Speak Their Feeling, Not Just Their Language
Swiss German vs. High German on Meta Platforms
Speak Their Feeling, Not Just Their Language
A/B Testing Bernese Swiss German vs. Standard High
Context
The thesis investigates the effectiveness of Bernese Swiss German versus Standard High German in social media advertising within the multilingual and culturally nuanced context of German-speaking Switzerland. This context is marked by a societal diglossia where Swiss German carries emotional authenticity, while Standard High German holds formality and broader comprehensibility.
Goal/Task
The primary goal was to empirically evaluate whether Bernese Swiss German advertisements yield higher consumer engagement (click-through rates, CTR) on social media compared to Standard High German ads. The secondary goal was to understand how demographic factors, especially age, influence these outcomes.
Methods
- Experimental Design: A controlled A/B test conducted on Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram).
- Ads Tested: Two visually identical advertisements promoting adventure activity vouchers, differing only in language (Bernese Swiss German vs. Standard High German).
- Measurement: Click-through rate (CTR) was the primary metric, defined as the ratio of clicks to impressions.
- Demographic Analysis: CTR results were segmented by age groups (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+).
- Statistical Analysis: Pearson’s Chi-square test evaluated statistical significance of CTR differences between ad variants.
Results
- Overall Findings:
- Bernese Swiss German ads achieved a higher overall CTR (0.685%) compared to High German ads (0.522%), a statistically significant result (p < .001).
- Demographic Insights:
- Highest performance for Swiss German ads was among youngest (25-34) and oldest groups (65+).
- Younger users (18-34) and older users (55+) significantly favored Swiss German ads, suggesting dialect choice particularly influences these demographic groups.
- Practical Implications: Dialect usage significantly enhances consumer engagement, especially in emotionally charged, hedonic product contexts, emphasizing the strategic value of linguistic alignment in social media advertising.