The Ultimate Guide To Product Marketing - Part 2: Testing 101
September 12th, 2017
Now that you got a little introduction to the world of direct response marketing, it's time we move on to talking about the process of testing. We might be stating the obvious here but testing your product ad is an integral step of direct response, otherwise you are at risk of investing thousands of dollars into a DRTV campaign that is potentially set to fail, since there is no data guaranteeing otherwise.
By default, when filming a direct response spot for TV, the first few weeks of media rollout will essentially qualify as a 'test' period, where it can be tracked whether the product is selling and has legs, or if it is not a success. This determines if the media company should go ahead and buy more media time for the ad or axe it from airing any longer.
Let's steer away from TV and focus on digital testing, commonly known as a web test. With a web test, you are able to target various specific audiences and demographics thanks to the powerful tools found in Google AdWords and Facebook Business. In addition, you are able to track more metrics than TV and have better targeting options. And the best part is, web testing is significantly cheaper than testing on TV!
A web test entails running an ad on the web that drives potential buyers to a landing page where they can complete a purchase or sign up for a service, etc. This can be done through a video ad on Facebook or Instagram, or through an ad campaign on Google AdWords, Email, etc. Web testing aims to track how many people went to your website or landing page and signed up for your service or completed a purchase. Based on these metrics, which you would look at after the testing period is done, you would later decide if your product is generating enough demand for a potential TV campaign, or a bigger digital campaign.
A web test can be done in a variety of ways, across different mediums like TV, radio and the internet. You must ensure you have the following three elements: an advertisement, a platform, and a landing page.
The Advertisement
You need an advertisement in order to advertise your product (Shocking!) Through a call to action in this ad, you will direct potential buyers to your landing page. Your ad certainly does not have to be a video–there's no need to be super traditional. You can go smaller and create an AdWords campaign, for example, or even use an email targeting campaign to land in people's inboxes.
Let's focus on a few examples of ads and compare their qualities. For instance, AdWords may be a great, cheaper (ish) idea for a web test ad, but the risk is not having enough people reach your ad because of the way AdWords works. On a search network campaign, an ad shows up based on the keywords in the user's search terms. What this means is that you will essentially have to wait for people to search for a product similar to yours, so that your ad is shown to them. This is a risky process because it might not grant you accurate data, since there could be users that will most definitely buy your product, they just don't happen to be searching for it at that particular moment.
We recommend you film a short video ad to be used for your web test. Having a visual component to your advertisement adds credibility and also makes it more likely that people buy your product, since they can see that it may solve a problem they actually care about. Filming an ad for a web test is usually of a much lower cost and budget than that of a DRTV spot because they are shorter (30-60 seconds long) and of less production value since they are only being shown on specific platforms like Facebook or Instagram, etc.
A Platform
Now comes the second element; choosing a platform to showcase this advertisement. You could create a Facebook ad, an Instagram ad, a Google ad or even have an email campaign. Based on our recommendation, we suggest you go with an email campaign which would land you in people's inboxes. Email and Facebook are two great platforms to use for direct advertising, because you are more likely to land your product and ad in front of your target audience, instead of having to wait for them to search for you. That way, you have a better shot at scoring conversions and purchases. We'll discuss the detailed steps of an email web test later on in this article.
A Landing Page
The landing page is a necessary element in your ad where you get to display your offer to buyers. And before you ask, no, you shouldn't just direct people to your website and use your homepage link as your destination URL. Why? Because that increases the chance of a customer getting lost or distracted on your page and not ultimately reach the offer they are looking for. This results in a wasted click which you still end up paying for. Therefore, we advise you create a landing page displaying the ad, the offer and the checkout option all on one single spot, so that your customer is led exactly where you need them to go.
If you are advertising through Facebook, you can install Facebook Pixel onto your landing page in order to track conversions, or connect your landing page to Google Analytics (also through a piece of code) to track all necessary data, including conversions. At L49DIGITAL, we offer web testing services and build mobile-optimized landing pages for your ad in no time.
Email Testing
Let's look into email testing your ad. As mentioned, you are still encouraged to have a visual component to your ad, preferably video that fully demonstrates your product. There are a few factors that affect the outcome of the ad, such as time and budget. These short ads are usually easily filmed and are quite affordable, costing up to $5000. Your strategy and approach to the ad is also important, according to Producer Lana Maclin at Kingstar Media. Lana advises you maximize your budget and always keep in mind that you can only have two of the three qualities of a video ad; good, fast, cheap. Clients often want an advertisement that is of very high quality at the least cost available, but fail to realize that this would take more time than, say, an ad filmed in 2 days–which can only be either cheap but not of good quality, or good quality but of a higher budget.
Lana also stresses the importance of maximizing your ad elements, such as location. Pick a location that is versatile and offers multiple looks and scenes, in order to have multiple scenery options within that location for your product. Houses with backyards are often a go-to location since they offer the option of having nature shots and practical, at-home shots of people using your product. Of course, there is always the option to opt for a studio to shoot quick ads, but that all depends on what kind of product you have and the kind of ad you want to film.
In parallel with production, while your ad is being filmed and prepared for release, your landing page should be getting built. We'll take a closer look into building web pages later on in the series, with tips and information on the best practices and strategies to have while designing it to ensure usability and guarantee conversions. Once your ad is filmed and ready, which can take 1-2 weeks, your landing page should be up and running as well. Now comes the next step, which is to launch your ad and landing page through an email. Having curated your email list beforehand, send your subscribers an email blast regarding your new product or service and include a call to action in your email to drive web visits. You can introduce an offer (buy for a cheaper value, a discount code, etc.) to make customers more likely to click your link and head to the landing page.
As your landing page is linked to Google Analytics, you will be able to look at all sorts of data about the people who clicked your ad, visited your site and completed an order purchase. Based on that you can estimate how well your ad is doing and how your product is being received by the public (i.e. are people purchasing the product? Are people just visiting the landing page but not completing an order?) Google Analytics gives you an accurate insight into the kinds of people your ad reached, so you can ensure you're hitting your target market.
If your product proves to be profitable and you do end up acquiring some return on your ad spend, you can continue promoting your product, possibly on other platforms. You could take it to TV if the response you had was promising and you have the budget to do so.
What If My Test Doesn't Do That Well?
In the (quite possible) scenario that your ad test doesn't do well and your product seems to be struggling to generate interest from the public, don't panic and immediately give up on your campaign. Instead, try to tweak it by doing any (or all) of the following:
1. Consider changing your product price or offer: Is your product price turning consumers away? More often than not, it doesn't matter if your ad is well crafted, your landing page is clean or whether or not your product is attractive. If your product's price is exceptionally high considering your target market and the product itself, people are simply not going to buy it. Consider testing with an offer or changing your price.
2. Look at your product name: Sometimes, little things like your product's name control its destiny. Is your product's name too difficult to retain? Too silly? Too long? The possibilities are endless.
3. Rethink your landing page: You may not think that your landing page affects the performance of your campaign, but it sure does. Factors like colors, layout, and content all contribute to the page's usability and, ultimately, whether or not the user takes a desired action on it.
Recap
A web test is an essential aspect of a digital campaign that offers you a cheaper and more detailed look into your target market's perception and impression of your product. Its premise is easy and straightforward; create an ad that targets people to a landing page and have them take a desired action. For the purposes of this article we focus on email testing through the process of filming a video ad, emailing your target market and directing them to your landing page.
We hope you found a useful snippet of information in this week's post that you can apply to your product's campaign. Now that you have an understanding of a web test, you're ready to dive into analytics and explore how to analyze the findings of your web test. Stay tuned for more in our next post!