Michael Litt is the co-founder and CEO of the Waterloo-based video marketing platform Vidyard. On Feb. 21, he’ll be in Toronto at Grow Talks, a conference for entrepreneurs, to give an talk called “Don’t be a Dummy, Avoid Focusing on the Wrong Metrics Too Early”
Marketing asked Litt for his opinions about the best ways for marketers to measure online video and how they can avoid the analytics dunce cap.
In 140 words or less, explain what your Toronto Grow Talk will be about.
Not being a dummy and focusing on the wrong metrics too early.
How is tracking metrics for online video different from, say, e-commerce or social media?
You can’t actually perceive what is resonating with people via standard analytics on text-based content. With video, you can track play-bar interactions, which provide a deep understanding of elements that engage or destroy someone’s attention, and willingness to purchase or convert.
What are some of the most important metrics for video?
Click-through and play rate, A/B testing of thumbnails, conversion rate, attention span on aggregate, attention span for your hottest lead and what message is resonating versus which one isn’t.
What’s one metric that marketers aren’t paying attention to, but should?
Conversion rate via video. Without insights into attention span, conversion rate, thumbnail performance and device data, using video is a black box, or a hail Mary pass.
Many marketers are drowning in data and feel overwhelmed by all the analytics at their disposal. How can you simplify and ease the process of digging into analytics?
Focus on what matters. What is the single initiative that drives the most traffic with the highest conversion? Exploit that single initiative, suck all the juice out of the rock and branch from there. Don’t track metrics with a meaningless objective. Busy work has no place in the world of modern marketing.
