Measure Plays, Not Page Views - 7 Ways Video Engagements Are Better Metrics

Video analytics are metrics to measure in a modern digital marketing strategy. Why?

For one, video analytics give marketers a much more accurate measure of how viewers engage with content. On-page metrics like page views and sessions can be easily skewed by bots or other factors outside of our control.

But video analytics track things like views, minutes viewed, and engagement rates, giving you a better idea of how well your content is performing.

And video analytics are actionable metrics that help you drive revenue and prove the success of your programs. So, if you're looking for better ways to measure and report on your content's success, you need to analyze your video metrics.

Here are seven reasons why video analytics are more valuable than page-based metrics.

1. Video analytics are a more accurate engagement metric than page views.

Most marketers track page views and visitor sessions, but what does that number tell us, really? According to Google Analytics:

“A pageview is defined as a view of a page on your site that is being tracked by the Analytics tracking code. If a user clicks reload after reaching the page, this is counted as an added pageview. If a user navigates to a different page and then returns to the original page, a second pageview is recorded as well.”

If a page view is counted every time the browser is loaded, it’s tracking how the browser connected with the website, not how a person connected with your content.

But a click on the play button is a strong indicator that you have your viewer’s attention, and they are ready to learn more.

2. Video engagement is more straightforward to measure than page views.

Any calculation of time spent on your website page will be an assumption or depend on complex reports and advanced tracking tools. Even consumer video hosting platforms like YouTube can track video data without much fancy setup.

And since website tracking tools rely on third-party cookies, marketers must consider how global privacy changes affect page visitor data. If site visitors are declining tracking cookies or blocking them, you don't get visibility on their on-page behavior.

Video analytics don’t rely on tracking cookies. While no metric will ever be perfect, you can trust that information like the number of plays and consumption time are more exact since the video player can record that functional information.

3. Video analytics can tell you how long someone watched your video, how many times they watched it, and where they stopped.

But what about site visitors that do accept tracking cookies? Combined with your marketing automation or CRM, video hosts like Parmonic are built for marketing and sales teams to go deeper into driving results from video.

Integrating with platforms like Marketo or HubSpot allows you to see who interacted with your video and act. Whether it’s alerting a sales rep or sending more related content by email, you can act on binge watchers and keep the momentum going with personalized follow-up.

4. Video analytics help you determine whether people are watching your videos or just pressing play.

If you see video views tend to drop off after a certain point, you can zoom in on what’s happening in that video. (No “Zoom” pun intended.)

Your goal isn’t to get every viewer to watch every second of every video but consider the next step you want your watcher to take – and ask them to take it!

Hopefully, your viewer gets a question answered or follows your call-to-action when you see the average view duration drop off. If not, what else might be causing the viewer to lose attention?

With text-CTAs on your website, it’s harder to pinpoint what prompted the visitor to answer the call and track that influence on your buyers.

5. Video analytics help you prove the effectiveness of your video marketing campaigns.

You can see how your video influences revenue by tracking video engagements in your marketing automation platform and CRM. Proving the value of your campaigns means more investment in your program and happier executives.

While you can track how many people submitted a form to download an ebook, that number is just that – how many times the form submit button was pushed. It’s not possible to see how much of a .pdf was read by the person after they’ve opened or downloaded it to their computer.

When you’re using an integrated video host like Parmonic, engagement data is sent to your database so you can run reports in your MAP or CRM. See how much of your video content is being watched, shared, and rewatched by qualified accounts and if there are any patterns.

Spot a video that’s influenced all your best customers? Try to replicate that success!

6. Video analytics help you optimize your video content for better results.

Many marketers have resource libraries filled with recordings of hour-long webinars. If your experts answered a common question 40 minutes into their talk, how many viewers see that great insight?

Analyze the number of plays and the average view duration. Is there a drop-off point? Are your viewers getting to the most crucial part of your video – your CTA?  

You may want to edit your videos into “munchable content” - shorter bits of video that are easier for busy audiences to consume. If you already have an extensive video library, repurposing that content based on your video trends will be quicker and easier than analyzing and editing web pages and text.

7. Video analytics are essential for driving ROI in your digital marketing.

While not every video will ask for a sale, every video should have a goal. Whether it’s to like and subscribe, click through to a special offer, or to just watch another video, these conversions help build a genuine relationship with your viewer.

If your view counts are high but conversions are low, is your video really driving business success?

We’re not saying that marketers never measure page views again, but the savvy modern marketer should be measuring and setting goals around video metrics.

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When it comes to digital marketing, video analytics are essential metrics to measure. With a more accurate measure of engagement and the ability to deeply analyze how viewers respond, video engagement data offer vital insights for teams digitally connecting with prospects and customers.

See how Parmonic makes it easy to tie your video engagements to your revenue goals and book a demo today.

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