By cchi@hubspot.com (Clifford Chi)

Conventional wisdom might tell you that video views are a vanity metric, but I think they’re actually a good indicator of how well your video, especially its hook, performed.

I also think that view count, as a metric, has its drawbacks, like being unable to tell you who your audience is or whether your video resonates with them.

That’s why I created this list of important video marketing metrics to track, according to data from the Video Marketing Survey I recently ran. Let’s dive in.

Which metrics are brands tracking?

According to video marketers, these are the most important video engagement metrics to track in order to measure the performance of video content:

• Engagement (43%)
• Watch time (39%)
• View count (32%)
• Audience retention (27%)
• Follower/subscriber growth (25%)
• Average view duration (22%)

1. Engagement

Engagement (likes, comments, etc.) is the most tracked video marketing metric and the most important video marketing metric to track.

This makes sense to me: it’s one of the most important factors in boosting your video’s organic reach. If a video resonates well with part of your audience, it’ll likely resonate with the rest.

Adriane Grunenberg, HubSpot Automation & Digital Analytics Expert, says that engagement rate is the most important metric because “A high one [engagement rate] indicates that your content is relevant and appealing, which can lead to increased organic reach as viewers are more likely to share and discuss the video.”

I’ve found that engagement also provides marketers with valuable quantitative data. Comments can show you the emotional effect your video has on your viewers. Do they seem inspired? Or are they angry you covered a controversial topic? This data can help you decide which video topics to focus on in the future.

Social shares can paint a clearer picture of your audience’s brand affinity and loyalty. This metric measures how much your audience values your content and brand. It also builds your brand’s credibility.

Since people share content that confirms their ideal self-persona, people who share your video are willing to show their community that they trust and support your brand.

Social sharing is also one of the best forms of word-of-mouth marketing.

2. Watch Time

Watch time is the second most important metric, and it clearly explains how much time people actually spend watching your videos.

For example, if the average watch time for your 3-minute video is 2 minutes, the average viewer is sitting through nearly all of it, likely because they’re interested in its content.

On the other hand, if the view time would average out at 30 seconds, your video doesn’t successfully draw people in or keep them interested. This is exactly what Michelle Tabor, Solutions Engineer at Lynton, told me: “View time is a top indicator of if my content is boring or not.”

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Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron