Video Marketing Analytics: how to get the most out of your videos

Video marketing analytics refers to all the processes of collecting, organizing, and interpreting data that is used both to measure and evaluate the results of different marketing activities and to provide companies with the insights needed to design the most effective communication and sales actions.

Videos are now distributed across all platforms and channels and have become so relevant that they are increasingly included within the marketing plans of companies of all industries and sizes. Their increasing use produces a massive flow of information that cannot remain inert. To put this capital to good use, more than ever, organizations now need to integrate the power and accuracy of data analysis into their video marketing strategy. 

In addition, video marketing analytics enables a general trend toward personalization that in recent years is bringing the consumer back to the center of the relationship with the company. 

Video marketing analytics can be obtained in different ways depending on the different media environments we intend to monitor. Among the most widely used are:

• video sharing channels such as YouTube, which offer specific features to analyze different aspects of videos; 
• Google Analytics, which makes it possible to track how much traffic a video generates ;
• automated interactive video creation platforms, which make it possible to measure the effectiveness of the performance of the videos produced. 

In the latter case, the technology developed by Babelee is a particularly interesting solution because allows you to track all the metrics that really matter—from the click-through rate (CTR) to the CTA, from unique and repeat plays to total and returning users—and to have a view that is both global and timely, because it can be filtered by country, browser, and even by the device used. 

Video marketing analytics are proving essential for optimizing video content and, as a result, for achieving a number of strategic goals, including, for example:

• understanding the type of video content that is most popular;
• knowing who is viewing the videos;
• determining the degree of video engagement for the target audience;
• monitoring results and improving data utilization in a timely manner;
• more efficiently making use of your budget; 
• dynamically refining the message;
• recalibrating distribution to reach the right target audience at the right time.

One of the enormous advantages that digital marketing offers over other traditional forms is the ability to track an exorbitant amount of data that, once cleaned and categorized, can be analyzed with a degree of granularity and depth that was previously unthinkable. Faced with this mass of often chaotic information from a variety of sources, a marketer can feel overwhelmed, and with good reason. A data platform with advanced capabilities can be an invaluable support in being able to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the data at hand, eliminating the feeling of being lost in a world without reference points.

Beyond using the appropriate technology, to fully use video marketing analytics, a marketing strategy must first define the data sets that need to be focused on to achieve specific goals. Which metrics actually matter, that is, do they even have operational meaning? And which types of video are most appropriate? When designing an online video strategy, marketers must identify the metrics that matter most to them: reach, demographics, engagement, conversion, and retention.

While it is true that not everything that can be measured is meaningful, to simplify things let’s divide the most widely used video metrics into 5 main types and see how you can use each of these types to design timely and effective marketing actions.

Video marketing analytics that fall under reach metrics not only report how many people have been potentially exposed to a brand’s video content but are also able to clarify whether a video has been viewed but not played, or if it is automatically played but not actually watched.  In general, carefully avoiding evoking the spell of virality, we can say that higher numbers correspond to a larger audience of viewers (and potential customers). However, we must also recognize that reach metrics often tend to turn out to be vanity metrics, great for appearances but of little substance because they are incapable of accounting for the level of engagement produced by the video.

The two main metrics in this category are the number of views and the number of viewers. 

Platforms have different ways of determining what constitutes a “view.” From the continuous two seconds on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, to the algorithm used by YouTube, which recognizes a view when the viewer has watched the video for at least 30 seconds. Other reach metrics to watch are impressions, page traffic, or email open rates. Return on investment is generally measured in CPM, cost per 1,000 impressions or cost per view (CPV). 

In any case, it is undeniable that, once you know the number of views, with this knowledge a marketer can take action to modify the content of the video (perhaps by approaching the topic from a different angle or changing the title, tags, and keywords) and use a highly viewed video as a model for other videos. 

Demographic metrics expressed through video marketing analytics provide all the information a brand needs to really know its audience, to confirm or reject assumptions about its demographic composition, and to identify the segments that are most interested by describing them based on a number of characteristics such as number, age groups, gender, geographic location, channel used, and viewing device. 

Demographics can indicate the right direction to move toward and they play a crucial role for this in at least two critical situations: if there are strong uncertainties about how to define the target audience and in case the “ideal” viewers fail to relate to the topics covered in the video, perhaps because they negatively perceive the tone of voice chosen to convey the content.

Demographics are also important for lead generation and lead qualification and to get more conversions and increase sales: once you find out what content is considered interesting and who enjoys it most, you can produce similar videos by distributing them in virtual venues and thus connect with a demographic group that has been, until now, neglected. 

The data here is not directly related to the action a user is invited to perform. Rather, it serves to uncover the identity—first digital identity—of the viewer. Video marketing analytics in this category represents a moment in a personalization process that is inevitably based in the effort to recognize who is actually interacting with the video. 

The video marketing analytics that engagement metrics incorporate express the audience’s participatory interest in a video, and in this sense, they indicate the perceived level of quality of the content. This is an extremely valuable metric: in fact, greater engagement usually leads to greater awareness and a higher likelihood of taking an action. Put another way: an engaged viewer is much more likely to decide to follow up on the call to action contained in the video. 

Viewing duration—how long someone actually watched a video (often considered relative to the total length of the video)—is part of engagement metrics and indicates how loyal a segment of viewers is. Other engagement metrics to track are likes, shares, comments, session time, or time spent on the page. Determining the return on investment tends to be measured through cost per engagement or cost per click CPC.

Unlike vanity metrics, which can report an impressive number of views in the face of little interactivity, engagement metrics not only measure the user’s intent and participation with relative accuracy, they also  describe the entire viewing experience in a timely manner. They can indicate the exact point in the video sequence where the user paused, show how long that pause lasted, whether the viewing was completed, and the point at which the viewer followed up on the call to action. Thanks to these video marketing analytics, video is no longer a mystery object. 

Do viewers only watch the first few seconds? Maybe the introduction is weak and boring. Is there a section they keep replaying? Insert the call to action there (without weighing down the pace of the narrative) because that is where the really useful and relevant information is likely to be found. Do they jump straight to the final scene? Try shortening the video or making it more exciting or entertaining. Using video marketing analytics that measure engagement, you can get to the point where you can understand which video sequences are less effective and correct them, whether it’s about content, length, or quality. 

Conversion metrics record every interaction through which a user actually performs the action suggested in the video. These are numbers that incorporate a precise business meaning, which in turn encapsulates the impact produced in terms of return on investment (usually determined through CPA or cost per acquisition or cost per lead CPL). 

Completed transactions, new leads, click throughs: Videos must convince viewers to do something, to buy a product, sign up for a newsletter, download an app, or attend a free webinar. With conversion metrics, video marketing analytics captures solid conversion data. Having a simple CTA is not enough to encourage the audience to take the desired action. To increase conversions, you must first improve the calls to action, place them as close to the beginning of the video as possible (mid-roll or post-roll CTAs tend not to be effective, especially for long videos), and make them compelling and perfectly consistent with the content of the video.

In the case of interactive videos, CTAs are personalized and clickable directly within the video. They encourage interaction with content, increase conversion along the funnel, boost editorial content creation, and enhance overall business strategy. It is a powerful and distinctive tool that you can use to build stronger relationships and increase performance. 

Retention metrics account for what happens after the sale has been made. They are the video marketing analytics that are most related to retention: how long a customer remains a customer, how often they buy from the brand, how they rate the quality of service, and so on. The key metric here is lifetime value or LTV, a measure of the total revenue that can be generated on average by each customer. When measured correctly, LTV is a fairly accurate indicator of customer loyalty. Other loyalty metrics that can be monitored are: referrals, repeat purchase rate, churn, customer complaints, or the net promoter score. 

The big question that must precede any other consideration, from which the various actions of a marketing strategy flow, concerns which metrics to choose to monitor for each video. The answer to this question depends on the objective of the videos. For example, if the video aims to increase awareness of the brand, product, or service, it will make sense to focus on reach metrics and engagement metrics. On the other hand, if the goal is to directly motivate a purchase, it will be better to watch conversion metrics and, perhaps, retention metrics as well. Ultimately, to hit your established targets and fully exploit a video, the best way is to carefully choose which video marketing analytics to invest in, to enhance the data that can be most effectively used to drive a specific action.