The dangers of YouTube vanity metrics

By Stuart Stubbs
Founder, Navigate Video

It is all too easy to be hoodwinked into believing YouTube metrics. Large view numbers can make you believe your video has succeeded in achieving your marketing goals.  

BUT…

Brands need to look behind these vanity metrics. Metrics, such as views from paid media, only provide surface-level insights into how a video is performing and do not reflect the true impact of that video on your brand's goals.

If a video has a high view count it doesn’t necessarily translate that this video has succeeded!  

If paid media is the reason for the large view numbers, 90% of the audience could have stopped watching after 3 seconds. That can’t be classed as a success and can’t be translated into tangible benefits for the brand.

On the other hand, a video with a lower view count but a high engagement rate and a strong call to action can lead to more conversions and ultimately greater ROI.

By looking beyond vanity metrics, brands can gain a deeper understanding of how their videos are resonating with their audience and how they can improve their video marketing strategy to achieve their goals. This can involve analysing metrics such as watch time, audience retention, demographics, and conversion rates to gain a more nuanced understanding of how a video is performing and how it can be optimised for greater success.

So, what are the best metrics to use when analysing the success of your video on YouTube?

When analysing the success of a video on YouTube, it's important to look at a variety of metrics to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the video is performing.
Here are some of the key metrics to consider:

➔       How they are finding you content / traffic sources:

Knowing how viewers are finding your video, such as through YouTube search, suggested videos or external social platforms, can help you optimise your video's metadata and distribution strategy.

➔        Who is finding it / demographics:

Understanding who your audience is, such as their age, gender, and location, can help you tailor your video content and marketing strategy.

➔        How long they are watching it for / watch time or percentage of film watched:

This measures how long viewers are watching your video. The longer the watch time, the more engaged your audience is.

➔        Areas within the film that entertain or kill audiences / audience retention:

This metric shows how much of your video viewers are watching before they drop off. A high retention rate indicates that your video is holding viewers' attention and providing value.

➔       Interactions with content / action rate: 

Metrics such as likes, comments, and shares can give insights into how your video is resonating with your audience and whether it's generating conversations and buzz.

➔       Onward journeys / conversions:

This metric measures whether your video is driving the desired actions, such as clicks to your website or purchases of your products or services.

By analysing these metrics, you can gain insights into how your video is performing and how you can optimise your video content and marketing strategy to achieve your business goals.

Why analysing video metrics on YouTube is important to the success of your channel

Analysing video metrics on YouTube is crucial to the success of your channel because it provides valuable insights into your audience's behaviour and preferences. This is essential to help you make informed decisions about your content strategy and optimise your videos for maximum engagement and reach.

By analysing video metrics, you can track key performance indicators such as views, watch time, audience retention, click-through rate, and engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares. These metrics can help you understand how your videos are performing, what type of content resonates with your audience, and what areas you need to improve on.

For example, by analysing your audience retention metrics, you can see at which points viewers tend to drop off in your videos and make adjustments to improve retention rates. You can also use engagement metrics to determine which types of videos generate the most comments, shares, and likes, which can help you create more engaging content in the future.

Overall, analysing video metrics can help you make data-driven decisions to optimise your content and grow your YouTube channel. Without tracking and analysing these metrics, it can be difficult to know what's working and what's not, which can result in stagnant growth and less engagement from your audience.

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Talk to us to know how effective your videos are performing and how we can help transform your YouTube channel: hello@navigatevideo.com