Video marketing metrics

Posting a video on several social platforms isn’t the end of a marketing campaign. It is, in fact, the start of the next phase. Marketers need to define what success looks like and how to appraise the efficiency of the video content. That means they must religiously monitor video marketing metrics.

Ideally, these metrics should be defined before the start of a new video campaign. It is, arguably, the most crucial component of the entire project. After all, without the metrics, it’ll be impossible to know if the campaign is a success or not.

Here are three key video marketing metrics, with an overview on how marketers can use them successfully to achieve the brand’s marketing goals.

 

View Count

The most basic and yet the most misleading metric of all. The view count indicates the raw number of times the video has been watched. In simple terms, the views show the reach of the video content. If the goal is for the video to be viewed by thousands of people in the target market, then the brand marketer should track view count.

That said, marketers need to understand that the views are measured differently across various platform. On YouTube, a view is measured once the 30-second mark of the video have been watched. On Facebook, a view is counted after only three seconds. If the video is posted on several channels and platforms, keep the varying measurements in mind when gathering data.

To improve the video view count, marketers can:

– Distribute the video to the target market via email and social media.
– Share the video with relevant niche influencers.
– Invest in advertising the video on platforms where the target market is present.

Marketers shouldn’t assume that the view count is the be-all and end-all of video content. It’s good to know how vast the video’s reach is, but unless the only goal for the video is brand awareness, it’s only the first step in gauging its success.

 

Play Rate

The play rate is the fraction of page visitors who actually pressed play and started watching the video. This metric is an excellent gauge of how relevant the video content is in the platform or channel where it’s posted. It’s also a good determinant of how effective the spot is in attracting targeted traffic. If the brand marketer has a specific percentage quota of the target viewers who press play on the video, play rate is the metric to keep tabs on.

To improve the play rate, marketers can:

– Enhance the size of the video embed or move its location on the page.
– Choose a more interesting, appealing, and relevant thumbnail.
– Modify the copy around the video to ensure that it accurately conveys the content.
– Move the video to another page.

Not every video will have similar play rates. Visuals and content play huge roles in achieving a decent play rate.

 

Engagement

Engagement for every audience displays what percentage of the video they watched. Average engagement, also measured in percent, indicates how much of the video all viewers saw on average. This metric is practical, especially if it’s presented as an engagement graph that shows how the viewers watched, re-watched and stopped watching the video. Using the data, the marketer can begin to assess the quality and efficiency of the brand videos.

To boost video engagement, marketers can:

– Keep the video content short, to-the-point, and sharp. If something is not needed, cut it out.
– Meet the audience’s expectations, which connects to the written content on the page. If a viewer expects a brief explanation of how to acquire a service but is welcomed by an ad on why they need to get it, they’ll most likely stop watching the video.
– Take note of the average engagement, and particularly the engagement graphs. If the audience stops watching at specific segments of the video, find out why and make the necessary changes.

Engagement is crucial to virtually every type of video in all kinds of businesses. After all, one of the omnipresent goals of video marketing is simply for people to watch the videos.

There are a lot more metrics marketers need to pay attention to, but these are the most crucial video marketing metrics today.