You’ve invested time, money, and effort in crafting your latest animated video. You even sought the help of the top animation studio in your area to turn your vision into reality.
But the results are far from what you initially expected. Now, you are trying to pinpoint your mistakes and identify areas for improvement.
Making a case for A/B testing
Animated videos are a useful business tool that can be used for different purposes. But with several variables in play, from the script to the animation style to total video length, it can be difficult to immediately identify the reason why your video did not resonate with your target audience.
And every detail matters, even the smallest ones. That’s why you should subject your content, including animated explainer videos, to A/B testing.
What, exactly, is A/B testing?
A/B or split testing refers to the practice of showing two variants of content to your target audience. The two versions do not need to be radically different from each other because your goal is to find which one works best with your audience.
How exactly can you benefit in using split testing for your videos?
Identify weak areas in your video
People view your videos for different reasons — some want to learn about your offerings, others want to get tips. However, the way your video is produced can lead to pain points, which can hinder them from getting exactly what they want from your video.
Through split testing, you can finetune your video to help viewers achieve their goals.
Increase conversions
When people view your videos, half of the work is done. Your next task, then, is to seal the deal by taking advantage of visitor traffic. A/B testing can help you maximize your organic traffic and turn prospects into customers.
Minimize bounce rates
People stop viewing videos without even finishing these due to a variety of reasons. It can be the style, the message, or simply mismatched expectations.
Although it is impossible to eliminate bounce rates totally, there are a few things that you can do to minimize these. That includes split testing to identify the best possible version for your video.
The modifications you need to implement do not necessarily need to be drastic. That is the beauty of A/B testing. If you have made a solid video, a few tweaks here and there will be more than sufficient to get you stellar results.
A/B testing: 3 keys to success
In order to get the most out of split testing, there are three key things that you need to do.
First, you should have a clear goal for your video. For videos, it can be a specific number of views or shares.
Next, you should keep every facet of both versions virtually the same, except for one area. This allows you to get an objective view of which variable should be changed or which one works and resonates with your audience.
Finally, you should test these with random audience members.
Conducting the test
What, exactly, should you test for? This will depend on a few things. For starters, a video has several elements, and the more of these that your video has, the more details that you need to test.
Second, consider your initial reaction to your video. Even at first viewing, you might have a gut reaction about something that may need to be modified. These include the length, the fonts, the script, the sounds, and the call to action.
However, there are a few areas that you might want to focus your attention on. These include the length of the video, the call to action, and the message.
Length of the video
You think that you nailed it with the message of the video. But upon seeing the initial reports, you notice that the bounce rates are higher.
One possible reason behind that is the overall length of the video. For that, you can try making a shorter version of the video and check if it works better.
Call to action
People are watching your video, but you are not getting your desired end result. The problem may lie in your CTA.
Start by changing your CTA. Then, for the next version, consider placing the CTA at three points within the video. Finally, create a third video that incorporates all the changes that you have made.
Message
You created two completely different videos, and now you are unsure which one works best.
To test which video is better, promote both on your website and social media for a specific length of time, a week or two, perhaps. This will give you a clear idea of which one has more views and shares.
Now what?
After conducting split testing, you will have a clearer picture of the deficiencies of your video.
However, implementing the necessary modifications is not the end of your A/B testing. You will still need to subject the latest version to another split testing until you have the best possible version of the video.
AUTHOR BIO
Anthony Lam is the founder of Punchy Digital Media, a creative agency that helps organisations grow using animated videos and creative visual content. Punchy has a team across Australia and Asia and has worked with clients such as Apple, Westpac and the Australian Government, running campaigns and reaching millions of people.
