A lot has changed since the days when TV advertising was the primary way for businesses to reach their target audiences. In today’s digital age, video is one of the most powerful tools that businesses have at their disposal.
Video ads allow businesses to tell their story in a way that is both engaging and visually appealing. But with so many videos competing for viewers’ attention, how can you make sure that your video stands out from the rest?
One important metric to keep track of is your video completion rate (VCR). Your VCR is a measure of how well your video holds viewers’ attention from start to finish.
A high VCR is an indicator that your video ad is engaging and relevant to your audience.
Conversely, a low VCR can be an indication that your video ad is losing viewers’ interest.
There are a number of factors that can influence your VCR metric, but here are three of the most important.
*Vidyard 2022
1) The length of your video
The first factor that can influence your VCR is the length of your video. Videos that are too long or too short can lose viewers’ attention before they even have a chance to get started.
The sweet spot for most videos is between one and two minutes. This gives you enough time to tell your story without boring or overwhelming your audience.
Of course, there will always be exceptions to this rule, but in general, it’s a good rule of thumb to follow.
*Vidyard 2022
2) The quality of your content
The second factor that can influence your VCR metric is the quality of your content. If your content is engaging and relevant, viewers will be more likely to stick around until the end.
On the other hand, if your content is dull or irrelevant, viewers will tune out long before the end of your video. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that you’re creating quality content that will resonate with your target audience.
*Vidyard 2022
3) The production value of your video
The third factor that can influence your VCR is the production value of your video. A well-produced video with high-quality visuals and sound will keep viewers engaged from start to finish.
On the other hand, a poorly produced video with low-quality visuals and sound will turn viewers off quickly. That’s why it’s important to invest in quality production values if you want to produce videos that people will actually watch all the way through.
2022 VCR Benchmarks
Without much recent data to source here, Extreme Reach, a CTV platform, reported an average 84% VCR in Q2 of 2020.
However, Vidyard reported an average of 54% for 2021, forecasting 62% for 2022.
Other reports mention View Rate, CPV, and VCR for CTV and media vendors, specifically.
If you are using Youtube, through Google Ads, check out this guide.
Google (Youtube) seems to be moving away from VCR metrics in favor of interaction and engagement metrics.
More Video Metrics to Track
1) View Through Rate (VTR) (or View Rate)
2) Click Through Rate (CTR)
3) Cost per Thousand Views (CPM)
4) Cost per View (CPV)