With the inception of the internet, companies are now utilizing new modes of communication to market their products. Some of the most successful campaigns in recent years have been in video.

Like all other forms of marketing, video marketing campaigns need analysis to see if they have been successful or need to be adjusted. Here are seven metrics to measure success, insights into where these metrics are the most helpful in the marketing process, and some tips for improving them.

Previous accomplishments in video marketing

Some businesses may still consider video marketing ineffective. However, there is a wealth of statistics that prove its many benefits.

Social Media Today reports that 90% of consumers say video will help them when deciding to convert. Additionally, when videos are placed on a website’s landing page, the conversion rate is up to 80%. Research shows that consumers are frequently attracted to video marketing over written content.

Videos can display and answer questions about a product or service in a more compelling way than writing, which increases the likelihood of a casual visitor becoming a customer. Some 94% of marketers say video helps customers understand what is being advertised. Visuals and audio are easy to understand, so, naturally, their combination makes for better marketing campaigns.

These statistics show that video marketing is here to stay and is extremely beneficial for marketing campaigns.

Using metrics for success

As a video marketing campaign is underway, it’s important to use its analytics to measure traction throughout the project. This will easily allow marketers to see how their campaign is performing. Different metrics will be valuable at different stages of the marketing venture.

The following list will provide examples of essential video engagement metrics when measuring achievements and which will be most helpful when.

1. View Count

The view count is, as it sounds, the number of people who have viewed a video. In the initial stages of video marketing, view count can help marketers determine how far their video is currently reaching. All platforms count different amounts of time as views. On social media apps, these numbers are:

• Facebook and Instagram: 3 seconds
• Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Reddit: 50% of the ad is in view for 2 seconds
• YouTube and Google: 30 seconds, or if an ad is less than 30 seconds
• Snapchat: 2 seconds

If businesses want to receive more views, they can try:

• Sending these ads through email or sharing on social platforms
• Paying to promote
• Sharing their clips with the right demographic of influencers

2. Interaction

Interaction concerns how long viewers watch a campaign video. At the beginning of a marketing project, this can be useful for determining how consumers behave when engaging with the video. If they are watching the entire clip, then the marketing team has done a good job of creating a compelling promotion. However, if viewers are leaving the video before it ends, consider:

• Reducing the length for conciseness
• Making sure the video is cohesive

3. Play rates and replays

The play rate counts how many people are visiting a company’s website and choosing to click on a video. Replays show the number of times viewers have rewatched the video or what part of it they are going back to repeatedly.

In both the initial and growth stages of a marketing campaign, this can provide useful information on the amount of intrigue and what parts of the video may be confusing. To increase play rate, try:

• Changing where an embedded video appears on the website
• Ensuring it’s in the right place with matching written copy

If there are plenty of replays on the entire video, then it most likely means the marketing team has successfully created a lot of interest in the business’s product or service. When people rewatch only a section of the video, it is possible this section is confusing. Think about:

• Providing more information elsewhere
• Creating more videos that explain this complex section

4. Unique views

Once the video marketing campaign is starting to grow, it’s useful to know how many unique views it is receiving. This means asking, “How many new people are watching this video?”

It’s nice to have a dedicated number of viewers who are showing repeat interest in the campaign, but for a company to grow, the video has to be viewed by more and more people. To increase unique views, consider:

• Encouraging viewers to share the video campaign
• Studying where an ideal consumer may be and promoting a campaign there (geographically or on social media)
• Creating videos that are easy to watch and share

5. Click-through rate

As many marketers know, CTR, or click-through rate, is the number of users who click on an ad compared to the number of times it is shown. Along with unique views, this will be important to look at in the growth stage.

Is the campaign generating a lot of new and repeat visitors to the business? With a high CTR, the video marketing campaign has most likely been strong. To encourage a higher CTR, try:

• Analyzing whether viewers are leaving before the video’s call to action (CTA)
• Changing the location of the CTA or editing the video length down
• Making sure the video is applicable and useful

6. Likes, dislikes, and comments

As a company is growing and looking to keep repeat customers, pay attention to the number of likes and dislikes new campaigns are receiving. A high number of negative reactions may mean the recent marketing efforts have alienated previous customers.

This can also be helpful in the growth stage to see if a business’s first marketing venture is performing well. To encourage positive reactions and comments, think about:

• Staying true to the original message and goal
• Creating relevant, non-spammy content
• Targeting the right audience

7. Cohort analysis

Cohort analysis groups people together by time metrics and allows marketers to follow their behavior when interacting with the company. This will be very helpful in the retention stage. When trying to maintain customers, segmenting them into cohorts allows easier targeting with different video campaigns. Consider these cohorts and video options:

• New purchaser: Send a thank-you video and showcase features of the product, service, or website.
• Repeat customer within six months: Send a thank-you video describing how much their support means.
• Customer with no repeat activity in six months: Send a video asking about how their purchase has suited them and advertise complementary products.

Take hold of video marketing success

Video marketing campaigns have proven over time just how effective they can be. Analyzing video metrics at the various stages of a business can help ensure gains. Companies can reliably see how effective their campaigns are and what may need to be improved. When marketers inspect each of these metrics, they can improve their video marketing and make more campaigns successful. With all of the new tools like video editors and youtube shorts makers it is easier than ever to build success through video marketing.