Measuring ROI from Your Video Marketing Efforts

September 8, 2024
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This post explains how Kansas City small businesses can measure the ROI of their video marketing efforts, covering goal-setting, key metrics, calculation methods, and strategies for improvement.

Measuring ROI from Your Video Marketing Efforts

As a small business owner in Kansas City, you know that every dollar counts. When you invest in video marketing, you want to make sure it's paying off. But how do you measure the return on investment (ROI) for your video marketing efforts? Don't worry, it's not as complex as it might sound. In this post, we'll break down how to measure video marketing ROI in simple terms, so you can see if your videos are helping your business grow.

What is Video Marketing ROI?

ROI stands for Return on Investment. In simple terms, it's about figuring out if the money and time you're putting into your videos are bringing good results for your business. Are your videos helping you get more customers? Sell more products? Build your brand? That's what we're trying to figure out.

Setting Clear Goals for Your Videos

Before you can measure ROI, you need to know what you want your videos to achieve. Some common goals for video marketing are:

  • Getting more people to know about your business (brand awareness)
  • Getting more leads (potential customers)
  • Selling more products or services
  • Teaching customers how to use your products
  • Getting people to sign up for your email list

Pick one or two main goals for each video you make. This will help you know what to measure later.

Key Metrics to Track

Once you know your goals, here are some numbers you can look at to see if your videos are working:

  1. View count: How many people are watching your videos?
  2. Watch time: How much of your videos are people watching? If people are watching most of your video, that's a good sign.
  3. Engagement: Are people liking, commenting, or sharing your videos? This shows if people find your content interesting.
  4. Click-through rate (CTR): If your video has a link, how many people are clicking on it?
  5. Conversion rate: Of the people who watch your video, how many take the action you want (like buying a product or signing up for a newsletter)?
  6. Social media followers: Are you gaining new followers after posting videos?
  7. Website traffic: Are more people visiting your website because of your videos?

Tools for Measuring Video Performance

You don't need expensive tools to track these numbers. Here are some free or low-cost options:

  1. YouTube Analytics: If you're posting videos on YouTube, this free tool gives you lots of useful information.
  2. Facebook Insights: For videos posted on your business Facebook page.
  3. Instagram Insights: If you have a business account on Instagram.
  4. Google Analytics: This free tool can show you how video is driving traffic to your website.
  5. Your website's built-in analytics: Many website builders like Squarespace or Wix have their own analytics tools.

How to Calculate Video Marketing ROI

Here's a simple way to calculate your video marketing ROI:

  1. Figure out how much you spent on your video (Cost)This includes things like:
    • Equipment costs
    • Software or tool subscriptions
    • Time spent (your time is valuable too!)
    • Any money spent on advertising the video
  2. Calculate how much money your video helped bring in (Revenue)This could be from:
    • Direct sales from people who watched the video
    • New customers who found you through the video
    • Any other money you can trace back to the video
  3. Use this simple formula:ROI = (Revenue - Cost) / Cost

For example, if you spent $500 on a video (including your time), and it helped bring in $2000 in sales:

ROI = (2000 - 500) / 500 = 3 or 300%

This means for every dollar you spent, you got 3 dollars back. That's a good return!

Looking Beyond Numbers

Sometimes the benefits of video marketing aren't just about money. Here are some other ways videos can help your business:

  1. Brand awareness: More people knowing about your business is valuable, even if they don't buy right away.
  2. Customer trust: Videos can help people feel more connected to your business, which can lead to sales down the road.
  3. Customer education: If your videos help customers use your products better, they might be more likely to buy from you again.
  4. Employee recruitment: Great videos can help attract talented people to work for you.

These benefits are harder to put a number on, but they're still important to consider.

Common Challenges in Measuring Video ROI

Measuring video ROI isn't always easy. Here are some common challenges:

  1. Time lag: Sometimes people watch a video but don't buy right away. They might come back weeks later to make a purchase.
  2. Multiple touchpoints: A customer might see your video, then read a blog post, then get an email before they decide to buy. It's hard to know how much the video contributed.
  3. Brand value: It's hard to put a number on increased brand awareness or customer trust.
  4. Different goals for different platforms: A YouTube video might have different goals than an Instagram Story.

Don't let these challenges discourage you. Even if you can't get a perfect measure, having some data is better than none.

Improving Your Video ROI

Once you start measuring your video ROI, you'll want to improve it. Here are some tips:

  1. Test different types of videos: Try product demos, customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes content, and see what works best.
  2. Optimize your video titles and descriptions: Use keywords that your customers might search for.
  3. Add clear calls-to-action: Tell viewers what you want them to do next (visit your website, sign up for a newsletter, etc.).
  4. Share your videos widely: Post on multiple platforms and include videos in your emails.
  5. Learn from your analytics: Pay attention to which videos perform best and make more like those.

When to Consider Professional Help

While many small businesses in Kansas City can handle video production and analysis on their own, sometimes it's worth calling in the experts. Consider professional video production or marketing help if:

  1. You're not seeing the results you want from your videos.
  2. You're planning a big video campaign for a product launch or special event.
  3. You need help understanding and acting on your video analytics.
  4. You want to try more complex video types, like animations or high-end commercials.

Many local video production companies in Kansas City offer packages designed for small business budgets.

Conclusion: Keep Learning and Improving

Measuring your video marketing ROI is an ongoing process. Don't expect to get it perfect right away. The key is to:

  • Start with clear goals
  • Track the metrics that matter to your business
  • Regularly review your results
  • Keep experimenting and learning

Remember, every video is a chance to learn more about what your customers like and what helps your business grow. So keep creating, keep measuring, and keep improving. Your perfect video strategy is out there!

Ready to start measuring your video marketing ROI? Grab your calculator (or spreadsheet), dig into those analytics, and see how your videos are helping your Kansas City business shine!

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