How intentional Facebook ad copy affects donor conversion
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is a global Christian ministry dedicated to helping families thrive. We provide help and resources for couples to build healthy marriages that reflect God's design, and for parents to raise their children according to morals and values grounded in biblical principles.
Experiment Summary
Ended On: 04/22/2021
As Focus on the Family was launching a new video series, we wanted to test some intentional language in their ad copy to see what resonates most with readers and bring not only more sign ups through the funnel, but more donors too. We tested two different styles of copy.
The first style is reader centered and experiential. It draws the reader in by expressing the emotions and experiences that they are living through and then giving them solutions to overcome the hard situation they are in.
The second style of copy is called Sliding Doors. It shows the reader two different pictures. The first picture is what happens if no intervention is taken, and the bad situations that could come of it. The second picture is what happens when the reader takes action and helps solve or prevent the difficult situation. Then the copy offers the reader a solution for taking action and intervening to make the positive outcome a reality.
Research Question
Intentional copy strategically addressing a reader’s difficult situation will convert more donors.
Design
Results
| Treatment Name | Conv. Rate | Relative Difference | Confidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C: | Control | 0.01% | ||
| T1: | Reader Centered/Experiential Copy | 0.03% | 190.5% | 99.4% |
This experiment has a required sample size of 38,540 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 190,258, and the level of confidence is above 95% the experiment results are valid.
Flux Metrics Affected
The Flux Metrics analyze the three primary metrics that affect revenue (traffic, conversion rate, and average gift). This experiment produced the following results:
0% increase in traffic
× 190.5% increase in conversion rate
× 0% increase in average gift
Key Learnings
Both treatments dramatically improved results. The Reader Centered copy lifted the donor conversion by 191%. The sliding doors copy lifted donor conversion by 268%. But it is much more interesting than that.
The click through rate for all three of the ads was relatively the same: Control – .82%; Reader Centered – 98%; Sliding Doors – 85%.
The email conversion rate for all three of the ads were similar as well: Control – 40%; Reader Centered – 34%; Sliding Doors – 39%.
But the instant conversion rate for the ads were dramatically different which led to these exceptional results: Control – 1.57%; Reader Centered – 4.91%; Sliding Doors – 5.88%. That’s a 277% increase in instant donor conversion rate between the Control and Sliding Doors.
This means that even though there was not a dramatic difference in the percentage of people that the ads brought through the funnel, the people who came through the Reader Centered and Sliding Doors ads were much, much more motivated to give. The readers could see the real issue and need and then realized that that problem and need was something that could happen to them. The value prop of the donation ask reinforced that that problem doesn’t have to exist for others. They can not only get the content to help themselves but ensure that others don’t have to experience that either. And that inspired them to give.