Don’t Burn It Down: Test It the Smart Way to Shake Up Your Content | S2 Ep23

Are you TEAM looking at data or TEAM ignore & create?

Ever feel like you're just throwing content into the void and hoping for the best? 😅In this episode of Coffee Social, we're diving into the Instagram analytics that actually matter when you're trying to grow your business, boost engagement, and stop spinning your wheels.

We’re breaking down:
 ✨ Impressions vs. reach (what’s the deal?)
 ✨ Why likes aren’t the whole story
 ✨ Views, link clicks, and the sneaky power of saves
 ✨ Engagement rate — and what’s considered good
 ✨ How to tell if your content is turning followers into customers

If you're a solopreneur, creative, or content creator ready to make smarter moves on Instagram (and other socials) without the overwhelm!

Grab a cup and enjoy!

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Transcript

Introducing content testing strategies

Speaker 1 0:00

Where do we begin when we want to test something? So let's say, for example, I've always been doing this one thing, forever. Maybe I only do static posts and I do it two times a week on Instagram. So where could I take this if I want to test things out?

Speaker 2 0:15

It's Coffee Social, the podcast, all about social media and business. And now here are your hosts, Jonathan Howard and Mimi Langley.

Speaker 1 0:29

Hi everyone, hi Jonathan Howard.

Speaker 2 0:32

Hello Mimi Langley.

Speaker 1 0:34

You're dancing over there.

Speaker 2 0:35

Well, our opening is dance-worthy, Isn't it? It is.

Speaker 1 0:39

Oh my gosh. Cheers everyone. It's a new episode. Cheers, jonathan.

Speaker 2 0:44

Cheers Mimi Langley.

Speaker 1 0:45

Langley, okay, let me sip, and then I'll show you my mug. And it's not Taylor anymore, no, but so shout out to Michelle, the grief curator. She got me this. It goes in my podcast era. And then on the back it says I love it, it's's so cute, I know In your podcast era. I guess I'm in a lot of eras right now.

Speaker 2 1:11

Don't think we have time, at the beginning of this micro episode, to talk about your era. No, we don't. We have to dive into it because we have to keep this short, it's not a three and a half hour episode.

Speaker 1 1:18

We have to keep this under 10 minutes. Yes, you guys time us. Okay, jonathan, today we're going to talk about how to actually test your content on social media, and we throw around that word a lot testing. So where do you want to start with this? Because it's important to test. Why is it important to test out different things?

Speaker 2 1:39

So great question. And the reason it's important to test out different things is because social media is always changing and you're always going to have content that performs better than other content. So if you're paying attention to what content is performing well and then you're putting in some content into a rotation, that's test content. It may end up doing better than some of your regular content and can replace that content and help you get more reach, more followers, more whatever it is that you're looking for. So you have to really pay attention to what you're putting out there and test and by test I mean you've got to look at the numbers. So you know, actually looking at the numbers, mimi.

Speaker 1 2:18

I know, we all know, that Mimi does not like data.

Speaker 2 2:22

That's.

The 70/30 rule for testing

Speaker 1 2:22

Jonathan's area. Okay, okay, so let's just back up for a second and then we'll get into more of the details about how to test. But, like, where do we begin when we want to test something? So let's say, for example, I've always been doing this one thing forever. Like, maybe I only do static posts and I do it, you know, two times a week on Instagram. So, like, where could I take this if I want to test things out?

Speaker 2 2:46

So when you're testing, the first thing you want to make sure is that you don't take everything and put it into the test. So I always say 70% of your content should be your standards that do really well. 30% should be test content. So don't just go. I'm going to start doing reels and replace all your stagnant posts with reels, because you might potentially lose your entire audience. Because what if your audience doesn't like reels or doesn't like you on reels?

Speaker 2 3:12

Oh my gosh, or it might just confuse people so much they're like where's her content that we loved? Because they might have loved your stagnant posts. So you don't want to like confuse people, you don't want to give them whiplash. So I would if you're doing two posts a week, I would insert one reel every two weeks and test that for three to five months. Now, if it starts to do really well, all like right away. It starts to do really well, starts to pick up momentum, and you're like wow, I'm getting a lot of views on this, don't go all reels. Test it with two, one each week and see how that does. But I wouldn't go much more than that when you're testing it.

Speaker 1 3:55

Okay, I wasn't expecting you to say that. I thought that you would want me to just add the reel in and do it every week along with my two other posts. So I kind of I mean, maybe you would, but I also preferable, but I know you, so we have to be realistic.

Speaker 2 4:11

We have to be realistic and we have to, and we have to base it on what your consistency can be. So if your consistency can only be two posts a week, then those two posts a week, one of them will be a reel, one of them won't.

How long to test your content

Speaker 1 4:24

Okay. Okay, so every other week it would be one static post. This is just an example, you guys. One static post, one reel, just to kind of test it out, but also have my main one that people are so used to. Anyways, I like it, okay. So you were talking about something about keeping it going for five. How many months? Three to five months, that's how long.

Speaker 2 4:47

I should be testing something. You should be testing something In order to know if it's really working for you. You've got to give it a lot of rotations Now. The reason I said with you three to five months is because you're putting out one reel every other week. So you're not going to be able to tell really and have enough data points to know if it's working for you. Because when you start doing reels, you're not going to be great at reels. It takes practice. So your first reels may not do that well other than the first one. If you've never done a reel before, your first reels may not do that well. So instead of saying, oh, these reels suck and your first only did five reels and I'm never going to do that again, you know that's not really the best practice and that's not really the best test, because those five reels could be your worst reels you're ever going to create.

Speaker 2 5:42

But, those five reels could take 10 weeks to put out.

Speaker 1 5:46

So you need to do it over a longer amount of time. Okay, what if I'm creating reels, like I'm so used to creating reels and I just want to change up a little bit of my style? How would you test something like that?

Speaker 2 5:56

By changing up a little bit of your style. Now, again, like I said, you don't want to change it all. So if your style is working and it's something that's working, mix in a little bit of something. Maybe it's the beginning, maybe it's the end, maybe it's just a little bit of different coloring or a different filter. Try it on a couple of the reels, but don't go all in on it. I really, unless it's a trend that's coming and going and it needs and it's appropriate for your niche and you want to do it right away, like fine, then do that. But that's a one and done sort of thing. If you're really looking for content that you're going to be putting out there and is going to be appropriate for your brand and stuff like that, test it. Don't just go all in on something.

Speaker 1 6:41

Yeah, and I think the point of us creating this episode really is to encourage you to not just base off your results on trying out once right, like Jonathan's talking about, like a month's period, like of time of testing something. You just don't beat yourself up if you're not seeing quite the results you were expecting in the first or second change that you're making.

Looking beyond views in analytics

Speaker 2 7:04

Right, right. And so the other thing is like, say you're posting seven days a week and you want to change out some of your content. You can change out two posts in that week and still be putting out five pieces of content that are going to work and two that you're unsure of, and they might take off. And if they take off and consistently every week, they're doing great. Then at the end of that month you might be able to say, okay, I've put in two, four, six, eight. They're all like going crazy. I know that one of those two posts can be this type of post and then maybe test something be this type of post.

Speaker 2 7:38

And then maybe test something else with the other post. And then, last but not least, you got to look at your insights and you got to make sure that you're not just looking at views, because views doesn't necessarily mean it's doing well for you. So if you want more website clicks, you need to look at, you know, the clicks on your website, how many people went to your website or how many people signed up for your program. That is very different than how many people saw your content, how many impressions you got. So making sure that you're looking at the right one. I will send Mimi to include in the show notes a link to the chart that describes what each analytic actually helps you measure.

Speaker 1 8:19

Oh, my gosh, I don't have that chart. Yes, you do. I do. It's in the membership, of course it is.

Speaker 2 8:26

Oh, I need it.

Speaker 1 8:29

I need it. Okay, we'll put that below, like Jonathan said. Last thing, you know, because we can have a whole episode dedicated to your analytics, which we kind of already dove into in one of our content planning episodes that we did um, but you know it's like don't you don't just have to test only on one platform social media platform.

Speaker 1 8:49

So we're like talking instagram, but you know, maybe what you just created is not really working well for your instagram family. It's like maybe it will work way better on LinkedIn or something like that. So what do you say about testing on multiple platforms?

Testing across different platforms

Speaker 2 9:04

Yeah, if it doesn't work on a platform, test it on another platform. If you think that your audience on one platform is just not digging it and you've already created the content, put it out on the other platform. See if it does well. Tiktok and Instagram are completely different. Sometimes Something that goes gangbusters on TikTok may not do well on Instagram. So if you've got it on Instagram and you've already created it, try it on TikTok. Why not Try it on LinkedIn? Why not? What do you got to lose Now if that same content and it's a whole bunch of different things that you've got and it still it doesn't do well on LinkedIn either? Maybe you should try some of the newer stuff on LinkedIn or the newer stuff on TikTok, but that's again paying attention to your numbers and seeing what's working and what's not.

Speaker 1 9:49

Okay, so test more than once Yep and pay attention to your numbers. Yep and not just views. People. We're going deeper than that, Unless, of course, your main goal is just views.

Speaker 2 10:01

Well, and if your goal is to get more visibility for your brand, then sure views, it is Impressions, whichever one you want to go by, because that's going to get more eyes on your brand. Okay, well, Jonathan, that's it. Buddy, I know we hit 10 minutes.

Speaker 1 10:17

I know and I feel like we could literally talk about this all day.

Speaker 2 10:20

I know, but you know we got to do this quick episode.

Speaker 1 10:23

Who told us about micro episodes? I'm going to yell at them. I know it was me. We went from the idea of three and a half hours to 10 minutes.

Speaker 2 10:31

No, we never had the idea of three and a half hours.

Closing and listener support request

Speaker 1 10:33

Okay, where can they rate us, jonathan? Should they be rating us? That would be great.

Speaker 2 10:37

They should. So, mimi, they should be rating us wherever they listen to their podcast. Give us a rating, let us know that they love us or hate us, but Mimi loves five stars.

Speaker 1 10:49

She loves your stars. I hate you guys. No hate in 2025. She loves in 2025.

Speaker 2 10:52

If you hate us, please do us a favor. Send us an email before you give us a rating. We'd really appreciate it. We'd love to know why, so we can make it better.

Speaker 1 11:01

I thought you were going to say if you hate us, send us a box of chocolates or something.

Speaker 2 11:05

Mimi loves her stars. Give her five stars. And yeah, and also, you can find us everywhere on social media, mimi. What else should I be saying?

Speaker 1 11:15

No, I mean, that's pretty much it. You guys. People always ask like, how can I support you guys? Please rate the podcast.

Speaker 2 11:22

Yeah, rate the podcast and share it with your friends.

Speaker 1 11:26

I mean, we make this for entrepreneurs, so if you're an entrepreneur, chances are you have an entrepreneur buddy that could use this podcast as well. So we are going to wrap it up. Do you pay attention to your numbers? Actually, it is not even a team at this point. Do you pay attention to your numbers? Be honest, let us know. If you want to privately, let us know. Instagram, dm us.

Speaker 2 11:47

I'm the team. Pay attention to your numbers.

Speaker 1 11:49

I know Jonathan's going to be rooting for that all of 2025. I already know All right, well know, jonathan's going to be rooting for that all of 2025. I already know All right, well, jonathan, thank you. Thank you everyone for listening and watching in. If you want to watch, we're on YouTube. It's always great because you get to see Jonathan's outfit of the days and his coffee. What's your coffee in right now? If you want to describe it, it's my cold brew in my really big wine glass.

Speaker 2 12:11

So my business coach has a theory merge your life. And she feels like if you merge your life with things that make you feel good, your life will be good.

Speaker 1 12:22

I love. Is that, Erica? I? Love shout out to Erica Girl I love you, I'm a fan. Oh my gosh, I love that theory. I really do. I think that's awesome. It changes your whole mind.

Speaker 2 12:33

Change your whole mind. Something along those lines. I probably didn't quote it correctly, but she'll yell at me later.

Speaker 1 12:38

Yeah, it's all good, all right, all right, you guys. Thank you again. We'll see you in the next episode. Bye everyone, bye can see it, I can see it with my ghost eyes. I can see it. I can see it. I can see it with my ghost eyes.