With marketers generating more and more video content, key video metrics to measure effectiveness have never been more important.
This goes beyond total view count, expanding in ways to understand details of viewer journey. In this article, I’ll review the key video metrics you’ll want to explore to optimize your video performance.
What are video metrics?
How to use video analytics for marketing
Video marketing analytics is so important to understanding audience behavior. You can optimize content and distribution strategies, measure campaign effectiveness, and ultimately improve marketing return-on-investment (ROI) by leveraging data-driven insights from your video's performance.
Platforms like Vimeo provide a data-centric basis for any video marketing approach. By regularly tracking and evaluating your metrics, you can acquire essential insights about your audience, enhance your video content, boost engagement, and ultimately reach your marketing goals.
Let's dive in!
Crucial video metrics and analytics to measure performance
Video makes up the majority of mobile traffic. As a result, filtering success beyond view time is essential. There are more important data points to measure that actually drive your video strategy. Here we’ll take a look at crucial metrics that analyze and expose how your viewers perceive your content.
1. View Count
This has to be the most standard metric and it only scratches the surface. It tells you the total amount of how many times your video has been played. Your views then dictate the overall reach of your video. If your goal is to generate awareness then to a huge audience, then this metric will be your gold standard.
What can be misleading with view count is how views are counted depending on the channel(s) you are using. For example, on one video channel a view can count at 3 seconds, while on another it counts a view at 30 seconds. You have to consider this especially when using multiple video mediums. Here are 3 tips to help boost your view count:
- Share your video on social media. Use a dedicated hashtag alongside to identify the video with your brand. Go the organic route or invest in paid social ads.
- Share your video via email. If you already have a mailing list, fire off your video as a formal marketing campaign. Add a CTAs to incentivize your audience to share the video on their social network.
- Work with relevant influencers. Seek relevant influencer partnerships. Have them share your video in general posts or stories to introduce your brand to their following.
2. Audience retention
Audience retention is the average percentage of a video that people watch. If the first few seconds of your video is weak with viewer drop offs, audience retention takes a hit. To put this metric in numbers let’s say you just published a video that’s 8 minutes long. If people watch your video for an average of 4 minutes, your Audience Retention on that video is 50%.
To help with retention, kick off your video with a good hook to reel your audience in. A good hook grabs the attention of the audience right away, making them want to continue watching. Here are a few examples of how different types of hooks work:
- Standard Teaser. You’ve seen this countless times with hooks like: “And later in this video I’ll show you how to lose 10 pounds in a week”.
- Sneak Peak Start off. Start your video off with a mash of big moments coming up at some point later in your video without giving too much away. Think of how you watch a preview for a tv show or movie.
- Informative upfront value. This is a straightforward hook commonly used for tutorials: “In this video you’re going to learn how to make your own candles.”
3. Impressions
Video impressions are when a video shows up on a person’s screen commonly as an ad. In some cases they aren’t action-based metrics and are determined by a visitor just seeing the video pop-up.
If your goals are to use your video as an ad campaign, then you’ll be paying attention to the impression metrics. Here are some basic ways you would analyze at these metrics measure the performance of video campaigns:
- Review the number of times a pay-per-click video ad appeared for search queries
- See how frequent a video ad appears on social media
- Compare metric insights from the use of third-party sites like Pinterest or Google.
4. Click through rate (CTR)
We typically think of email marketing when we hear click-through rate (CTR). But in the case of video, a CTR is the percentage of viewers that click on the call to action button included in your video content.
A video CTR is giving you a clear indication of how successful your video is at encouraging viewers to take action. Your call to action should then be relevant to the video in terms of topic, tone, look and feel. If it seems out of place, it won’t be received well by your audience. Here are some ways to best use CTRs in your video content:
- Design and place your CTA. Make it visually appealing so it stands out. You can even place the CTA at different points in your video. After enough changes, go with what works.
- Focus on engagement first. If your metrics indicate drop offs before seeing your CTA, other work needs to be done on content.
- Write compelling CTA copy. It should be relevant to the content of your video. The last thing you want to do is confuse your audience.
5. Play rate
If you want a certain percentage of your target audience to click the play button on your video, play rate is the metric to watch. Play rates are the percentage of page visitors who actually clicked play and began watching your video.
This metric is a good measure of how relevant your video content is to the location where it's placed, and how successful it is at enticing visitors to watch. Marketo breaks down play rate in an easy formula:
Play rate = % of those who clicked on and watched the video divided by % of total number of visitors who visited the landing page.
6. Engagement Rate
Engagement metrics are usually the most popular and important to measure. It’s where you get to the juice of how impactful your video really is. This rate includes the average view time and the percentage of your video that people actually watch. Here is another formula that calculates engagement rates:
- Engagement rate = total watch time/total number of video plays ( including replays)
Engagement rates show you on average how much of your video was watched by all viewers. If your video solution is capable, you can view these metrics to understand the quality and effectiveness of your video. Get answers to questions like, “Are viewers watching all the way to the end?,Is my CTA placed at the right section of my video? Are viewers skipping to view specific parts?” There is always room to improve engagement, here are some basic best practices:
- Meet your audience's expectations. If a viewer expects to be informed or watch a how-to video, but instead is being pitched to, odds are they will drop off.
- Cut out the fluff. Keep your video content short and to the point.
- Identify peak engagement points. If there are commonalities as to when views skip or stop watching altogether determine why and make the necessary changes. c
*If engagement is low at first, don’t beat yourself up about it. Always keep in mind the purpose of your video above anything else to improve over time.
7. Average view duration and finish rate
Let’s not forget average view duration. This metric is the total watch time of your video divided by the total number of video plays, including replays. It measures your video’s ability to keep the attention of viewers through the entire video. This metric is commonly found as a “watch time” report from your video solution and includes detailed time stamps.
Key YouTube metrics to know
YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world, second to Google. Where Youtube’s video metrics shine are when it comes to audience insights, impressions and click-through rates. Here’s insights on why these metric types are a must-measure for the savvy youtuber.
- Youtube offers a detailed dashboard with audience reporting to know the demographic details of your viewership. Use this as a guide in creating and perfecting video content.
- An impression is recorded each time someone sees the thumbnail for your video. Make sure your thumbnail image is eye-catching and relevant to your video content.
- When there is a high click-through rate that's a good sign that your thumbnail and keywords are effective. As a best practice make it a habit to review for similarities from previous videos to see if they have anything in common to know what is and isn't working.
Key Vimeo metrics to know
With Vimeo, you have tools that help get to the bottom of what is or isn’t working. With total views and audience duration percentages, you get a holistic view of your video strategy. Here are some show stopping metrics to enjoy with Vimeo:
- Advanced video analytics help you understand viewer behavior from any location and what devices they are using to watch.
- You can track video performance to know when drops-offs occur and why.
- Dive deep into your analytics to learn how your videos are being discovered.
Lead generation from video: setting KPIs
With so many metrics to track, you may not know where to start when setting KPI’s. The good news is, there is no wrong or right way to go about it. KPI’s and lead generation techniques are always changing, but it's best to stick to what's relevant for you and your team Here are 4 common KPIs to set and stick to:
- Number of Leads: Every company defines a lead differently, but this is the number that when set, we all strive to. Increase leads with relevant videos and webinars that increase brand awareness and thought leadership through education.
- Play rate target: Determine what a successful play rate is for your video. If you use more than 1 video solution remember that different platforms measure plat rates differently.
- Conversion target: This is the percentage of viewers that become customers. This can be sometimes hard to measure, but when including a video on a landing page, A/B testing CTA’s can increase click-through-rates so you have a better idea as to what works best. If viewers are interacting with your content, they have a greater chance of converting to a customer.
Social media video metrics to know
Social media and video go hand in hand. But measuring video metrics on social media go beyond likes and comments. Just like any other metric, you have to pay attention to what works for your brand. Always think about what you are trying to accomplish with the video on social media. Here are key social metrics to get familiar with:
- Audience Reach: Reach measures how many users your video was shown to. It alone can help you understand the potential size of your audience. Although a big audience can be a good thing, reach really only becomes powerful when you can compare to other similar metrics.
- Number of Followers: Keep a close eye on your followers when releasing a video. Encourage your following to like, comment and share your content. Social influence can spread like wildfire and sharing content will only improve your algorithmic rankings. This leads to an increase in your audience. If the numbers aren't growing with each new video, a change in content could be needed.
- Engagement: This is a big one. It speaks to the amount of social participation around your video and brand. Are people having conversations about your content? Are they sharing your video, re-tweeting and/or commenting? Consider your goals with social media when it comes to engagement. Determine the balance between generating interactivity and sharing video content.
Wrapping up
We have so much data at our fingertips. It's never been easier to measure and understand the impact of video. While the number and types of metrics can be overwhelming, remember to stick with what's relevant to you. You won't resort to every metric, but be receptive to the results.
