7 Video Metrics You Need to Know for 2021 and Beyond

Oct 26, 2023

The world will be watching three trillion internet video minutes each month by the end of 2021 that's 5 million hours of video each month, or about one million minutes of video per second. That's kind of a big deal. Since marketers are creating greater video content, important performance metrics for video have never been more important.

This goes beyond total number of views and expands the ways of understanding the details of the viewer's journey. In this article, I'll review the key video metrics you'll want to study to improve your video's performance.

What are the video metrics?

Video metrics are analytics for performance which help you determine and assess the effect of your videos. It provides you with important information about the effectiveness of your film overall. The metrics typically include typical view duration and the percentage time of people that actually watched your video. Detailed video metrics can change how you used to measure the success of your video.

Important videos and metrics to measure the performance

Video will make up 79% of mobile traffic by 2022. With this high percent, ensuring that your filtering strategy is successful beyond views is vital. There are more important data points to measure that actually influence your video strategies. Here we'll take a an examination of the most important metrics to examine and reveal how customers view your videos.

1. View Count

It is the standard measurement and it just scratches the surfaces. It tells you the total amount of how many times the video has been watched. Your viewers will determine the overall impact of your film. If your objective is to create awareness and then reach a huge audience, then this metric will be your gold benchmark.

The thing that can make it confusing with view count is how views are counted depending upon the channel(s) you are using. For example, on one channel, a view may be counted as 3 seconds. However, on another it counts a view in 30 seconds. You have to consider this especially when using multiple media for video. Here are 3 tips to increase the number of views you can get:

  1. Make sure to share your video on social media. Utilize a hashtag specifically for the video for the purpose of identifying the video to your name. Choose to go organic or opt for sponsored social media ads.
  2. Send your video through emails. If you already have an email list, fire off your video as a formal marketing campaign. Include CTAs to motivate your followers to share your video via their social network.
  3. Work with relevant influencers. Seek relevant influencer partnerships. Invite them to share your video in general posts or stories to introduce your brand's name to their followers.

2. Audience retention

Audience retention is the normal percentage of a video that viewers watch. When the initial few seconds of your video is weak with viewer drop offs and drop offs, your audience retention will take an adversity. To put this metric in figures, let's assume you've just posted a video that's eight minutes in length. If people watch your video on average for 4 minutes, your Audience Retention on that video is 50%.

For better retention, kick off your film with a strong hook to draw your viewers into. A good hook grabs the attention of the audience instantly, which makes viewers want to keep watching. Here are some examples of how different types of hooks perform:

  • Standard Teaser. You've seen this many times, with hooks such as: "And later in this video, I'll teach you how to shed 10 pounds within a week".
  • Sneak Peak Get started. Start your video off by introducing a variety of major events that will be revealed at a certain point later in your video, without giving any details away. Think of how you watch the preview of a TV show or movie.
  • An informative and useful upfront value. This is a straightforward technique that is often used in instructional videos "In this tutorial, we'll discover how to create your own candle."

3. Impressions

Video impressions are the time the video appears on a person's screen commonly as an ad. Sometimes, they're not action-based metrics and are measured by the visitor simply watching the video's in the pop-up.

If your goals are to utilize your video in an advertising strategy, you'll need to be aware of the impact metrics. Here are some basic ways to analyze these metrics measure the performance of campaigns using video:

  • Examine the amount of times ads for pay-per-click videos was displayed for searches
  • Find out how frequently a video ad appears on social media.
  • Review metric information through third-party sites like Pinterest or Google.

4. Click Through Rate (CTR)

We typically consider email marketing when we hear the term click-through rate (CTR). In the case of video, a CTR refers to the percentage of viewers who click the call-to-action button in your video the video.

A video's CTR will give you a clear indicator of the success the video you have created is in encouraging viewers to take action. Your call to action must be relevant to the video in terms of tone, subject as well as the overall look and feel. If the call to action is out of context, it's not going to be received well by the viewers. Here are some ways to make the most of CTRs for your videos:

  • Design and place the CTA. Make it visually attractive so that it stands out. It's possible to even put your CTA on different locations in your video. If you make enough modifications, continue and see what is effective.
  • Concentrate on the engagement of your users first. If your analytics show drop offs prior to seeing the CTA, other work needs to be carried out on content.
  • Write compelling CTA copy. It should be relevant to the content of your video. One of the last things you would like to do is confuse your audience.

5. Play rate

If you're looking to have a particular percentage of your target audience to click the play button in your video, then play rate is the measure to watch. Play rates are the percentage of viewers who hit play before they began watching the video.

This metric is a good measure of how relevant your content on video is the location where it's placed, and how successful in entices viewers to view it. Marketo breaks down play rate by using an easy formula

 Play rate is % of those who have clicked and watched the video, divided by the % of users who accessed the page of landing.

6. Engagement Rate

Engagement metrics are generally the most sought-after and essential to track. It's where you get to know how powerful the video is. This rate includes the median view times and also the percent of your content that viewers actually view. Here is another formula that estimates engagement rates:

  • Engagement rate = total watched duration/number of videos played ( including replays)
  • Be aware of your viewers' expectations. If a viewer expects to learn or see a how-to video, however, instead they are being marketed towards, it is likely that they'll leave.
  • Eliminate the unnecessary fluff. Keep your video content concise and straight to the point.
  • Identify peak engagement points. If there are any commonalities in regards the times that viewers skip or completely stop, identify what the reason is and then make changes. c

If engagement levels are low initially Don't get too upset about the fact that it's not your fault. Always keep in mind that the main purpose behind your video over all other things to improve over time.

7. Average duration of views and the finish time

Don't forget to include average view duration. This is the sum of the watch time of your video multiplied by the number of video plays, including replays. It evaluates your video's capacity to hold the attention of viewers through the entire duration of the video. This metric is commonly found as the "watch time" report of your video solution and includes specific time stamps.

The most important YouTube metrics to be aware of

YouTube is the second-most used search engine in the world in the world, just behind Google. The place where Youtube's video metricsshine are when it comes to insights into the audience, views as well as click-through rate. This article will provide insight into why these metrics are essential for any savvy YouTuber.

  • Youtube has a full dashboard with audience reporting to determine the demographic details of your audience. Utilize this data as a starting point to create and improve your videos.
  • An impression is recorded each whenever someone is exposed to the thumbnail for your video. Make sure your thumbnail image is attractive and appropriate to your video's content.
  • If you see a significant click-through rate that's a good sign that your thumbnail and keywords work. As a best practice ensure that you regularly examine the similarities between previous videos to see if they have anything in common. This will help you determine the things that are working and what's not.

Important metrics to consider

  • Advanced video analytics allow you to understand viewer behavior from any place and on what device they are using to watch.
  • Explore your analytics and discover what your videos are doing to be noticed.

Lead generation from video Set KPIs

  • Play rate goal: Determine the play rate that is successful will be for your video. If you're using more than one video platform, be aware that different platforms calculate different plat rates.
  • Conversion targets: This is the percentage of viewers that become customers. It can be difficult to measure, but when including a video on a landing page A/B-testing CTA's may improve click-through rates, so you'll have a better idea as to what works best. If users are engaging through your video and engaging with it, they stand a better chance of converting to an actual customer.

Video metrics on social media to consider

Videos and social media have a lot in common. However, the metrics for video for social media are more than likes and comments. Similar to any other measurement it is important to focus on what will work to build your brand. Think about what you are trying to accomplish by putting your videos that you share on social media. Here are the most important social metrics that you should be aware of:

  • Reach of the Audience:Reach measures how many people your advertisement was shown to. It alone can help you understand the potential size of your audience. Though a huge audience could be beneficial however, it is effective when you measure it against other metrics similar to yours.
  • number of followers:Keep a close eye at your social media followers before releasing videos. Encourage your following to respond to, share and like your content. Social media influence spreads in a blaze of fire and sharing your information will improve the ranking of your algorithm. This can lead to the growth of your followers. If your audience isn't increasing with every new video, a modification to the content might be necessary.
  • Engagement:This is a huge number. It is a measure of the volume of engagement on social media in relation to your brand and video. Are users having discussions about the content you post? Are they sharing your post as well as re-tweeting or commenting? Think about your objectives using social media with regard to engagement. Find the right balance between creating interaction and sharing videos.

The wrapping up

We've got a lot of information at our fingertips. It's never been simpler to measure and understand the effect of videos. While the number and types of metrics may seem overwhelming, remember to stick only to what's important to you. It's not necessary to use each metric, but remain willing to listen to what the data says.