing in social media?

You can (and should) use A/B testing any time you want. But, there are best practices to keep in mind, and one of them is limiting the number of elements you test. If you test multiple things at once, it may be hard to determine what’s working and what isn’t. 

For example, if you want to test two different Facebook Ads, I recommend starting with the headline and description. Change those elements and see which version performs better. Then, move on to the CTA button and then the image. 

By testing each element individually, you’ll make incremental improvements that lead to better performance over time. If you test everything all at once, you won’t be able to tell if it’s the CTA that’s improved, the copy, or another element. 

Now, let’s talk about how to conduct an A/B test on most social media platforms.

How to Do A/B Testing on Social Media

Here’s how to do an A/B on social media. Remember to keep your test simple and set clear guidelines for the winning variation. It’s better to make small but effective adjustments over time than to change everything all at once. 

1. Check if your platform has an A/B testing tool.

First, check whether your social media management tool has A/B testing features. If it does, great! It will have automations that speed up this process for you. A/B testing tools isolate different post elements and repost winning content so you don’t have to publish it on your account manually. 

Some social media platforms also offer A/B testing features. Facebook Ads is one example. The Meta Ads Manager has an A/B testing tool that lets you duplicate an existing campaign, make changes, and compare results over time.

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These tools will save you time but are not the only options for creating A/B tests. If your software or social media platform doesn’t have an A/B testing tool, move on to the next step. 

2. Isolate one element and create a variation.

To start your A/B test, pick an element you want to change. We’ve included examples in the next section, but you should pick something easy to test, like a header, caption, or image. The core message behind your content should be the same, and each variation should be part of the same marketing campaign. 

For example, I wouldn’t compare a Valentine’s Day post against a Halloween post. Those are two completely different campaigns; there are too many things to compare for an A/B test. 

We could, however, take one post from our Valentine’s Day marketing campaign and run an A/B test on it. That might give us a framework to follow for seasonal marketing campaigns. 

Here are some other elements you can test: 

• Social Media Channels
• Content Types
• Publishing Time
• Social Media Captions
• Hashtags
• Images

We’ll provide examples of these in the next section. For now, let’s move on to creating a timeline for your A/B test. 

3. Select a time period for your A/B test.

In a true A/B test, you would send your posts to two small groups, and whichever version performed better would be sent to the rest of your followers. 

Unless you’re running a paid ad or publishing in a group, most social media platforms don’t let you choose who sees your posts. It’s based on user behavior and customer preferences on each platform.

Instead, you have to create a deadline for each post and compare the performance of each variation within that timeframe. For example, if we wanted to A/B test two Instagram posts, we might compare their performance over two weeks. We’ll measure the performance of one post for the first week and the second post for the other – whichever gets more likes, impressions, or comments wins.

4. Be strategic when you publish. 

Your followers shouldn’t know you’re running an A/B test. If they do, that might influence your results. 

To avoid this, delay one post. If you publish both at the same time, people will see both variations, which can be confusing to your followers. The idea is to subtly test elements within your social media strategy and use your customers for transparent feedback.

You also need to consider variables that can influence your results. For example, if you publish one post at 8 am and another at 1 pm, you might get different results. Try to keep things as consistent as possible to accurately measure your test. 

5. Use specific measurements. 

Before you put your test into action, set performance indicators for your campaigns. Metrics measure your social media performance, and most businesses pay attention to metrics like mentions, comments, likes, impressions, and shares. These indicate that people are seeing and engaging with your posts. They help you measure the effectiveness of your content. 

When setting metrics for your A/B test, consider the context of your marketing campaign. For example, you might compare impressions and shares to increase brand awareness. Comments might be the best metric if you’re trying to improve engagement. Choosing the right metrics will help you meet the overall goals for your marketing campaign. 

At this point, your test is ready to roll. Start publishing your content and prepare to pick your winning variation. 

6. Determine which version is the winning version. 

Here’s the easy part – picking the winner. Once you select your metrics, you should easily tell which post performed better. 

The hard part is figuring out what you learned. What’s the takeaway from this experiment? What can you apply to future social media campaigns? 

Some results will be more obvious than others, and some will be inconclusive. You might have to run multiple tests before a clear pattern emerges.

7. Repeat with a new element. 

The last step is to repeat this process with a new element or campaign. Apply what you’ve learned from past tests and continue to explore new elements. Here’s where you can use the section below to find new things to test.

A/B Testing Examples Social Media

Here’s a list of things you can A/B test on social media. We’ve also included examples to help recreate these tests for your business.

Social Media Channels

One simple test is posting the same social media content to different channels. For example, you could publish one post on Facebook and another on Instagram. So long as your measurements are similar (likes, comments, shares, etc.), you can use this test to determine which social platforms are most effective with your audience. 

Here’s an example from Mr. Rooter Plumbing. It published the same post about winter plumbing tips on both Facebook and Instagram. Notice how each post has the same caption and hashtags.

Content Types

If you’re creating a paid ad, you could test different content types to see what resonates more with your audience. For example, you could test a video against an image or a carousel ad against a story ad on Instagram. 

Here’s an example from Dave Ramsey, a radio personality and finance expert. He uses two different types of content for his Facebook ads: video and images.  

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Timing

Another element you can test is timing. You could see if there’s a particular day or time when your followers are most active. Generally, the best times to post on social media are Wednesdays and Thursdays, in the mornings between 7am and 9am, early afternoons between 1pm and 3pm, and evenings between 7pm and 9pm. 

Most social media management tools will let you schedule posts in advance. Here’s an example from a small business that tested similar posts on different days. Notice how they used the same time (10:19 am) for each post. 

Captions

Captions are great for A/B testing. Try using different messages to grab your followers’ attention. While each post should promote the same offers, it should use varying angles, tones, or perspectives to make it unique. 

Here are two Facebook ads that promote the same campaign but use a different message.

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Hashtags

Hashtags may not seem like a big deal, but they are important to your social media strategy. They make your content easier to find because people can search by hashtags and trending topics on different social media sites. Testing different hashtags can be a great way to increase the reach of your posts.

Images

You can also keep your content the same but try different images instead. Images are very important for social media because they grab your audience’s attention. Having the right image on your ad, video, or post can significantly impact customer engagement. 

YouTube offers an A/B testing feature for thumbnails. The thumbnail is the image that appears before you click on a video. You can A/B test different thumbnail images and see which ones viewers engage with the most. 

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Getting Started With A/B Testing on Social Media 

If you want to improve your social media strategy, A/B testing is a great place to start. Start by checking your social media management tool for an A/B testing feature. If you don’t have those tools, follow the steps in this post to conduct your own test. Keep experimenting over time and make small adjustments to gradually improve your strategy. Eventually, you’ll discover what’s effective with your audience and can repeat it for consistent success.