A framework for test and learn templates

The first thing you’ll need to be clear about is your business goals, and how your social media objectives contribute to them. Once you’re clear on your most important social KPI, you can base your test evaluations on it.

For example, if your business goal is brand awareness, and the social metric supporting it is reach, you will then look at the success of each piece of content in terms of people reached and impressions.

Then, you will decide which variables you can test over time. These should include:

• Platform – which platform you publish on
• Day – which day of the week
• Time – which hour of the day
• Format – what form your content takes, for example: image, multi-image, carousel, video, audio, or text-only

You should also consider more granular details, such as:

Imagery type

Testing different approaches to imagery in your still and moving visuals. Try testing opposing techniques against each other to build up an idea of what works. Examples include; photographic vs illustrated, product vs lifestyle shot, customers vs models, and casual vs formal.

Emotional copy angle

Different people respond to different emotional hooks. Try testing a number of different styles including:

• fear of loss/ fear of missing out (FOMO)
• positive
• negative
• straightforward
• amusing
• motivational

Content length

Test short vs long videos and text content.

Set a monthly review cycle

Every month, when you set out the upcoming month’s content calendar, take some time to review the previous month and record your test results in the accompanying template. Include those variables which have previously worked well into your next months’ content. Continue to test them against new variables to find your sweet spots.

Share these results across your team via regular monthly reports

These should discuss what you tested and what worked. Don’t be afraid to embrace some element of failure. The digital landscape you operate in requires that we fail regularly. Every time you execute marketing in today’s world you are inevitably taking a risk because the results are always unpredictable to some extent.

It can feel unnatural to be open about this potential failure to those you report to, your colleagues, clients, as well as those who report into you. You just need to focus on your set test-and-learn framework. Failures are a key part of the process through which you are finding the types and styles of content that the key segments of your audience respond strongly to.