How To Measure ROI For Video Marketing
Marketing videos have taken over the Internet.
And, demand just keeps growing.
According to HubSpot, 53% of people want to see more video content from marketers.
Despite requiring more resources and creativity, video has become the go-to medium for companies wishing to promote their products and services online.
Why is this?
The reason is that video consistently yields a high return on investment (ROI) for businesses.
In fact, according to HubSpot, 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI.
So, the question now becomes… when marketers say that their video marketing campaigns yield a high return on investment, what exactly do they mean?
What factors are they looking at?
You, of course, have to set your own parameters to define what a “return” means to you as a business owner.
A “return” for one company is going to be different from that of another.
Here are a few questions you can answer for yourself when deciding what kind of return on your investment you are looking for from your online video marketing campaign…
1. How many views is your video getting?
Counting the number of views (or the number of clicks) your business video gets is the simplest, most obvious way you can measure the success of your business video.
You will discover – in all likelihood – that your videos will get more clicks than any other kind of content you publish online.
People tend to like watching videos more than reading written content.
As a result of all this growing interest, it is predicted that by the year 2020, online videos will account for more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic (CISCO, 2016).
So, if you decide to create video content, get ready for an increase in clack-action!
However – be warned – counting clicks might be easy and obvious, and it is a great way to quickly gauge the success of your video, but it is not the most accurate way to measure your ROI.
2. How much of your video does your audience watch?
If you get 10,000 clicks to view your video, you might be tempted to get excited.
After all, 10,000 clicks is a lot of views.
However, not all views are created equally.
If you dig deeper only to discover that most of your viewers only stick around for 3 seconds or less, your video can’t be deemed a success.
It means that while your video was successful at sparking an initial reaction, it failed to hold your audience’s attention.
It means your message didn’t stick and your video didn’t do its intended job.
Furthermore, your uninteresting video won’t help your social media ranking or website SEO (search engine optimization), either.
Unless your video holds your audience’s attention, social media algorithms and search engines are not going to acknowledge your video as worthy content, and your rankings and visibility will slip.
The longer you can hold someone’s attention, the better your ranking.
People will decide very quickly – usually within 3 seconds – if they are interested enough to continue watching.
And, most people tend to get tired of watching after around 90-seconds.
But, don’t think you can tease people with what looks like an alluring video and then “trick” them into watching a super-short video that’s easy to complete, either.
According to Buffer Social, if people are “watching 50% of a 30-second video and 50% of a 10-minute video, the 10-minute video will rank better in the News Feed than the 30-second video. That’s because the 10-minute video has to be more engaging than the 30-second video to keep people watching for five minutes (vs 15 seconds).”
The only way to hold people’s attention is to create quality video content that is properly targeted at the right audience.
No tricks.
No gimmicks.
Just create great videos.
3. Is your video engaging?
Another way to measure the success, or ROI, of your video marketing campaign is to measure how much engagement your online video receives.
Engagement includes likes, shares, and comments on social media.
Video content is a power player when it comes to engagement.
According to Responsive Inbound Marketing, social video generates 1,200% more shares than text and images combined.
The more engagement, the more visibility your video gets.
And, the more people see it.
This is how videos go viral.
4. Are the right people watching your video?
Don’t worry too much about going viral, in the way that celebrities talk about going viral.
While it’s one thing to be “Internet famous”, it’s another thing to leverage online video to grow your business.
Don’t get me wrong – going viral is great, but being obsessed with the number of views you get is a surefire way to lose sight of why you’re making the video in the first place.
Remember – the number of views isn't an accurate measure of a marketing video’s success.
Furthermore, whether or not a video goes viral is a difficult thing to predict and control.
Sometimes, videos will sit on a website, or YouTube, or a similar platform for YEARS, and then suddenly one day… they go viral.
What’s more important is getting the right people watching your video.
In other words, does your video resonate with your target market?
Video is an emotional medium, and when executed correctly, it stands a chance of truly influencing its audience.
So, make sure you put a lot of thought into the script and story you want to tell with your marketing video.
It has to hold special meaning to the people you want in your audience, not just win a lot of clicks.
5. Does your audience follow a call-to-action?
Probably the most relevant measurement of your video’s success is how often it can get your audience to follow a call-to-action (or CTA).
Does your video make your audience do what you want them to do?
Your CTA could be anything from subscribing to an e-blast, following on social media, liking, leaving a comment, sharing, or – probably best of all – buying something.
Some companies make their CTA early on in the video, likely because they know that most viewers will tune out after a few seconds.
This is rarely a good move.
Unless you already have a strong relationship with your audience, and they tend to watch your videos until the end regardless, you don’t want to risk losing them by putting your CTA up front.
Always be the first one to offer value – that is, great video content that inspires, teaches, or entertains – before asking your audience to do anything, such as follow a CTA.
Furthermore, always makes sure your CTA is clear and to-the-point, as well as easy to follow, so that you get better results.
And finally, only include one CTA with your business video. Asking your audience to do too many things or follow too many steps will quickly lose them.
Just the Facts
Marketing videos yield high return on investment (ROI), which is why businesses and marketers continue to invest in them more and more.
But, how do you measure a video’s ROI?
The number of views or clicks is a quick measurement you can use to assess the success of a business video, but it is not a terribly accurate indicator.
How much time your audience dwells on the video is a far more important measurement and indicator of success.
Also, if shared on social media, it's important to know if your video is getting engagement.
You also want to make sure that your video is reaching the right audience.
And, most importantly, you want to know if your audience is successfully following a clear call-to-action.