Nowadays we are all active users on at least one of the aforementioned platforms, and checking the number of views has become an exciting routine. You’ve just dropped another post or video and already can’t wait to see how people react.
But sometimes you may be distracted or even disappointed by the difference between views and likes, or why some posts received more views than others. It gets even harder to handle it if you’re using two and more social networks.
The link between a number of views and promotion
Why is an understanding of social media metrics so vital for promotion? It might seem too apparent, but let’s check it with Captain Obvious once again. 🙂 Knowing how the algorithms work will help you realize the actual reach of the content and you’ll be able to use this information for growing your project better.
How about figuring it out together? We provide you with some useful and comprehensible information and make you clear all the hidden magic processes of the leading platforms, which helps you to manage your own promotion.
YouTube
The important thing you should remember about the count of views on YouTube is that it means to count how many times the video has been watched. For YouTube, it is crucial to count the view only from valid users and prevent growing the number of views at the expense of bots. The speed and quality of counting depend on the popularity of your channel.
If you have less than 300 views, the algorithm will validate the number of views quicker. You may also notice that after 300 views the counting slows down. Don’t worry! It means that YouTube employers are checking the views of your video manually to make the number of views more precise.
Youtube can also stop, slow down the counting or even change the result if the algorithm finds out there’s something wrong, for instance, watching the same video on a few devices. One more important thing to remember: if your video contains advertising, Youtube will count it as a view, because it definitely means that a user was engaged.
The views of paid ad in-stream will be counted if a user will watch advertising, which lasts over 11-30 seconds or will interact with it. Considering Ad in-Feed it also needs to be interacted to be counted. Unfortunately, there is no exact information about the YouTube algorithm, that’s why we are able just to suppose how it works. Nonetheless, you can successfully use it to understand what is going on with the number of views under your video and at least to be sure that it’s the number of valid users, who are interested in your content.
So, let’s get down to Facebook. You’re still using it, right? Facebook has more metrics for counting the views than YouTube, but the level of accuracy is not as high as YouTube. The main standard is the number of times someone watched the video for more than 3 seconds. It concerns Facebook and Facebook Live.
Facebook also offers more metrics such as the total number of video views, total number of 10-second views, and the most viewed videos on your Page. You can check this information in the “Page Insights” section under “Videos”. It’s also possible to customize the timeframe or adjust the breakdown of the video views. Сonveniently, huh?
Even though Instagram and Facebook both belong to Meta, Instagram’s metrics are more clear than the metrics of Facebook. There are no super elaborate algorithms that may take you an eternity to get it. The video view counts if the user watched for at least 3 seconds, but it doesn’t include the video loop.
The Story is basically an impression and that’s why it counts every view, even if it’s swipe-away! You can also see more specific view metrics if you’ll take a look at insights stories and choose different options of “Reach”.
Reels
And last, but not least (definitely not least) – Reels, which became lately extremely popular. It is completely earned by being a convenient tool for business, and self-promotion as well. If you use Tik-Tok you may already be acquainted with that.
The Reel’s views are counted in the same way, which means it counts every view, starting with a millisecond, and in addition – repeated views and loops. The only difference is that your own views are influencing the final number. So don’t get very excited.
Also, a kind reminder: not only views are vital, but the whole performance – likes, comments, reactions, shares, etc. Lots of your stories may be swiped away (sad truth), and the user’s interaction will show you how much a potential customer is involved and interested in your product.
Summary
Imagine being in a street market trying to sell some stuff. In medieval times this would have made you scream and shout out witty utterances to shill customers. Now you don’t have to do that.
One click on “Post” and voila – you can just chill and wait. But it is still worth knowing how many people heard of you. That’s it!
