How reducing the length of the primary ad text on a content offer Facebook ad impacts downstream donor conversion
Experiment ID: #181708
NextAfter
Experiment Summary
Ended On: 06/11/2024
Focus on the Family uses free video series content offers to acquire new subscribers and donors. These ads rely on compelling ad imagery and lengthy ad copy promoting the series and explaining its value.
We aimed to determine if using a compelling image with shorter ad copy would result in greater engagement, more clicks, and increased donations. The hypothesis was that shorter copy would reduce friction, allowing the video series landing page to effectively communicate the offer’s value and convert traffic.
We developed a new campaign for their “Cultural Deceptions” video series, using the same imagery as our control campaign but with abbreviated primary ad text. The revised ad included just a single sentence: “Check out best-selling author and apologist Alisa Childer’s new free video series, “God’s Truth Amidst Cultural Deceptions,” to uncover the lies behind some of today’s most popular social media slogans.”
We split the campaign traffic using Facebook’s AB testing feature and conducted the test over 12 days.
Research Question
We believe that shortening the primary ad text for a free content offer Facebook ad will achieve an increase in clicks and downstream donations because it will reduce friction for the user.
Design
C: Control - Long Primary Text
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Results
| Treatment Name | Conv. Rate | Relative Difference | Confidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C: | Control - Long Primary Text | 0.05% | ||
| T1: | Treatment - Shortened Primary Text | 0.02% | -53.6% | 100.0% |
This experiment has a required sample size of 34,491 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 424,600, 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
× 53.6% decrease in conversion rate
× 0% increase in average gift
Key Learnings
Our key learning from this experiment was that shortening the length of the primary ad text on our free video series offer Facebook ads led to a significant decrease in donations for the "Cultural Deceptions" video series campaign.
The treatment ads with the shorter primary ad text saw a 53.6% decrease in donations compared to the control group. This result was statistically significant at a 99.9% level of confidence (LOC).
In future experimentation, it's essential to consider the impact of ad text on donation behavior. Our hypothesis assumed that shortening the primary ad text would reduce friction for the user and thus increase engagement. However, our results in this test showed the opposite effect. Instead of adding friction, the longer ad text in the Control ads provided important context for social audiences. Not only did we validate a decrease in donations, but also a 52.7% decrease in clicks with a 100% LOC.
However, there are a few ________
- The cost per click was $0.12 cheaper on the short ads vs the long ads.
- 61% diff in CPM $4.73 instead of $12.06
- The GCPD was $3 less for the short
The results of this experiment show that longer, more detailed ad copy may be necessary to effectively communicate the value of the video series offer and encourage donations. While reducing friction for the user is crucial, it should not come at the expense of providing important information that can drive conversions. In future ads and testing, we will look at how to balance brevity and informativeness to optimize campaign performance.