The Best Facebook Ads Testing Strategy (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Facebook Ads Testing Strategy: A 5-Phase Approach

Key Concepts:

• Variable Testing: Isolating and testing one element of an ad campaign at a time (creative, audience, copy, placement).
• Engagement Metrics: Measurements of user interaction with ads (likes, comments, shares, click-through rate, cost per click).
• Conversion Metrics: Measurements of users completing desired actions (purchases, sign-ups, downloads, return on ad spend).
• Lookalike Audience: Targeting users with similar characteristics to existing customers.
• Ad Recall Lift: Measures how many people remember your ad after seeing it.
• Cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM): Shows how cost efficiently your ad is being delivered.
• Click-through rate (CTR): Measures the percentage of people that are clicking on your ad.
• Cost per click (CPC): Shows how much you pay per click.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): Shows how much revenue you earn for every $1 spent on ads.

1. The Biggest Mistake: Testing Too Many Variables at Once

• Problem: Changing creative, copy, and audience simultaneously makes it impossible to determine which change caused the results.
• Solution: Test one variable at a time.
  1. Find a winning creative.
  2. Find the best audience.
  3. Refine your copy.
  4. Choose the best performing placements.
  5. Scale from there.

2. Optimizing Your Online Presence

• Importance: A strong online presence (social media pages, website, reviews) builds trust and encourages conversions.
• Actionable Insight: Optimize your brand presence to ensure that when people check you out, your brand looks legit.
• Resource: The "Marketer's Guide to Meta" (linked in the description) provides strategies for organically setting up your online presence.

3. Tracking Ad Performance with a Spreadsheet

• Necessity: Tracking is crucial to understand what's driving results and prevent budget wastage.
• Method: Use a spreadsheet to track key metrics for each ad variation.
• Spreadsheet Columns:
  • Ad Creative (description of image, video, or carousel)
  • Audience (who you're targeting)
  • Copy (headlines and primary text)
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR)
  • Cost Per Click (CPC)
• Organic Testing: Test creatives organically first. Boost posts that naturally get the most engagement.

4. Phase 1: Creative Testing

• Goal: Identify the most engaging visual (image, video, carousel).
• Methodology:
  1. Create one campaign with the objective set to engagement.
  2. Create one ad set focused on your target audience.
  3. Create three ad variations, changing only the creative.
  4. Run ads for 3-5 days with a small budget ($5-$20 per day per ad).
• Example: A coffee shop promoting a pumpkin spice latte tests a static image, a short video, and a carousel of ingredients.
• Metrics to Analyze (for engagement campaigns):
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR): 1% to 3% is considered standard.
  • Cost Per Click (CPC): Under $1 is optimal (industry-dependent).
• Interpretation:
  • High CPC: Ad isn't resonating with the audience.
  • Low CPC: Facebook sees your ad as relevant.
• Decision: Pause, adjust, or delete underperforming ads.

5. Addressing Common Questions in Phase 1

• Tie in Performance: Extend the test for 2-3 days or analyze deeper engagement metrics (comments, shares).
• High Clicks, No Conversions: Optimize your landing page (offer, website speed, checkout process).
• All Ads Underperform: Tweak the creative, messaging, or audience before moving on.

6. Phase 2: Audience Testing

• Goal: Identify the most responsive audience.
• Methodology:
  1. Duplicate the ad set to create two more ad sets.
  2. Target each ad set to a different audience.
• Example Audiences:
  • Local coffee lovers
  • Local students and young professionals
  • Lookalike audience of past customers
• Lookalike Audiences: Sync customer data (e.g., from HubSpot) to Meta ads to find similar people.
• Process: Run each ad for 3-5 days at $5-$20 per day per ad. Analyze performance and choose the best performing audience.

7. Phase 3: Copy Testing

• Goal: Identify the most effective ad copy (headlines, primary text).
• Methodology:
  1. Within the winning ad set (creative + audience), duplicate the ad twice to create three ads.
  2. Change only the copy of each ad.
• Example Copy Variations:
  • Relatable copy
  • Engagement-driving copy
  • Urgency-creating copy
• Process: Run each ad for 3-5 days at $5-$20 per day. Check metrics to find the best performing copy.

8. Phase 4: Placement Testing

• Goal: Determine where your ad performs best (feeds, stories, etc.).
• Methodology:
  1. Keep the best performing ad running with the same budget ($5-$20 per day).
  2. Run the ad on all placements.
  3. After a few days, analyze placement performance and turn off underperforming placements.

9. Phase 5: Scaling

• Goal: Increase budget to reach a wider audience and drive more conversions.
• Methodology:
  1. Duplicate the winning ad set into a new campaign for fresh results.
  2. Increase your budget by 20-30% every 3-5 days.
• Caution: Scaling too fast resets performance.
• Continuous Optimization: Continue to test small tweaks (call to action buttons, copy variations).

10. Conclusion

• The five-phase Facebook ads testing strategy helps you find high-converting ads without wasting money.
• The "Marketer's Guide to Meta" provides further guidance on setting up a high-converting ad strategy and tracking the right data.
• By testing variables systematically and tracking performance, you can make smarter, more profitable decisions with your Facebook ads.