Finding success for your business on YouTube does not happen overnight. It takes work, including a combination of posting videos regularly, responding to comments on your channel, and promoting your videos on other social media properties.
YouTube Analytics give you hard data that help you assess how your channel and videos are performing. These metrics will show everything from the total number of views to traffic sources and comments.
As you begin to find your YouTube footing, these analytics can serve as your measuring tape, helping you judge what’s working, identify what isn’t and see where you can improve.
Analytics to Watch
Views: You created a YouTube channel because you want people to watch your videos. If you find that your views are leveling off or declining over time, try promoting the video on your Facebook or Twitter page.
Traffic Sources: This metric will let you know how people are coming across your videos. Are they finding them organically by searching within Google or YouTube? Are the videos being suggested to them from the YouTube algorithm? Or are users clicking through links you post to your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts? Identifying what sources are providing the most referrals to your channel will help you better promote the videos.
Subscribers: On YouTube, a subscriber is akin to a “Like” on Facebook or a “Follower” on Twitter or LinkedIn, and can sometimes be even more powerful. Subscribers are notified via email and prompted to watch whenever your channel uploads a new video. This metric will not only tell you the total number of subscribers your channel has, but it will also indicate the total number of subscribers gained and lost.
Comments: This analytic gives you an idea of how engaged your network is. Receiving loads of comments is great, but the work doesn’t end there. Make sure that you don’t focus so much on the number of comments you’re getting and instead focus on trying to engage with as many commenters as possible.
What Is Success?
Similar to the LinkedIn metrics, you can only determine success once you’ve decided what you hope to gain from a YouTube presence. An increase in views leads to expanded reach of your business. An influx in subscribers could indicate lead generation or an increased customer base. And — the ever important but difficult to quantify metric — increased social engagement can be measured by comments and traffic sources.
Figure out what you want to gain from YouTube and set realistic, measurable goals. X number of channel views this month. X percent increase in subscribers, etc. When it comes to assessing these goals and measuring your success, YouTube Analytics will serve as an invaluable tool.
Interested in learning more about the role social media could play in your business? Give Matt Ferraguto, our Digital Division Director, a call at 919-858-6914 or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.
