track metrics of lead generation

Everyone makes videos, whether it’s for their fundraising or recruiting. It’s expected; you can’t do without it. But video also tends to be much more expensive relative to brochures and other kinds of collateral. For many nonprofits, this represents a certain amount of risk, or at least a reason to be thoughtful and deliberate about video-related decisions. 

But when you’re trying to make responsible decisions about video, there are some surprising challenges. Unfortunately, it’s just hard to measure whether a video is successful or not. So, how do you know if a video is bringing you the kind of attention you want? How can you make the best choices for your video if you can’t even tell if it’s working? 

Previously, I explained how to take a nuanced view of video metrics to determine if a video is actually helping you achieve your goals, from recruiting participants to building more enthusiasm among your donors. Although there are many factors that can affect the big picture, it is possible to pick out data from all the noise and get a decent gauge of how much a video is contributing to your bottom line.

Optimize the presentation

Today, I want to push this knowledge even further. As you track how a video is currently performing, there are actually some modest adjustments you can make to see even better results or, perhaps, turn a would-be flop into a hit. 

How a video looks on the page can have a significant impact on whether people click play. Because of this, something as simple as tweaking the font, color or surrounding images can give any video a little more juice. Sometimes, all you need to do is switch from a photo with straight-faced expressions to a video with smiling faces, and suddenly the numbers get a bump.

So, play around with your landing page and see what happens. Sure, some videos go viral right out of the gate, but I’d encourage you not to fall into a mindset where it’s either go big or go home. With a little planning and patience, you can take meaningful steps to protect your investment in video and get as much out of it as possible.

Separate the streams

Some videos are meant to drive viewers to your website homepage, starting them on the process of learning about your organization. In that case, the numbers can be particularly fuzzy, since site visitors can show up from all over the place. Who’s to say which ones were brought there by video?

But when it comes to specific campaigns, there’s no reason to send viewers to a page that generates a lot of traffic. If you want to know with 100% certainty where a viewer came from, it can be useful to create “hidden” pages. These pages aren’t accessible from other places on the site, meaning that anyone who arrives there must have followed a link from the video itself. That way, you can keep track of exactly where new traffic is coming from and how well your messaging is working. By creating multiple “hidden” pages, you can even compare how well different forms of lead generation are working.

One of my clients made a video not long ago encouraging accepted applicants to register. The video was embedded on their website and, at the same time, sent out manually via email. I advised them to upload the video twice, once for each sharing method. That way, they could keep track of which practice got better results.

Narrow down the variables

The most important thing that video does is stir up people’s emotions. It gets them excited about a new project, moves them to care about a pressing issue, and revives their connection to a particular cause.

Of course, this is hard to measure. No matter what the numbers say, how do you know what people are thinking and feeling? As much as I encourage you to set specific goals for your videos, some of those goals will be on the more abstract side, particularly if you’re focused on relationship-building and long-term interest rather than immediately cashing in.

That being said, the numbers do have a story to tell. Where did your viewers come from? Are they watching the video all the way through? What actions do they tend to take next?

The more you can isolate different factors, the more accurately you can track these aspects of performance, make adjustments, and take every video you release to the next level. 

How much attention do you give to video metrics? Have you ever made a small change that was reflected in your videos’ performance? I’d love to hear any interesting stories in the comments.