VideoHerd
Mastering Metrics for your B2B Channel
Category: YouTube Lead Generation
Video views have long been considered one of the top indicators of success on YouTube. However, as attention spans decrease and product information becomes easily accessible, filtering out the wheat from the chaff is essential. Or, in marketing terms: the engaged viewers from the passive watchers to position your YouTube channel as a lead magnet and marketing tool.
This article will explore the best YouTube metrics you should focus on to help build up to that point and explain the rationale behind monitoring said metrics.
Impressions Click-Through Rate
The first metric you must be tracking is your Impressions Click-Through Rate (ICTR or CTR). While it sounds fancy, this metric is quite simple. Impressions Click-Through Rate measures how often people click to watch your video after seeing its thumbnail grace their YouTube feed or screen. You can use this metric as a reliable measure of how well you attract new and regular viewers with your thumbnail and headline mixture.
You can also use it to determine which thumbnail designs are working best and what messaging, design, or emotions you should portray to prompt your viewers to click on your videos. When creating content in the B2B space, you want the highest ICTR possible. This means that those who see your video, are taking action and clicking to see more. Signalling an effective message to your audience.
A great way to increase your click through rate is to hyper-target your content to your preferred customer. Doing so, will probaly net you fewer views, but will attract the right eyes to your services.
Important Considerations:
Please note that an impression on YouTube only counts if the thumbnail is shown for more than 1 second and at least 50% of the thumbnail is visible on the screen.
YouTube also doesn't count impressions that come from the YouTube platform. If your video is embedded on a website or someone's blog, and people scroll by and click it, those stats won't be added to the ICTR calculation.
The impression click-through rate is calculated by dividing the number of people who saw your video thumbnail by the number who clicked.
If you have 1000 video impressions and 50 people decided your thumbnail, title, and content were compelling enough to click, you'd have a 5% CTR.
Key Takeaway:
Successful thumbnail creators on YouTube use the 'Thumbnail Gap' technique. This is where they intentionally write an ambiguous title and use the visual on the thumbnail to add even more curiosty to what will happen in the viewers mind.
When the gap in information from what the viewer knows to what they could find out is great enough, they will click.
Average View Duration & Average Percentage Viewed
Okay, these are technically two different metrics here; however, they are equally important. Average view duration is the estimated amount of time in minutes the average viewer watches your videos before clicking away. View duration is vital to helping you understand if viewers are getting value out of the content you're creating and if it aligns with what you alluded to in your thumbnail, title, and description.
A low average view duration symbolizes a disconnect between what you promised in your title and thumbnail and what you deliver in the actual content. While a high average view duration indicates your content is fulfilling a need your viewers have and that it's retaining their attention.
Inside your YouTube analytics, there's a handy chart that visualizes where and when viewers drop off over the course of the video. It would be best if you were aiming for a steady decline in viewership over anything jagged. Also, you want to avoid the hockey stick drop off like this:
You can use this chart to take notice of any big dips and compare it to what's in the video to see what might be driving people away. Studies show a good average view duration for any YouTube video should be 50% to 60%. The higher your average watch time, the more likely YouTube will push your video out to people. However, in the context of B2B YouTube marketing, anything higher than 50% should indicate a key sales topic plus show that you've struck a key pain point with your audience.
We hear people talk about different techniques for getting into the YouTube algorithm all the time. That may be critical for channels relying on ad monetization, but the fact is, your brand wants to avoid getting into the algorithm due to virality; it wants to get in there due to viewer retention. At the end of the day, a higher average watch time means you're creating valuable content and growing your organization's authority.
Average Percentage Viewed
Not to be confused with average view duration, the average percentage viewed metric tells us the percentage of completion the average viewer gets to when watching your video.
The average percentage viewed is calculated by taking the average view duration and dividing it by your video's length. If you had a 10-minute video and your average view duration was 2 minutes, your average percentage viewed would be 20%.
You can also see your APV across your whole channel for a glance at how your channel as a whole is holding your viewer's attention.
Key Takeaways:
Average view duration and average view percentage are essential to determining which content resonates with your viewers. It will also open up market insights into potential problems your audience may have when you see video titles that have proportionatley high average view durations compared to others.
Watch time (hours)
Second last but not second least, we have Watch Time. Arguably the Holy Grail of YouTube metrics that you need to measure. Watch time is the cumulative amount of time people have spent watching a specific video of yours. Watch time is calculated by adding up the time each viewer has spent watching a specific video in a certain time period.
Everyone loves the watch time metrics because it's beneficial to both YouTube and the creator. The reason why YouTube values it highly is that the higher the watch time your videos have or accumulate, the more ads they can serve to your audience and the higher price they can charge for advertisers to show them on your content. Having videos that consistently have higher watch times then helps the creator generate more ad revenue while increasing their reach on the platform.
However, if you're reading this page, you may not be partnered with YouTube. Fear not, as you don't need partner status or YouTube ads to make money, especially in the B2B space. Seeing which videos have the highest watched time gives you unique opportunities to plug offers to your products or services. It also gives you a deeper metric than views to identify content that is attracting your audience. With your videos optimized for watch time, they will be put in the search and discovery algorithm at a higher rate, further increasing your chances of finding prospects through YouTube.
Watch time is important to track because it's a key ranking factor in the YouTube algorithm. Videos with higher watch time are more likely to appear in search results and recommendations, bringing new eyeballs to your channel.
Engagement Metrics: Likes, Comments, and Shares
In addition to the metrics discussed above, it's essential to pay attention to engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares. These metrics provide insight into how your audience is interacting with your content and can offer valuable feedback on what resonates with them.
Likes and dislikes give you a quick gauge of how well your content is being received. A high number of likes indicates that your viewers appreciate your content, while a high number of dislikes may signal that something needs to be improved. Comments provide an opportunity for viewers to ask questions, give feedback, and share their thoughts on your content. Engaging with your audience through comments not only fosters a sense of community but also offers insights into their needs and interests.
Shares are a clear indicator that your content is valuable enough for viewers to share it with their network. This can increase your reach and bring new viewers to your channel.
Key Takeaways:
Monitor engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares to understand how your audience is interacting with your content and which content types perform the best.
Use these metrics to identify trends and patterns which can inform your content strategy.
Engage with your audience in the comments section to build your community and gather insights.
B2B YouTube Channel Support
By focusing on these essential YouTube metrics for your B2B channel, you can create content that resonates with your target audience, improve your channel's performance, and turn it into a powerful marketing tool.
However, in reality, businesses have a myriad of responsibilities they must attend to before they can even consider optimizing their B2B channel. Fortunatley we can take those tasks off your shoulders.
At VideoHerd we regularly monitor and analyze our clients metrics (many which were mentioned in this article) and come back with a detailed report & plan to help you refine your strategy, increase your reach, and ultimately drive more leads and sales for your business via YouTube.
We call it: Creative YouTube Consulting but we have many other YouTube Marketing services which you can check out to see which best suits your needs.
