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Home & Landing

Showing Social Follower Count A/B Test

A current follower count can signal the size of a brand’s social audience.

  • Home & landing
  • Purchase conversion rate (CR)

Control vs Variant

Absent on one side, present on the other.

Changed
Presence
Page
Home & landing
Difference
added

Hypothesis

A low or irrelevant number may offer little reassurance. Use conversion as the decision metric; assessing perceived trust requires a separate survey.

How to run this test

Primary metric

Purchase conversion rate (CR)

Choose purchase or registration before launch and compare the same event among assigned visitors.

Other metrics

  • Page exit rateMake sure a low follower count does not increase exits.
  • Perceived trust (survey)If surveyed, use the same survey and sampling method in both arms.
  • Click-through rateTrack visits to the social platform and whether visitors return to convert.
  • Time on pageRead time alongside conversion; longer visits do not directly prove distraction.

What to check before and during the test

  • CountShow the current follower count for one platform next to the existing brand link.
  • Keep presentation fixedKeep link behavior and use one fixed format, size and placement.
  • Real audienceUse the actual count; do not invent a threshold or inflate the number.
  • Separate testsRounding, placement and platform choice are separate comparisons.
  • MobileCheck the space used and access to the main CTA on small screens.

Setup mistakes to avoid

  1. 1Do not show fabricated or inflated follower or like counts.
  2. 2Do not change the counter format and placement together.
  3. 3Keep its visual emphasis fixed during the test.
  4. 4Do not combine counts from different platforms into a misleading total.
  5. 5If the count is not updated automatically, do not leave an outdated figure in place.