Stop Falling For Video Likes: Here’s How to Drive Hidden Big Win Results

Ever wonder why your LinkedIn video posts get high impressions regardless of engagement? I have. My video posts have half the engagement of posts with other content types and still have the most reach. Why?

This question extends beyond LinkedIn and has everything to do with video.

Theory:

Video view metrics hold more algorithmic weight than likes, comments, and reposts. These are metrics like views, viewers, and minutes viewed (we’ll expand on these soon).

Deciphering Video Low Engagement

So then, that brings the question, why would someone watch the video, but not engage?

There could be several reasons:

1. The videos themselves might not be engaging
2. The content might not resonate with my audience
3. The video might be too long causing people to lose interest before engaging.

What if there’s a hidden explanation? What if my target audience is actually taking an invisible action?

The Elusive Power of Zero-Click Content

Now, what if I told you that regardless of the engagement rate, I receive the most value from video? LinkedIn has its own (self-serving) motives for how it presents its reporting and I won’t be bound to it. The purpose of its reporting is for you to make post optimizations based on their goals. These goals include keeping as many people engaged on their platform as possible.

Posting video has brought me a multitude of benefits. An increase in traffic to my blog, offline and email conversations, and word-of-mouth.

These benefits align with what Amanda Natividad at SparkToro coined “Zero-Click Content.” “Content that offers valuable, standalone insights (or engaging material), with no need to click.” Create great content without diverting users away and you’ll receive value in return. It’s important to understand, that this value is in the form of a “hard-to-measure brand lift.”

Now, Amanda included “engaging material” in her definition. LinkedIn defines engagement as likes, comments, and reposts. I insist this also expands into video view performance.

My goal is deeper than numbers. It’s about fostering genuine connections with marketing professionals and business leaders. This would be in the form of potential clients, collaborators, and mentors. The indirect actions of Zero-Click Content support that.

So, what if I optimize based on LinkedIn reporting in a vacuum?

There might be some hidden metrics we can calculate.

Analyzing LinkedIn Video Metrics

LinkedIn provides the following metrics for video:

1. Impressions: Total number of times your post was displayed
2. Engagements: Total number of engagements on your posts, including reactions, comments, and reposts.
3. Views: Number of times this video was watched for more than 2 seconds
4. Viewers: Number of unique people who watched this video for more than 2 seconds
5. Minutes Viewed: Total minutes this video has been watched for views more than 2 seconds.

To add extra insights, I calculated the below metrics:

1. Engagement Rate:
   1. Engagement/Impressions
2. Video View Rate:
   1. Views/Impressions
3. Avg Repeat Viewer Rate:
   1. Viewers/Views
4. Avg % Viewed:
   1. (Average View Time Per Views/Video Duration)*100
      1. Total possible view time: Views * Video Duration
      2. Average view time per viewer: Minutes Viewed/Viewers

Optimizing for Reach and Staying Aligned with Goals

What if I wanted to expand my reach and work on gaining more impressions?

Here’s how I would use the extra insights:

1. Engagement Rate:
   1. Check whether my message resonates with my audience. Optimize for a clear and compelling call to action.
2. Video View Rate:
   1. Ensure the first line of my post (the headline) is compelling enough to drive people to view the video. Consider the effectiveness of my thumbnail. Anything I can do to stop someone from scrolling past (look at me! Look at me!)?
3. Avg Repeat Viewer Rate:
   1. Was the content of my video valuable enough for someone to want to watch it again? In other words, what’s the replay value?
4. Avg % Viewed:
   1. Did my video hold viewers’ attention? Should my videos be more concise?

Then, I would review which videos performed best in each metric, make hypotheses on why, and test.

Here’s a potential pitfall: if I narrow my focus to LinkedIn metrics. I may expand my reach but how would I know how this impacts the reach of my target audience? What if it expands my reach, but is a turnoff for my intended audience? LinkedIn gives little reporting to understand that.

In conclusion, many marketing tacticians get tripped up in the weeds. While platform metrics help, our primary goal – serving our target audience is vital. Instead of ‘feeding the algorithm,’ let’s focus on valuable content for our audience. Strategic focus is number one.

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