Every Video Marketing Metric That Matters in 2026 and How to Report It

Views aren’t the only thing that matters for video marketing. To know if your content’s making a difference, you need the whole story. This involves tracking not just how many people watched, but how they watched, what actions they took afterward, and whether that activity moved the needle for your client’s business objectives.

This guide breaks down every video metric that matters in 2026, organized by what each one actually tells you. If you’re reporting on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or TV ads, you’ll find the metrics and info you need to give your clients reports they’ll actually understand and think are valuable.

What Video Marketing Metrics Actually Measure

Before you get into specific numbers, it helps to understand what you actually measure when you track video performance. Every metric falls into one of four categories, and each category answers a different question about your content’s effectiveness.

1. Awareness metrics tell you how many eyeballs your video reached. 
2. Engagement metrics reveal whether those viewers actually cared about what they saw. 
3. Retention metrics show you how well your content held attention over time. 
4. Conversion metrics connect everything back to business outcomes, which is the part your clients care about most.

A video can perform brilliantly in one category while completely failing in another. A viral clip might rack up millions of views but generate zero leads. A product demo with modest reach might convert viewers into customers at an exceptional rate. The ability to understand which metrics matter for each campaign objective separates strategic reporting from data dumping.

Awareness Metrics and How They Measure Your Video’s Reach

Awareness metrics answer the most basic question about your video: did people see it? These numbers establish your content’s visibility and form the foundation for everything else you’ll measure. Agencies often stumble here because awareness metrics are easy to inflate and even easier to misinterpret.

View Count

View count seems straightforward until you realize every platform defines a “view” differently. On YouTube, someone needs to watch for about 30 seconds before it counts. Facebook registers a view after just 3 seconds. TikTok counts a view the moment your video starts to play. Instagram now counts every time the video appears on screen, even without playback, and this followed their April 2025 update that unified “Views” as the primary metric.

This inconsistency creates a real reporting challenge. A Facebook video with 88,000 views might represent the same actual viewership as a YouTube video with 13,500 views. When clients ask you to compare performance across platforms, you need to normalize these numbers or you risk telling a completely misleading story.

Pro tip: When you present cross-platform data, use 30-second views as your standardized comparison point. This threshold is the most meaningful and prevents apples-to-oranges comparisons that confuse clients.

Impressions vs. Reach

Impressions count how many times your video appeared on screens. Reach counts how many unique people saw it. The difference matters more than most agencies realize.

High impressions with low reach means the same people see your content repeatedly. That works great for brand recall campaigns but wastes budget for awareness goals. High reach with low impressions suggests broad distribution but minimal frequency, which might not create lasting memory.

According to Wistia’s 2025 State of Video Report, the average video reaches about 33.8% of a brand’s following on Instagram, though this varies dramatically by industry and content type.

Unique Viewers

Unique viewers tells you how many distinct individuals watched your video, and it strips out repeat views to give you a cleaner picture of actual audience size. This metric becomes especially important for brand awareness campaigns where you want to expose as many new people as possible to your client’s message.

Most platforms provide this data natively, though cross-device tracking remains imperfect. A single person who watches on their phone and later on their laptop might count as two unique viewers, and this depends on whether they log into the same account.

Engagement Metrics and How Viewers Interact with Your Content

Awareness metrics tell you how many people showed up. Engagement metrics tell you whether they actually cared. These numbers reveal the quality of attention your video commanded and how strongly it resonated with viewers.

Watch Time

Watch time measures the total accumulated minutes people spent with your content, and it has become the single most important metric for YouTube’s algorithm. Its significance extends beyond algorithmic favor. High watch time signals that your content delivers enough value to keep viewers around, and this matters regardless of platform.

YouTube now emphasizes what they call “satisfaction over watch time,” which means they track repeat views, session continuation, and survey responses alongside raw minutes. A viewer who watches one video and immediately leaves counts differently than one who watches and then browses more content.

Average View Duration

Average view duration measures the typical length of a single session. Watch time tells you aggregate consumption. Average view duration tells you how well individual videos hold attention.

The benchmarks vary significantly by video length. 

• According to industry data, videos under 2 minutes should aim for 50-70% average view duration. 
• Videos between 5-10 minutes (the sweet spot for YouTube monetization) should target 50% or higher. 
• Longer content naturally sees lower percentages but can still perform well. 
• Even 40-60% retention on a 20-minute video represents substantial engagement.

LinkedIn recently began to emphasize average watch time as a key metric for their video push, and early data suggests professional audiences watch for about 15 seconds on average.

Engagement Rate

Engagement rate combines likes, comments, shares, and saves into a single percentage that reflects overall audience response. The standard formula divides total engagements by total views, though some platforms calculate it differently.

Average Engagement Rates by Platform (2024-2025)

Sources: Fimmick 2024 Instagram Benchmark Report, Vidico LinkedIn Statistics

Why Shares Became the Most Valuable Engagement Signal

Something changed dramatically in 2024-2025. Shares now matter more than likes across nearly every major platform. Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed that “Sends per Reach” (shares via DM) takes priority over traditional engagement metrics in their algorithm. TikTok’s algorithm similarly weights shares heavily when it determines content distribution.

The logic makes sense when you think about it. A like takes half a second and might mean nothing. A share means someone found your content valuable enough to attach their personal reputation to it by sending it to someone else. That represents a fundamentally different level of endorsement.

When you build content strategies for clients, optimize for shareability. Focus on content that makes viewers look smart, helpful, or entertaining when they pass it along. This single shift can dramatically improve algorithmic distribution.

Saves and Bookmarks

Saves indicate high-intent engagement. When someone bookmarks a video, they signal plans to return to it, either to reference the information, share it later, or use it in some practical way. This behavior correlates strongly with educational, how-to, and reference-style content.

For B2B content especially, saves often predict downstream actions better than likes or comments. A procurement manager who saves a product comparison video probably sits much closer to a purchase decision than one who simply liked it.

Retention Metrics and How Attention Flows Through Your Content

Retention metrics reveal the moment-by-moment story of how viewers experience your content. Unlike aggregate numbers, these metrics show you exactly where attention peaks, where it fades, and where people decide they’ve had enough. This granularity makes retention data invaluable for content optimization.

Audience Retention Curves

Every major platform provides retention curves that show the percentage of viewers still watching at each point in your video. These graphs reveal patterns that aggregate metrics completely miss.

A steep initial drop (say, 30% of viewers leave in the first 10 seconds) signals a mismatch between your thumbnail or title and your actual content. Viewers clicked because they expected something they didn’t find. A sudden drop at a specific timestamp often indicates a problem moment, whether that’s an awkward transition, a too-long intro, or a sponsor segment that feels out of place.

The most useful insight often comes from spikes. These are moments where retention actually increases or flatlines when it should decline. They represent your content’s strongest moments, the sections viewers rewind to rewatch. When you build more content around these high-performing segments, you have one of the most reliable optimization strategies available.

Completion Rate

Completion rate measures the percentage of viewers who watch your video to the end. For TikTok’s algorithm, this metric has become absolutely critical. Videos need 75% completion or higher to receive significant algorithmic distribution.

TikTok’s December 2024 algorithm update shifted the engagement threshold from 3-5 seconds to 15-20 seconds. Your content needs to hook viewers quickly and then maintain interest for at least that duration to get any algorithmic boost.

For longer-form content, completion rate expectations naturally adjust. 

• A 90% completion rate on a 15-second TikTok is achievable. The same rate on a 10-minute YouTube video would be exceptional. 
• Wistia’s benchmark data shows videos under one minute achieve around 65% average engagement, while 30-60 minute videos see significantly lower percentages but accumulate substantially more total watch time.

View-Through Milestones

Most platforms report retention at specific percentages, typically 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. These milestones help you understand where in the content lifecycle you lose viewers.

LinkedIn’s ad platform tracks these quartile completions for video campaigns. This proves especially valuable for B2B advertisers who want to understand how much of their message professional audiences actually absorb. If viewers consistently drop off before the 50% mark, your core message might be buried too deep in the content.

Conversion Metrics and How Video Connects to Business Outcomes

Conversion metrics answer the question your clients ultimately care about most: did this video help the business? Awareness and engagement metrics demonstrate content performance. Conversion metrics demonstrate business impact. They also happen to be the hardest to track accurately.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR measures how often people who see your video’s thumbnail or ad actually click to watch. On YouTube, this metric specifically tracks clicks from impressions in browse features and search results.

YouTube CTR benchmarks typically fall between 4-5% on average, with 6-8% considered good performance. These numbers vary significantly by channel size and content type. Smaller channels often see higher CTRs because their content surfaces primarily to subscribers rather than cold audiences.

YouTube Ad Benchmarks (2024-2025)

Sources: Mega Digital, Store Growers

Conversion Rate

Video conversion rate measures the percentage of viewers who take a desired action, whether that’s a signup, purchase, download, or whatever goal you’ve defined. This requires proper setup, typically through UTM parameters and platform conversion pixels.

Wistia’s data reveals something interesting: longer videos often convert better than short ones. Lead capture forms placed at the end of 60+ minute webinars achieve 65% conversion rates among viewers who reach that point, and this dramatically exceeds typical landing page conversion rates. The viewers who stick around have effectively self-qualified through their attention investment.

Cost Per View (CPV) and Cost Per Completed View (CPCV)

For paid video campaigns, cost efficiency metrics help you understand how far your ad dollars stretch. CPV measures the cost to generate a single view. CPCV measures the cost to generate a completed view, which is a much more meaningful indicator of actual message delivery.

Connected TV ads offer some of the most efficient CPCV rates because completion rates run so high (94-98% for non-skippable inventory). Typical CTV CPCV falls between $0.012-0.020, though CPMs range widely from $10-15 on FAST channels up to $38 on premium platforms like Peacock.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

ROAS divides revenue attributed to video campaigns by the cost of those campaigns. This gives you a straightforward multiplier. A 4x ROAS means every dollar spent generated four dollars in revenue.

The challenge with video ROAS lies in attribution. Video often influences purchases that happen through other channels or days later. Without proper multi-touch attribution or lift studies, you’ll likely undercount video’s true contribution to revenue.

Platform-Specific Metrics Worth Your Attention

The metrics above apply universally, but each platform offers unique measurements that reveal platform-specific performance. When you understand these native metrics, you can pull maximum insight from each channel’s analytics.

YouTube

YouTube provides the richest analytics suite of any video platform. Beyond the standard metrics, pay special attention to these YouTube-specific measurements:

1. Subscribers gained per video shows which content drives channel growth, not just views
2. Traffic sources reveals whether views come from search, suggested videos, external links, or browse features
3. Impressions click-through rate is critical for thumbnail optimization because YouTube only promotes videos that earn clicks
4. Non-subscriber watch time indicates potential for viewers to find you beyond your existing audience

For YouTube Shorts specifically, the March 2025 update changed how views are counted. Any interaction that starts, replays, or scrolls past a Short now counts as a “view.” The previous views metric became “Engaged Views” (30+ seconds watched). Average Percentage Viewed can exceed 100% when viewers loop content.

TikTok

TikTok’s analytics emphasize content performance over channel metrics, and this reflects the platform’s content-first approach. Key TikTok-specific metrics include:

1. Traffic source types where “For You Page” views indicate algorithmic distribution success
2. Watched full video percentage is the completion rate that drives algorithmic favor (aim for 75%+)
3. Profile visits from video shows content that drives curiosity about your brand
4. Sound usage tracks when others use your original audio, a unique TikTok engagement form

TikTok Shop adds e-commerce metrics for brands that sell on the platform. These include GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), Shop Conversion Rate (typically 8-12%), and content type breakdowns that separate livestream, video, and product card performance.

Instagram Reels

Instagram’s April 2025 metric overhaul simplified video measurement by retiring “Plays” and “Impressions” for Reels. “Views” became the unified primary metric. It counts every time a Reel appears on screen. Instagram-specific metrics to track:

1. Accounts Reached vs. Accounts Engaged where the ratio reveals content quality. High reach with low engagement signals weak content
2. Sends which are DM shares and now the highest-weighted engagement signal in the algorithm
3. Non-follower reach percentage indicates how well Reels perform beyond your existing audience

Instagram’s December 2024 “Trial Reels” feature lets creators test content with non-followers only. This provides a new way to gauge how content might spread before you commit to a full publish.

Facebook Video

Facebook adopted “Views” as its primary video metric in November 2024. This aligned with Instagram’s unified approach. Facebook-specific metrics worth your attention:

1. 3-second vs. ThruPlay views where ThruPlay (15 seconds or complete for shorter videos) indicates genuine engagement
2. Sound on vs. sound off is critical for content strategy because 85% of Facebook videos are watched with sound off
3. Minutes viewed as aggregate watch time is useful for content performance comparisons

Facebook Reels now account for 50% of time spent on the platform. This makes Reels-specific metrics increasingly important for Facebook video strategy.

LinkedIn Video

LinkedIn uses the MRC (Media Rating Council) standard for views. A view counts after 2+ continuous seconds with at least 50% of the video player visible on screen. LinkedIn-specific metrics include:

1. Unique views is more meaningful than total views for B2B reach assessment
2. Average watch time is a newly emphasized metric as of 2025 that averages around 15 seconds
3. Quartile completions (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%) is essential for you to understand how much of your message actually lands

LinkedIn video performance significantly outpaces other content types on the platform. Video posts generate 5x more engagement than other content, and LinkedIn Live streams produce 7x more reactions.

Connected TV (CTV) and OTT

CTV operates differently from social video, with metrics more similar to traditional television. Key CTV metrics include:

1. Video Completion Rate (VCR) typically hits 94-98% for non-skippable CTV inventory, far higher than digital video
2. Household reach counts unique households exposed and accounts for shared screens
3. Attention rate measures active viewing and averaged 51.5% in Q1 2024
4. Frequency tracks average exposures per household, which is important for you to avoid ad fatigue

CTV attribution remains challenging due to cross-device limitations and co-viewing scenarios. Solutions like ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) data, clean rooms, and first-party data partnerships have emerged to address these gaps.

How Each Platform Counts a View

One of the most common reporting mistakes is to compare view counts across platforms without accounting for their different definitions. Use this reference table when you normalize cross-platform data:

Common Reporting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Years of agency experience reveal the same reporting mistakes that show up repeatedly. When you recognize these patterns, you can avoid the credibility damage they cause with clients.

When You Lead with Vanity Metrics

When you open your report with subscriber counts, total views, and impressions, the numbers look impressive but invite an uncomfortable follow-up question: “That’s great, but how many became customers?”

A million views might sound amazing, but if most viewers left after three seconds, the video didn’t perform well. Move beyond vanity metrics and lead with business-impact metrics like conversions, revenue attributed, and pipeline contribution. Then contextualize the awareness metrics as supporting data.

When You Directly Compare Cross-Platform Numbers

A table that shows Facebook outperformed YouTube 88,000 views to 13,500 completely misrepresents reality if you don’t account for the different view definitions. Those numbers might represent identical actual viewership.

Either normalize to a consistent standard (30-second views works well) or present platform results separately with clear context about what each number actually means.

When You Ignore Moment-by-Moment Retention Data

When you only report average view duration, you miss the actionable insights that hide in retention curves. One agency found a consistent 40% viewer drop at the 2-minute mark across all their client’s videos. An awkward sponsor message placement caused the problem. When they moved the sponsors, watch time increased from 2:15 to 3:45 (a 67% improvement) and click-through rates rose by 34%.

Always examine where viewers drop off, not just how many stuck around on average.

When You Skip Attribution Setup

Without UTM parameters (utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video) and proper GA4 goal configuration, you can’t connect video performance to website actions. Most agencies who implement proper tracking find their video content contributes 20-40% more value than they previously realized.

GA4’s Enhanced Measurement now automatically tracks video_start, video_progress (at 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%), and video_complete events. Enable these properly to capture on-site video engagement.

When You Apply Universal Benchmarks to All Content

A 45% retention rate means very different things for different content types. For a product demo, 45% might be excellent because viewers got the information they needed and moved to the next step. For educational content designed to build authority, 45% retention indicates problems.

Establish content-type-specific benchmarks based on the video’s purpose, not generic industry averages.

B2B vs. B2C Have Different Metrics That Matter

The metrics that matter most shift significantly based on whether your client sells to businesses or consumers. When you understand these differences, you can build more relevant reports.

B2B Video Metrics

B2B buyers make considered decisions with longer timelines, often with multiple stakeholders involved. The metrics that matter reflect this reality:

1. Lead generation metrics (MQLs, SQLs) take priority over raw engagement numbers
2. Completion rates matter more than views because B2B videos often deliver complex information
3. Pipeline contribution connects video to revenue, the metric executives actually care about
4. Account-level engagement for ABM campaigns tracks how target accounts interact with video content

B2B video benchmarks differ substantially from B2C. Average cost per lead typically exceeds $200, but strong programs achieve 50-60% MQL to SQL conversion rates. Longer videos perform better than you might expect because B2B audiences will watch detailed product demos and educational content if the information is valuable.

B2C Video Metrics

B2C decisions happen faster, often emotionally, and scale matters more. The metrics that matter reflect this reality:

1. Click-through rates indicate immediate purchase interest
2. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) provides direct campaign efficiency measurement
3. Shares and virality metrics matter because organic amplification drives B2C reach
4. Customer acquisition cost measures unit economics on direct response campaigns

B2C typically sees lower cost per lead (often under $50) but also lower individual purchase values. The math works through volume, which makes reach and frequency metrics more important than in B2B contexts.

How to Put It All Together and Build Reports That Matter

An understanding of individual metrics is necessary but not sufficient. The real skill lies in how you combine them into narratives that answer the questions your clients actually have.

Start with the campaign objective and work backward. For awareness campaigns, lead with reach and unique viewers, then use watch time and engagement rate to contextualize quality. For consideration campaigns, emphasize average view duration and completion rates, which shows that your content holds attention and delivers full messages. For conversion campaigns, lead with ROAS and conversion rates, then use other metrics to explain what drove those results.

Always provide context for your numbers. A 4% CTR means nothing without knowledge of whether that’s good or bad for the platform, industry, and content type. Include benchmarks, show trends over time, and explain what actions you recommend based on the data.

Most importantly, connect everything back to business outcomes. The best video metrics report isn’t the one with the most impressive numbers. It’s the one that helps your client make better decisions about where to invest their marketing budget next.

Video marketing metrics will continue to shift as platforms change their algorithms and measurement approaches. The agencies that succeed will be those who stay current with these changes while they maintain focus on what ultimately matters: the ability to demonstrate real business value from video investment.