Conventional wisdom might tell you that video views are a vanity metric, but I think they’re actually a good indicator of how well your video, especially its hook, performed.
I also think that view count, as a metric, has its drawbacks, like being unable to tell you who your audience is or whether your video resonates with them.
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That’s why I created this list of important video marketing metrics to track, according to data from the Video Marketing Survey I recently ran. Let’s dive in.
Which metrics are brands tracking?
According to video marketers, these are the most important video engagement metrics to track in order to measure the performance of video content:
- Engagement (43%)
- Watch time (39%)
- View count (32%)
- Audience retention (27%)
- Follower/subscriber growth (25%)
- Average view duration (22%)
1. Engagement
Engagement (likes, comments, etc.) is the most tracked video marketing metric and the most important video marketing metric to track.
This makes sense to me: it’s one of the most important factors in boosting your video’s organic reach. If a video resonates well with part of your audience, it’ll likely resonate with the rest.
Adriane Grunenberg, HubSpot Automation & Digital Analytics Expert, says that engagement rate is the most important metric because “A high one [engagement rate] indicates that your content is relevant and appealing, which can lead to increased organic reach as viewers are more likely to share and discuss the video.”
I’ve found that engagement also provides marketers with valuable quantitative data. Comments can show you the emotional effect your video has on your viewers. Do they seem inspired? Or are they angry you covered a controversial topic? This data can help you decide which video topics to focus on in the future.
Social shares can paint a clearer picture of your audience’s brand affinity and loyalty. This metric measures how much your audience values your content and brand. It also builds your brand’s credibility.
Since people share content that confirms their ideal self-persona, people who share your video are willing to show their community that they trust and support your brand.
Social sharing is also one of the best forms of word-of-mouth marketing.
2. Watch Time
Watch time is the second most important metric, and it clearly explains how much time people actually spend watching your videos.
For example, if the average watch time for your 3-minute video is 2 minutes, the average viewer is sitting through nearly all of it, likely because they’re interested in its content.
On the other hand, if the view time would average out at 30 seconds, your video doesn’t successfully draw people in or keep them interested. This is exactly what Michelle Tabor, Solutions Engineer at Lynton, told me: “View time is a top indicator of if my content is boring or not.”
3. View Count
It seems logical that your view counts would increase any single time your video is watched on any device, right?
That’s usually not the case, and different platforms also have different ways of measuring view counts.
For example, YouTube counts a view as a video being played by one person on one device. If that person refreshes the page, their watch time still counts under that one original view.
On TikTok, however, views go up every time a video starts to play.
So, what’s a good benchmark for the amount of views your marketing videos should get? Most marketers (45%) responding to the recent Video Marketing Survey I ran say their views average under 10,000 views, while 16% say their videos average under 1K views.
I also found that 82% average under 100,000 views per video.
5. Follower/Subscriber Growth
Follower/subscriber growth can be an excellent measure of a video’s performance because it shows that your video is reaching new audiences and attracting people to your brand.
You can also see what kind of audience your video attracts, which can help you create a buyer persona and create more quality content tailored to your audience.
6. Average View Duration
Average view duration is the total watch time of your video divided by the total number of video plays, including replays. It measures how long your viewers watch your video, on average.
Average view duration is a powerful metric that reveals your audience’s video length preference. For instance, if your 45-second videos keep getting a 30-second average view duration, you might want to cut those videos down by 15 seconds.
Benchmarks for Video Marketing
Different kinds of videos have different benchmarks. Here are a few video types and the benchmarks we found associated with them:
1. Short-form Videos
Short-form video is the most popular format among survey respondents — 83% use it. It has the highest ROI, generates the most engagement, and drives the most leads. This doesn’t surprise me, considering the rise of short-form video tools and platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok.
82% of marketers say the optimal length of a short-form marketing video is under 60 seconds. Most say the optimal length is between 21-30 seconds.
2. Long-form Videos
Long-form video is widely considered to be any video longer than three minutes. This format ranks second regarding usage, ROI, lead gen, and engagement. 
I found that the optimal length for a long-form marketing video is three to six minutes (36%). 31% of respondents say it should be longer than 10 minutes.
Pro tip: Regardless of the video format you use, HubSpot’s Clip Creator is an AI-powered video maker that will help streamline your process.
You simply answer a few basic questions about your video to give the tool a sense of what you want to create, choose a video template, and then sit back as it uses AI to generate the clip you’re looking for.
Over to You
As video-sharing platforms continue to grow, video marketing will only become more important to your brand’s success. Now that you know the metrics that most marketers — including your competitors — are measuring, you can make sound decisions for your next video marketing campaign.
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