2017 Video in Business Benchmark Report from Vidyard
Last fall we created a video for one of the hottest start-ups in the city, FUZE. It was an intense, collaborative, risky and creative video and, when you are at the edge, you always want to know - did it work, did it pay-off? Does quality matter? And, well, even if you are not at the edge, you want to know, is video, particularly high production value video, worth the time, expense and effort. This video was. Our client had the metrics, thanks to Vidyard, and saw the highest viewer retention he'd ever seen in a b-to-b video. So, yes!
Vidyard came out 2017 Video in Business Benchmark Report - worth downloading from their website. It's a quick, insightful read. There were five things that we thought particularly helpful to our clients. (And thanks to Vidyard for permission to use their graphs and data).
What are institutions like mine doing in the number of videos produced?
On average, the businesses in the survey had 283 videos in their library and were adding to that library at an average of 18 videos a month! That is ALL types of videos. Our client focus is healthcare, high tech and higher ed, and there were some useful breakdowns by industry. Here's the average number of videos published monthly by industry.
What types of videos are they producing?
The videos counted in the survey were all types of videos. Several clients are updating their video strategies, and the categories in the report are useful guideposts.
How long are the videos?
We always get and give guidance on video length targets. It is helpful to see what others are doing - and what impact length has on viewer retention. Length does, of course, depend on the type of video being produced and where the viewer is in his discovery and engagement journey, i.e., a new prospect probably has a low tolerance for a long video, whereas a customer looking at a video demo would have a higher tolerance for a longer video.
How are they getting them produced?
This always an inside decision - do I create videos in-house, or use external partners? All of our clients have internal resources, but work with us on certain types of videos, specifically high production brand/launch videos, case study/testimonial videos, commercials, or major event videos. These videos for the most part are seen at the beginning of the customer's journey of discovery and exploration, where high production value helps capture attention. Demo videos, talking head videos, how-to videos are typically produced in-house.
How do they know if the videos are working?
The Vidyard report noted basic measures, including views and shares; intermediate measures, including average viewing duration, and advanced metrics which include views by embed location, drop-off rates, heat maps and more.
Engagement - time is certainly a factor, as you can see in the graph below. Quality is also a factor, we'd hypothesize, along with placement, of course.
Benchmarking
It's always important to look at your specific competitors and their video strategy and action. These broader benchmarks are also helpful in looking at your own video strategy and action, and providing information to your team on why you are recommending what you are recommending in terms of video types, length, volume and metrics. And - who you use to produce them!