How do you experiment with content and formats in your campaigns?

1 Define your objectives and metrics

Before you start experimenting, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Depending on your campaign goals, you might want to experiment with different content and formats to increase awareness, conversions, retention, loyalty, or referrals. For each objective, you need to define the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will show you how well you are doing. For example, if you want to increase conversions, you might track metrics such as click-through rate, conversion rate, cost per acquisition, or revenue per customer.

2 Choose your variables and hypotheses

Next, you need to decide what aspects of your content and format you want to test and why. These are your variables and hypotheses. Variables are the elements that you change in your experiments, such as headlines, images, colors, layouts, lengths, tones, or calls to action. Hypotheses are the assumptions that you make about how these variables will affect your metrics, such as "Using a video instead of an image will increase engagement" or "Using a shorter and more direct headline will increase click-through rate". You should base your hypotheses on your audience research, best practices, and previous results.

3 Design your experiments and select your tools

Once you have your variables and hypotheses, you need to design your experiments and select the tools that will help you run them. There are different types of experiments that you can use, such as A/B tests, multivariate tests, or split tests. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your goals, resources, and sample size. You also need to choose the tools that will help you create, manage, and analyze your experiments, such as Google Optimize, Optimizely, Unbounce, or HubSpot.

4 Run your experiments and collect your data

The next step is to run your experiments and collect your data. To ensure that your experiments are valid, reliable, and ethical, you must randomize your sample and control for external factors. Additionally, you should run your experiments for a sufficient time and sample size, as well as use statistical methods to determine the significance and confidence of your results. Lastly, it is essential to respect the privacy and consent of your participants.

5 Analyze your results and draw conclusions

The final step is to analyze your results and draw conclusions. You need to compare your data with your hypotheses and see if they are confirmed or rejected. You also need to look for patterns, trends, and insights that can help you understand why some variables performed better than others. You should document your findings and share them with your team and stakeholders. You should also use your results to inform your next experiments and optimize your campaigns.

Experimenting with content and formats in your campaigns can help you improve your marketing performance and create more value for your audience. By following these tips, you can design and run effective experiments that will help you learn and grow as a marketing campaign manager.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?