Optimizing Facebook Content With Dark Posts in 6 Steps

Dark Posts, also known as unpublished page posts are one of the killer features on Facebook. It allows you to test content with an audience other than your established fans.

In this article, Edgy Labs will show you how to optimize your Facebook content with Dark Posts in 6 easy steps:

1. Pick a Variable to Test

A lot of variables go into the creation of any social post or ad campaign. These variables include but are not limited to Ad Copy, Voice, Post Type, CTA, Colors, Visual Style and Headline. Changing one or more variables can result in good or bad results for your campaign.

To better optimize your ads and posts on Facebook, the first step is to test out multiple combinations of variables in your posts. Test out one variable at a time for better comparison.

Testing out two or more variables at a time will be ineffective as you might not be able to analyze which variable contributed to the success or failure of your campaign.

2. Define Success

After you’ve decided on the variables to test, the next step will be defining what a successful campaign achieves. Most marketers define success on Facebook by overall engagement.

For the purpose of testing, clearly, define one metric for success. It could be likes, comments, link clicks or shares but pick just one. You should choose your metric based on what your post or overall page seeks to achieve.

You’ll be able to judge easily which post had the most success.

3. Create Split Tests of Your Posts

Now that you’ve decided on the variables to test and what success looks like, the next step is to create multiple variations of your posts.

For example, if you decided to use photos as test variable and number of shares as a success metric, you’ll create two different posts keeping everything the same but using two different photos.

4. Test Each Version as a Facebook Dark Ad

With your post variations ready, you’ll go on to create each as a separate Facebook Dark Post. Facebook Dark Ads are great for A/B testing because they don’t show up on your timeline. This way your fans are not overwhelmed with multiple variations of your posts.

To create Facebook Dark Ads:

Step 1: Click on the Power Editor menu button on the top left and select Page Posts.

Step 2: Click on create post

Step 3: Choose the type of post you’re creating and complete the details.

Make sure to select “Only use this post for an ad” and the bottom of the form.

Step 4: Create an ad from your Dark Posts.

Use A/B testing to compare which variation performs better.

5. Monitor and Analyse Results

Track your campaigns and start tracking trends from the results you get. You can create a spreadsheet for your campaigns for easy performance comparisons.  Over time, you’ll notice the variables that perform better.

6. Test Organically

The goal of Facebook Dark Ads is to find out which combination of variables performs best for posts. The ultimate test of these findings is applying them to organic posts you make on your Facebook page.

Continuously test your findings organically on your Facebook page to find out how well they work and at what times. Remember: things change. You never know when an old, useless strategy will experience a resurgence in importance.

Are you currently using Facebook Dark Posts on your Facebook page? Mind sharing your results?