Facebook Is Adding Enhanced Video Metrics For Marketers

On May 5, Facebook announced its new metrics for videos that are uploaded to brand pages on the social media network.  Offering new metrics for both paid and organic videos, this move comes after the recent release of premium video advertising on Facebook, where 15-second spots both autoplay and run in the newsfeed.

The video metrics on Facebook have been quite limited in the past, with Page owners only able to see basic information such as the number of views that a video has received.  However, with the new metrics rolling out over the next few weeks, this information will be expanded greatly to include views, unique views, the average duration of videos viewed and audience retention.

Facebook explained the intention in its announcement, writing that, “These new metrics are designed to help you learn what’s resonating with people and determine how to more effectively create and promote your videos on Facebook.”

In the new metrics, video views are defined as views of three seconds or more, while unique views indicate the number of users who watched a video for three seconds or more.  Additionally, marketers will have the ability to see the portion of views that were derived from paid advertising.

Facebook explained the purpose of the audience retention graph in detail, stating that, “The audience retention graph in Page Insights shows the level of interest in different parts of your video.  Spikes in the percentage of views at a certain point may indicate that people are re-watching particular moments, whereas a dip could show the precise moment when most people lost interest and stopped watching.”

These new metrics will certainly help marketers to zone in on not only which videos are gaining the most traction, but also on which sections of a video are most interesting to their audience.  Furthermore, advertisers will be able to see the number of views that reached various points in the video: 25%, 50%, 75%, 95% and 100%.

The social network’s video metrics will also assist marketers with refining the groups that they are targeting in their advertisements.  In the Ads Reporting View, Facebook explains that, “Using the ‘data breakdowns’ feature, you can also learn how specific audiences responded to your video.  For example, if females between 18 and 34 are a demographic you target in your campaign, the data breakdown will show the number of views you received from that demographic.”

Another useful aspect of these new metrics is the ability for users to see how many people watched their ad until the final seconds, or up to 95% of the total video, providing them with another tool to learn more about what is working best in their advertising practices.