Video broadcasting is big business all over the world, and it is continually evolving. As more and more sectors of the business world begin to take more notice of video as a valuable marketing tool, it begs the question – what are the best methods to measure the success of video broadcasting? How can you tell if you’re reaching the right audience, and how do you know if they’re watching?
 
We picked up on a recent discussion about this at the Live Streaming Summit earlier this summer and found that the industry experts are getting creative – they aren’t just number-crunching. Let’s have a look at what they are doing to measure the success of their video broadcasts.

Crunching the numbers

Although we are looking at the bigger picture, crunching the numbers is still high on the priority list for measuring the success of the video content. Measuring general engagement does give a clear indication of how well the content is being delivered; whether it’s on the right platform or channel, for example.

In social media, the number of views is important as content is generally short and sweet, but for longer content over the longer term, simply counting the views is not enough to measure success, according to some industry professionals.

Observing video engagement in the comments section

There is some debate amongst the experts about what constitutes true engagement, especially on the social media platforms. On Facebook, for example, some industry professionals are looking for hits, viewing numbers and shares to measure engagement, where others are digging into the comments sections to look deeper into how the content is affecting the viewer.

For instance, a true feel of the engagement on a deeper level could be gained from reading what viewers are actually saying about the content, according to some broadcasters, who believe that you can ‘cultivate the audience to the point that your chances [of going viral] get higher and higher’. By looking at more than the numbers and getting a real-time view of the engagement from the comments, in particular what is being said, and whether conversations are being generated from the content, it can be insightful for further content production.

Playing the long game in video broadcasting

Interestingly, some industry professionals are more interested in the long game and will measure metrics for months. Some said that their content simply ‘sat there’ until a local news story re-piqued interest. This can be a good strategy to follow and involves consistent monitoring of content to redefine relevance at exactly the right time.

Playing the long game requires dedication and patience but can pay off if measuring live views isn’t your only metric.

In an online world where video broadcasting is so popular, there are many different ways to measure success, and this can be approached differently too.

A good, robust strategy that takes several metrics both in the short and the long term can give a clear indication of whether you are doing the right thing with your content.

Talk to The Streaming Company today about your video broadcasting, and let us help you to create, deliver and measure your video content.