A/B testing is a popular method for measuring conversion rates related to content marketing. The method can have direct positive impact on conversion rates, enabling viewers to convert to trackable contacts monitored and measured by marketing automation and CRM systems. The data provided by A/B tests helps marketing teams optimize campaigns, monitor digital body language, deliver relevant content, and measure and improve ROI. A/B testing has proved to be an effective tool across most content types including video. Video campaigns A/B tested provide insights into what strategies are working and not.
Videos embedded across your website and landing pages will differ and so will your A/B testing. Make sure that you use the right strategies for the right content and experience. To be successful you will need a video marketing platform. Here are a few ways you can A/B test with video marketing platforms:
- Video Metadata The simplest way to A/B test video is to change the asset’s metadata. You can take the same video and give it a different title, description, tags, etc and see how viewers react. Some options could be short and long titles as well as descriptions.
- Video Stills and Thumbnails A video’s thumbnail is the first thing the visitor sees when interacting with a video. To convert the visitor to a viewer make sure you are testing a variety of video thumbnails and video stills. Custom create those thumbnails in a tool like Photoshop and upload them to your video marketing platform. The quality of your thumbnails needs to be as sharp as possible to drive brand value. Create two different thumbnails for your video and measure the results.
- Campaign vs Website Test the video on your homepage on your campaign landing page and vice versa. Some pages may provide lots of video traffic while others may see fewer views. In some cases even though the video engagement may be low, the viewership is higher quality. Be sure to measure the conversion rate across both videos, compare and make adjustments as needed.
- Produce 2 versions of the video Create two separate videos using the original cut, while varying them in length. Present both versions to your viewers on two different landing pages. Test completion rates. Sometime shortening content can make a big difference in engagement.
- The Impact of Auto Play When it comes to campaign video landing pages consider auto-play so when visitors land on the page the video loads and plays immediately. Create a second page that requires the visitor to manually click the play button to start viewing the video. Compare conversion and bounce rates to see what works best. It can be surprising what another click can do to inhibit the success of your campaigns.
- Sound Off For your home page and main web pages on your site consider auto-play with the sound muted versus manual play options. Video playing in the background on your website will draw visitors in and entice them to click “sound on” and watch the video. If your video marketing platform gives you the ability to track viewer engagement with video player controls, measure how many viewers end up turning the sound on.
As you can see A/B testing is a great way to measure and optimize the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. It’s an essential practice that should be adopted by modern marketing departments regardless of company size. A/B testing helps deliver the most optimal experiences for your audience.
