Applying analytics to marketing strategy will look different for everyone. The results and how you respond to them will have a lot to do with which platforms on which you host and promote your videos as well as the goals for your campaign. Keep your unique situation in mind as you read your analytics report.
In part one of this video marketing analytics series, we defined the common analytics vocabulary so that you can easily read your video reports. In this next part, we will dive deeper into what those results mean for your marketing strategy.
High Impressions With Low Views
As an example, you might have a branding video on the homepage of your website. You’re noticing in your analytics report that you have ten thousand impressions but only two views.
If you are seeing a high number of impressions paired with a meager number of views, there are a few ways to interpret the results. On the one hand, it is common for views to be lower than impressions because of the nature of how platforms count impressions and views. There is also no real standard to the threshold that a view rate must reach to be considered satisfactory. On the other hand, if the number of views is much lower than you feel it should be, there are a few issues to consider.
Your Video Is Easy to Miss
One issue that could cause a low view rate is that people are not actually seeing the video on the page. Assess where you’ve located the video, such as if it’s on the bottom or easy to miss. Remember that many platforms count the loading of a video as an impression without considering whether the person actually scrolls to see it. To rectify this, you should put your video as close to the top of the page as possible.
Your Site Host Is Blocking the Data
If visibility is not the issue, another thing to consider is that the website might be blocking data from the video hosting site. In this case, there’s not much you can do without changing the code. Embedded code is typically better than embedded URL links for this reason, but understanding that data is not fully reported would at least solve the discrepancy.
Unappealing or Nonfunctioning Video Player
One of the most common mistakes in video marketing is a nonexistent or unappealing thumbnail. Without a thumbnail, visitors have a difficult time understanding what the video is about and why they should watch it. Appealing thumbnails catch attention and persuade visitors to at least give the video a chance. Consider adding or changing your video thumbnail to improve the view rate of your video.
In addition, video players sometimes don’t work properly depending on how you’ve added them to your website. The visitor might be clicking play, but the video doesn’t work or takes too long to load, both of which will seriously impact your view rate. Ensure your video player is working properly by testing your site’s functionality and speed.
Low Average Watch Percentage
The average watch percentage is really important because this result determines whether people are engaged in the entire video and reach the end. Most of the time, it is critical that the viewer reaches the end of the video so that they are exposed to your chosen call-to-action (CTA).
If the average watch percentage is only 5%, that means you’ve already lost your audience’s interest in the first few seconds of the video. If this is the case, review your video and ask yourself why the audience might be losing interest at the beginning of your video.
Unengaging or Highly Persuasive?
Commonly, the average watch percentage is about 30-50%. One way to interpret this rate is to understand that your story might be too slow or that it might hit a lull in the middle. Maybe your video makes big promises and catches attention at the beginning, but takes too long to get to the punch line.
Alternatively, this percentage range isn’t always a bad thing. It might also mean that your audience is converted before they reach the end of the video. For this reason, lower average watch percentages are not a perfect indicator of effectiveness – they should be taken in stride and combined with other analytics results, such as CTA clicks and submissions.
Interpreting the Number of Clicks and Submissions
When it comes to comparing your social media and website results, it is normal for the views on your social media to be lower than the views on your website. If you’re running targeted paid ads, make sure you’re paying attention to the clicks and submissions analytics related to those ads to make sure you have a significant ROI. You can retarget your ads to invest in a target audience that is working for you based on your analytics to improve your ROI.
Spend time reviewing your analytics to understand what they mean for your campaigns. If no one can find the video, or the video loses the audience’s attention, then you’ll likely have lower clicks and submissions regardless of where it is posted. Ultimately, clicks and submissions are the most important part of your analytics because this is where the buyer journey accelerates.
If you need more help understanding your analytics reports, contact Monzo Media Productions.
