How do you know when your digital production project is a success? Figuring out how to assess your video content can be challenging, mainly because there’s not just one “right” way. But with a few key indicators, you can determine if you’ve achieved video success.

So, why does this matter? By the time you’ve completed a new video project, you’ve probably put in an incredible amount of time and energy (and maybe even money). It’s an exciting accomplishment and an achievement that should be celebrated – but in reality, your work has just begun.

After you publish, post, and share your video, it’s time to dig in and start analyzing how well it is (or isn’t) performing. When you understand which videos are meeting and exceeding your expectations, you can learn more about your success formula. The result is a clear route to ongoing improvement, one of the best ways to achieve your long-term goals truly.

How to Know if Your Video Is a Success

“Key performance indicators,” or KPIs, are an excellent method for measuring your video content performance. 

The key to video KPIs is that they are measurable, meaning that they clearly outline what “success” looks like. An example of a solid KPI is view count, whereas “people that thought it was a good video” isn’t exactly an objective or measurable standard. 

Here are some of the best KPIs for evaluating your newest video after being published. 

1. View count
2. Engagement percentage
3. Play rate
4. Feedback and shares

View count

The number of views is probably the simplest and most obvious metric for measuring a video’s success. As you probably know, the view count is the number of people that have watched a video.

However, it gets somewhat complicated depending on which video-sharing platform you’re using. How view count is measured depends on the site. For example, Facebook videos don’t earn a “view” until the viewer passes the three-second mark, whereas others require more than 30 seconds of video playtime.

That being said, figuring out how many people viewed a video is still handy.

Engagement percentage

Engagement percentage is the average length of time the audience is watching your video, presented as a percentage. So, if your audience watches 5 minutes of a 10-minute video, your engagement percentage is 50%.

Engagement percentage is one of the most meaningful metrics for video performance as it tells you if your content is consistently engaging your audience. You’ll be able to pinpoint if and when you’re losing the viewer’s interest, which lets you dig deeper into why – and how you can change it. 

Play rate

Play rate is the number of viewers that click on the video to begin watching, telling you more about how successful you are in catching a viewer’s eye. Once their attention is on your video, you motivate them to click “play.” Play rate can help you learn how to improve video titles, captions, formatting, placement, and more.

Feedback and shares

Even though it’s difficult to quantify how “much” viewers like your video content, you can get an idea based on feedback data, likes, dislikes, comments, and shares all tell you which videos satisfy audience expectations. Additionally, those satisfying videos earn the ever-desirable “share.”

When you have videos that get better feedback and more shares than others, you can understand how to craft more relevant and gripping content for your viewers.

Learn How to Make Successful Videos and Reach Your Career Goals

Do you dream of using your passion for digital production to advance your career? It’s possible that with the right experience and training – and you can get both at the BeOnAir Network of Media Schools.

With campuses in Chicago, Miami, Colorado, and Ohio, the BeOnAir Network of Media Schools welcomes students from all over the U.S. to build and refine their digital production skills. You can learn Video Production, Audio Production, and more, choosing the program that best aligns with your interests. Here, you can look forward to hands-on learning experiences that equip you with the real-world skillset you’ll need to break into the media industry.

Whether you’re already making videos or are just discovering a new passion, our media schools can be the perfect place for you. Connect with our team for more information today!

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