Welcome to the next instalment in our series, where we explore and improve upon each metric within the User Conversion Journey that might be hindering your ad performance.
Till now, we have talked about CPM, CTR and Thumbstop ratio, and in this week’s Baweja Buzz edition, we are going to talk about hold rate.
Here are the links to all of them in case you want to revisit them
CPM: https://sannidhyabaweja.com/decreasing-the-cpm-of-your-facebook-ads-its-possible/
CTR: https://sannidhyabaweja.com/unlock-the-magic-behind-skyrocketing-your-ctr/
Thumbstop Ratio:
Part 1: https://sannidhyabaweja.com/29-reasons-why-your-video-ads-suck/
Part 2: https://sannidhyabaweja.com/66-ways-to-enhance-your-facebook-ads-thumbstop-ratio/
Now, let’s delve into the ‘hold rate’ within the User Conversion Journey, a crucial metric for understanding your traffic’s behavior.
How?
Let me recap for those who haven’t read the book or are new to this post and explain User Conversion Journey to you. Build your foundation right, else you will be lost!
User Conversion Journey involves arranging your Meta ads dashboard to give you a clear picture of the user’s journey from seeing your ad to clicking it, landing on your website, and purchasing the product.
Metrics in your dashboards arranged in the following fashion do the following things:
– CPM tells you if people are stopping to look at your ad.
– Thumbstop ratio shows how many out of those who stopped watched your ad for 3 seconds if it’s a video ad.
– Hold rate tells you how many of those viewers watched your ad for up to 15 seconds.
– CTR shows how many clicked on the ad.
Think of this like a progress bar for your user. Using these metrics, you can see where most people are dropping off, and in this series, I’m showing you how to fix each leak along the way.
Each metric aligns to tell you about the next step of a user.
In this post, we focus on hold rate.
What is Hold Rate?
Hold rate measures how many people watch your video from 3 seconds to 15 seconds. It tells you how well your ads are holding the audience’s attention.
But here, we’ll discuss what makes a good hold rate and why yours might be lacking.
In the next edition, I’ll talk about how to improve it, but this post is limited to discussing hold rate and its potential issues.
For simplicity, here is the formula for hold rate:
Hold Rate = (thruplays / 3 sec video views) x 100
Thruplay is watching your entire video or at least 15 seconds of it if the ad is longer than 15 seconds.
You can create this metric in your dashboard using custom metrics. Just refer to the screenshot to get the formula right.
Now let me explain this with an example, so that you don’t have any doubt here:
Say 500 people start watching your video ad and consume it for 3 seconds. If 250 are still watching after 15 seconds, the hold rate is:
Hold Rate at 30 seconds
= (250/500) x 100 = 50%
This means 50% of the viewers who watched till 3 seconds stayed engaged till the 15-second mark. This metric is crucial for advertisers to evaluate content effectiveness and improve viewer engagement.
What’s an Ideal Hold Rate?
It varies a lot depending on the industry and age group. But aim for a range of 25% to 40%. Higher is better, but at least aim for 25%.
Now, let’s explore the reasons for a poor hold rate:
Psychological and Behavioural Factors:
- Emotional Disconnect: Failing to connect emotionally.
- Cognitive Overload: Presenting too much information too quickly.
- Weak Storytelling: Lacking a compelling narrative.
- Predictability: Content is too predictable or cliché.
- Inauthenticity: The ad feels fake or insincere.
- Lack of Surprise or Novelty: The ad offers nothing new.
- Confusing Message: The main message is unclear.
Content and Creative Factors:
- Poor Pacing: Too slow or too fast progression.
- Irrelevant Imagery: Visuals don’t support the message.
- Inconsistent Tone: Mismatched tone with the brand.
- Ineffective Music Use: Music that doesn’t fit the visuals.
- Misleading Opening: The start doesn’t match the content.
- Overuse of Jargon: Excessive technical language.
Technical and Platform-Related Factors:
- Poor Audio Quality: Sound issues.
- Incompatible Formats: Video format not optimized for Facebook.
- Aspect Ratio Problems: Improper aspect ratio.
- Intrusive Watermarks/Branding: Overly prominent branding.
- Lack of Subtitles: No subtitles for silent viewing.
- Browser Compatibility Issues: Video issues across browsers.
Audience and Targeting:
- Overexposure to Similar Ads: Audience fatigue.
- Ignoring Viewer Preferences: Not aligning with interests.
- Seasonal Disconnect: Content not matching current events or seasons.
- Geographical Irrelevance: Content not relevant to the viewer’s location.
These are just a few reasons, but they are the most common.
Now go to your ads dashboard and see if your hold rate is low?
Because in the next edition of Baweja Buzz, we’ll explore strategies to improve your hold rate.
Until then, keep improving your CPM, CTR and Thumbstop ratio!