KILLER OFFER? IT’S NOT ALWAYS THE BEST “IN” FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING.

Searching for social media advertising tips? You’ll find them (lots of them) all over the web. There are plenty of blog posts with Facebook ad copy best practices. Many claim that a killer discount or promo code is always the best “in” with your audience. I say differently. Plus, I have numbers to back it up.

A/B Testing: Benefit vs. Offer

To test out benefit vs. offer messaging, AMG recently created two different social ads for an apparel client. They launched on Facebook and targeted people who visited the client’s website, but didn’t make a purchase. Here’s what we ran:

A. Benefits-first message followed by the discount
B. Discount followed by benefits messaging

Results of A/B Testing

What we found? Results that contradict many copywriting tips for Facebook. The ads that led with a message outlining the benefits of the product performed better. Take a look:

• 3.65% higher click-through rate than apparel industry average
• 2.59% higher click-through rate than offer-first ad

The Lesson?

If you truly want to make the most of your social media marketing ads? Test and learn … then test and learn some more. Many factors – from industry and promo code to target audience and competitive advantages – can impact ad performance.

A benefits-first message performed best in this test, but that may not always be the case. Rather than putting too much emphasis on Facebook marketing best practices, instead focus on learning what’s best for your product or brand.