Do you totally understand what will make your fans stop scrolling and spend some time with your content?
While we wish we had a crystal ball to figure this out, you have the tools in hand to test your assumptions. When you use these tools you’ll learn what stops your fans from scrolling by your ads.
Ad Split Testing Potential
That’s right you can test out ad options that you think will stop readers in their tracks. Imagine the potential here!
Imagine you’re marketing a new group tour and you’d like to know which image or video is going to earn the most eyeballs.
Imagine you’re marketing a new feature at your attraction and you’d like to better understand what type of audience it will appeal to.
Imagine you’re marketing a motor coach tour to a new destination and you’d like to test out different text and calls to action.
Simple!
Ad Split Test Option
A traditional A/B test provides the option to change one variable. Facebook now gives you the opportunity to test 4 different ads; A/B/C/D.
Here are the variables you can alter:
- Creative; visual and test
- Delivery
- Audience
- Placement

Figure 1 – Available options when split testing
To gain the clearest snapshot of your ad success, you’ll want to change 1 option variable at a time. If you’d like to test another variable, start another split test. This will give you the best understanding of what will resonate.
Then once the test is finished, you’ll be shown which version of the ad attracted the most attention from your audience.
In addition to being shown the winning ad from your split test, check out the Ad Relevance for each ad.
Relevance Score – Ad Relevance Diagnostics
Do you ever wonder if your ads really matter to your audience? Now there’s a way to earn a score and learn what really matters to your social fans.
Facebook’s scoring system is defined like this: “Ads receive a relevance score between 1 and 10, with 10 being the highest. The score is updated as people interact and provide feedback on the ad.”
You’ll now see columns for Quality Ranking, Engagement Rate Ranking and Conversation Rate Ranking. Each provides a glimpse into a different measurement comparing your ads to ads that competed for the same audience.
This gives you an indication of how relevant your ad was to the audience you selected. The score will help you lower the cost of reaching people. Here’s what to expect:
- Above average
- Average
- Below average (Bottom 35% of ads)
- Below average (Bottom 20% of ads)
- Below average (Bottom 10% of ads)
You’ll find the Ad Relevance Diagnostics in your Business Manager/Ads Manager account. Simply make sure to add the relevance score tab to your ads report(s).
Breakdown Your Ad Metrics
When testing your ads you can also check out the Breakdown section within your ads account. This will breakdown the success of your ads by time, delivery and action. You’ll find the metrics under the ‘Breakdown’ tab on the upper right side of your ad account.
The key data you may be interested in seeing the breakdown may be:
- By Delivery < Age and Gender. At the Campaign level. This will show you the number of people of each age and gender who received your ad.
- Armed with this info you may want to adjust the age and gender options in your ad audiences so you reach the people most likely to want to see your ads.
- By Action < Destination. At the Ad level. This shows the URL people went to after clicking on your ad.
- Armed with this info you’ll be better able to see which links in your ads draw the greatest response.

Figure 2 – Learn the success (or Failure) of your ads with these metrics
Don’t waste your time and money on ads that don’t resonate or convert to business for you. Which of these testing options do you use most often?
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About Catherine Heeg
Catherine Heeg is a recognized social media trail blazer passionate about social media and marketing in the tourism and hospitality industry. She takes the mystery out of marketing!
She creates and delivers meaningful, dynamic workshops that meet your unique needs in the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Industry.
Catherine and her team help travel, tourism and hospitality pros design and implement social media marketing strategies and tactics that drive traffic to their social and web sites. Learn more…
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