Even though you create the most amazing video content, it doesn’t always lead to tonnes of likes or views. To improve this, you need to be putting in the right marketing efforts and measuring its impact. Using my key learnings at Skylark Media, I will guide you through how to measure the impact of your video through metrics, KPIs, and the different objectives in order to make the most of your video content.
What video metrics?
You need video metrics to understand how your videos are performing. They give you insights into your content’s success and help you make data-driven decisions. There are a number of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) you can look at:
The different KPIs:
- Views: The number of times your video is watched.
- Click-Through Rates: The percentage of viewers who click on your video after seeing the thumbnail.
- Engagement: Metrics like likes, comments, shares, and watch time.
- Conversion Rates: The percentage of viewers who take the desired action after watching your video.
What are your objectives for your video?
So you know what to measure, you need to know the objective for your video. Sometimes it’s just about brand recognition. A great example would be our TV ad for Viva! which was used to raise awareness about Viva!’s veganism campaign. It raised £40,000 in viral ad funding and won Silver in the TV/Cinema Campaign Award category of The Drum Roses Creative Awards:
Analytic tools: Google Analytics, YouTube Analytics and Social Media Insights.
So how do you use these tools? Each platform or social media account you have will give you access to all these tools which you can use to keep track of data. We keep track of this data on a monthly basis and reflect on any dips etc. Determining where we can make changes and improvements.
1. Google Analytics:
When using Google Analytics to analyse your website’s video performance, you can find information about how your videos are performing, including metrics like page views, average time on page, and bounce rate along with number of video plays, pauses, and completions. It can be often hard to navigate how to do this all, so it is best to start with some free training that Google provides to understand how to use the analytics tool.
2. YouTube Analytics:
To make the most of YouTube Analytics, go to the YouTube Studio dashboard. Here, you can find detailed insights about each of your videos. Key metrics to focus on include views, watch time, audience demographics, and audience retention. You can also track engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares.
3. Social Media Insights:
LinkedIn: For LinkedIn Page Analytics, visit your companies LinkedIn Page and click on ‘Analytics.’ There you can find data on page views, visitor demographics, and engagement with your posts, including videos.
Instagram: If you have an Instagram Business account, you can access insights by tapping the menu icon, selecting ‘Insights,’ and exploring data on your posts, stories, videos and reels. Key metrics include impressions, reach, and interactions.
Does my video need to go viral?
The short answer is “no”. You don’t need millions of views to make an impact. A single viewer can change the everything. For example, a video we made for Buglife was selected by Klarna’s Give One initiative to receive $400,000 in funding to support their project, after the animation was uploaded to the Milkywire app. So sometimes just that one person watching it can make all the difference.
Importance of thumbnails
When uploading a video to YouTube or even Instagram, everything from your thumbnail to the content of the description has a chance to influence how your video does in the site’s algorithm. Take Mr. Beast, for instance, who discovered that a simple change in his facial expression on the thumbnail influenced views using YouTube’s thumbnail tester. Even a small adjustment can make a big difference in how well a video performs. Both YouTube and Instagram have the option to pick out a thumbnail from the video or you can make a custom one and upload it. It is particularly important to consider the ratio sizing for the Instagram thumbnail as the graphics should fit both 9:16 and 1:1. Below is an example of a video and thumbnail we made for Bath Fashion Muesum.
Engagement, such as likes, comments, shares, and watch time
Engagement metrics are a very important thing to track when marketing your video. Likes, comments, shares, and watch time reflect how your audience interacts with your content. It’s important to join in on the conversation and reply to comments too. These metrics indicate whether your message resonates with viewers, and you can even tell which sections of your video they like the most.
How can you use the data you gathered for future videos?
In conclusion the data you gather isn’t just for record-keeping, you can use it to improve your future videos. You can identify what works and what doesn’t, make edits, change thumbnails to make more effective content.
If you would like to find out more or need help with creating more videos, get in touch with us today at [email protected]
Ezo Yildiz
Ezo is a Digital Marketing Assistant at Skylark Media.