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Identifying the right KPI S for marketing videos

To sufficiently assess the performance of a video marketing campaign, the right key performance indicators or KPIs for marketing videos are needed. The number of views may be considered the proverbial public scorecard, but it’s not everything. Some experts even say that the number of views isn’t the best way to monitor the progress of video ads.

So, how can advertisers identify the right KPIs for marketing videos?

 

Set up the primary goal of the video marketing campaign

All companies aim to spread brand awareness with the help of their marketing videos. That’s a given objective since the videos will essentially be the visual representations of the brand. But more than brand awareness, it’s important to clearly define the main purpose of the campaign.

Consumers now enjoy diverse, nonlinear shopping experiences due to various touchpoints available online (ex. online reviews, mobile shopping, social sharing, etc.). Marketers, on the other hand, can place their target market into one of three groups: those unfamiliar with the brand (and its products and services), those skeptical about the brand (and its products and services), and those ready to act.

With each video marketing campaign, it’s imperative to identify which group is the primary target. From there, the marketing goals would be easier to outline.

 

Establish the KPIs for marketing videos

When the marketer has identified the primary goal of the campaign, defining the KPIs comes next. Here’s an easy way to align KPIs with marketing goals:

A. Video Marketing Goals: Brand Awareness
KPIs to Measure the Goals: Views, Impressions, Unique Users, Awareness Lift, Ad Recall Lift.

B. Video Marketing Goals: Brand Consideration
KPIs to Measure the Goals: View-through Rate, Watch Time, Favorability Lift, Consideration Lift, Brand Interest Lift.

C. Video Marketing Goals: Brand Action
KPIs to Measure the Goals: Clicks, Calls, Signups, Sales, Purchase Intent Lift.

 

Identify the best video analytics tools to use in measuring the KPIs for marketing videos

The primary goal is already established. The KPIs that align with that objective are in place. The next step is to figure out how to measure them correctly. There are different tools available for this stage, but the go-to ones are Google Analytics, AdWords, and YouTube Analytics.

These tools will help marketers measure all the important video metrics. These include click rates, watch rates, view-through rates, and so on. These are what makes up a marketing video’s scorecard. The marketer can log into these tools during the campaign to efficiently monitor the value and performance of each video.

For a more comprehensive tracking of parameters, a marketer can use specific tools like YouTube’s Brand Lift. Translating clicks, rates, and views to lifts in intent, awareness, and consideration is a tricky process. But with an advanced metrics tool, the evaluation can be completed fast and easy.

 

Optimize for the defined KPIs

After determining the correct KPIs for marketing videos and learning how to measure them, the next step is to find ways to optimize the videos. Optimizing for the KPIs of written content is easy enough to do because it only has a handful of variables. But not with video marketing. It’s difficult to compare one’s own campaign with those of the competition or evaluate it against an industry benchmark. This is due to the dynamics of videos.

There are a lot of creative choices involved in producing a video: music, backdrop, length, colors, light, voice overs, actors, animations, etc. There are also a lot of production elements to consider like the budget per video, the type of video to create, or the platform where the videos will be distributed. All these factors make it impossible to have a fair comparison with others.

The next best thing to do is for a marketer to set up his baseline. Compare the current campaign with the previous ones (if there are any). Otherwise, conduct A/B testing to establish a reference point for this and for future video marketing campaigns.

With these steps, it’ll be possible for a marketer – even a new one – to identify and work on KPIs for marketing videos.