Is the video part of your marketing plan working? How do you know? You may be checking analytics, which is great, but you could be doing more. If you want a deeper dive on how your audience is engaging with your content, A/B testing provides useful information. Just by making small changes, you may be able to reach a wider audience. There are even tools to help you make and assess these tweaks, creating the perfect video for your target market. Let’s talk about A/B testing your videos.

The Advantages of A/B Testing

First of all, what is A/B testing? Also called split testing, it’s a way to analyze two versions of the same thing to see which one performs better. In the case of video, you’re showing an audience two slightly different versions of a video and comparing reactions to see which one works better. Typically, the winner is the one that results in more conversions. However, you will need to decide how you’re measuring success. For example, the video that leads to more sales of the product you’re promoting is a good measure of ecommerce. In the B2B realm, you may be looking to that video to create qualified leads. The goal is to gather insights that help you understand customers and then use that information to produce the perfect videos for your company. Through A/B testing, you can get a clear picture of what makes your audience sit up, take notice, and act.

How to Test Video

The most important thing to remember about successful A/B testing is to think small. As in, make small changes so you have a true measure of the things that work and the things that don’t work. If you’ve noticed that a video isn’t performing well on your landing page, and you want to find out why through A/B testing, change one thing. Maybe it’s the call to action? Now, post that video and see if there’s a change in engagement. If so, you know it’s the CTA that caused customers to react differently. Making these small adjustments and then observing the outcome is the basis of A/B testing. Some ad platforms and software will set up testing and are a good option if this is a new concept for your business. Think about the kind of A/B tests you’d like to run, then research the tools that work for your video testing.

What to Test

When you’re trying to assess the impact of your video marketing, what should you A/B test? Good question. Here are some ideas.

• Thumbnails. Do you get more attention when you use your company logo as a thumbnail? Or when you use a pic of the product promoted in the video?
• Colour schemes. Does using the branding colours of your company create a connection with the viewer and draw more attention?
• CTA. Is it better to ask people to call for more info? Or do they prefer going online for a free quote?
• Title. The title of your video can be the difference between a high CTR and a low one. Think about trying different key words to see what works best.
• Length. Are your viewers responding better to a 5-minute video or a 2-minute video?
• Location. Is your video on a splash page, the homepage of your website, or a product page? Test all three to see what gets the most traction.
• Music. It’s incredible how much music can change the tone of a video. Try different tracks to see which works best.
• Voice-over. If you’re unsure whether a male or female voice works better on your video, try each and test audience response. You could even try removing the voice-over to see how that works.
• On-screen text or captions. Since so many people watch videos on mute, would your video perform better with captions or on-screen text rather than audio? Test it out!
• Social media performance. A number of social media channels have analytics to help you test video performance. Where is your video attracting the most eyeballs?

Customer Insights

A/B testing is an opportunity to look inside the mind of your target market. Yes, it takes time and patience, but the rewards are often worth the effort. If you do A/B testing right, making and assessing small changes, you’ll be able to make future video decisions with greater confidence. When you partner with Key West Video, we can help you run tests by providing videos with small differences that you can measure. Call us today to find out more on how video can make a difference for your business.