The 3 Best Video KPIs to Track on Each Social Platform

When a social platform decides which videos to put in front of more viewers, it looks at a few key performance indicators (KPIs). No two platforms weigh the same ones, so we did the legwork and rounded up three KPIs that make the biggest impact on each platform.

Most of these metrics come down to awareness, reach, or engagement. You can also use that data to figure out which social platforms deserve your focus and what types of content are worth doubling down on.

Best LinkedIn video KPIs

Video views, audience retention, and engagement are the metrics to watch if you want your LinkedIn videos to go farther, especially now that video is the platform’s fastest-growing format.

Video views

• Video views are the number of times your video was watched for more than two seconds on LinkedIn.
• Why track this metric: With LinkedIn pushing video this hard, views are your clearest sign the platform is distributing your content. Videos also get shared far more than any other format on LinkedIn, so a strong view count often snowballs.
• How to get more views: Upload videos straight to LinkedIn instead of linking out, lead with a clear payoff in the first few seconds, and keep the content genuinely useful. Compare your top videos and repeat what works.
• Learn more: LinkedIn video analytics documentation

Audience retention

• Audience retention is how long your LinkedIn audience watches your video before dropping off.
• Why track this metric: People leave when a video stops feeling useful or relevant. You want them to stick around.
• How to improve this metric: Look at your past videos to see what keeps people locked in, then do more of it. Stuck for ideas? Try videos that hand your audience a helpful tip or two.

Engagement & feedback

• Engagement and feedback metrics on LinkedIn include the video’s reactions, comments, and reshares.
• Why track these metrics: One of the biggest B2B marketing insights LinkedIn had this year was that videos get shared roughly 20x more than any other format. That means reshares and comments are a strong read on what’s working. A pile of thoughtful comments usually means people found the video credible and useful.
• How to get better engagement and feedback: Find the videos your audience responds to and factor their input into what you make next. Build on the topics that spark constructive discussions.

Best Instagram video KPIs

Views, engagement rates, and saves carry the most weight when Instagram decides which videos get more reach.

Views

• Views on Instagram track how many times your video was played across Reels, Stories, and the feed. In late 2024, Instagram made views its primary metric, so one number now covers every format.
• Why track this metric: Views are your top-line read on reach and distribution. A big gap between your views and your follower count means Instagram is showing the video to non-followers, which is how you grow.
• How to get more views: Sort by views to see what the algorithm is pushing, then make more of it. Hook in the first second, keep it tight, and add captions for those watching with the sound off.

Engagement rate

• On Instagram, the engagement rate is the share of viewers who interact with your video through likes, comments, shares, and saves.
• Why track this metric: High engagement relative to reach tells Instagram the content is worth surfacing to more people.
• How to improve your video’s engagement rate: People engage with what they relate to, laugh at, or want to send to a friend. Compare Reels, Stories, and feed, and lean into whichever earns the most engagement. Shares and sends carry the most weight for reach.

Saves

• Saves on Instagram is the number of people who saved your video.
• Why track this metric: A save is a promise to return, which Instagram reads as high-value content.
• How to get more people to save your videos: Find your most-saved videos and figure out why. Often it’s something useful, like a tip, how-to, or resource worth keeping. Make more of that.

Best YouTube video KPIs

Watch time, average view duration, and subscriber growth are the social video metrics YouTube cares about most.

Watch time

• Watch time is the total amount of time viewers spend watching the videos in your YouTube channel.
• Why track this metric: YouTube’s search algorithm favors channels with high total watch time, so you want this as high as possible.
• How to improve your watch time: Filter videos by watch time to see what’s engaging viewers, then figure out which qualities to carry into future projects.
• Learn more: YouTube Analytics documentation

Average view duration

• The average view duration on YouTube is how long people watch your video before clicking away.
• Why track this metric: If people watch for long stretches, they’re interested in what you have to say.
• How to improve your video’s average view duration: Compare average view duration across your own videos to spot why people stick around or bail. Do viewers finish short videos but not long ones? Is duration more tied to topic than length? Read the trends and adjust from there.
• Learn more: YouTube Analytics: The 15 Metrics That Actually Matter

Subscriber growth

• On YouTube, subscriber growth is how many subscribers you’ve gained or lost over a set period.
• Why track this metric: Ideally, you’re keeping your current audience while pulling in new followers. Sharp unfollower drop-offs can mean your content needs tweaking; sharp follower jumps show you when you nailed something.
• How to get more subscribers: YouTube lets you filter your videos to see which ones earned the most subscribers. If growth is slow, look at your format. How-to videos, best-of lists, educational clips, and vlogs tend to drive subscriptions. Try shaping your videos to fit one of those.
• Learn more: Subscriber Growth

Best Facebook video KPIs

Organic reach on Facebook keeps shrinking, so getting videos in front of your followers is harder than it used to be. But you can still break through if you track the video metrics that matter most on Facebook: average watch time, engagement, and Reels plays and reach.

Average watch time

• On Facebook, the average watch time is the amount of time people spend watching your video.
• Why track this metric: It’s one of the clearest signs your video is landing. The longer people watch, the more engaged they are. If the average watch time is low, your opening probably isn’t hooking people, or the topic isn’t pulling them in.
• How to improve your video’s average watch time: Check the audience retention graph to see exactly where people stop watching. If they drop off in the first few seconds, that’s usually a hook problem. If they drop off later, look at what happens right before that point and fix it.
• Learn more: Average Watch Time on Facebook

Engagement

• The engagement metric on Facebook is how much people interact with your video, measured by reactions, comments, and shares.
• Why track this metric: Like watch time, engagement tells you whether people found the video useful or entertaining. Reactions and comments can run positive or negative. Shares are the strongest signal because people only pass along videos they genuinely like.
• How to get better engagement: Look at what earns the most positive engagement (especially shares on Reels) and make more of it.

Reels plays & reach

• On Facebook, the Reels plays and reach metric is how many times your Reels are played, and how many unique accounts they reach.
• Why track these metrics: Reels are how Facebook puts video in front of people who don’t already follow you, so plays and reach are your best read on whether the algorithm is pushing your content to new audiences.
• How to improve these metrics: When a Reel reaches well beyond your follower count, Facebook is rewarding it. Study what those top performers share in common, like the hook, length, topic, and captions, then repeat it. Short, sound-optional videos with on-screen text tend to travel farthest.
• Learn more: How to view Facebook Reels insights

Best TikTok video KPIs

The top video metrics to track on TikTok are views, watch time, completion rate, shares, and saves because the platform’s whole engine runs on how well a video holds attention and earns reactions, not how many followers you have. A brand-new account can land on millions of For You pages if the video performs. That makes TikTok the purest test of whether the content is working.

Views

• On TikTok, views are how many times your video was watched.
• Why track this metric: Views are your first read on whether the For You algorithm is pushing your video past your own followers. Big view counts on a small account mean the content is doing the work.
• How to get more views: Hook in the first second, since TikTok decides quickly whether to keep pushing a video. Study your top performers for the pattern and repeat it.

Watch time & completion rate

• On TikTok, the watch time is the average time people spend watching your video, and the completion rate is the share of folks who make it to the end.
• Why track these metrics: TikTok cares about these metrics the most. A high completion rate, especially rewatches, tells the algorithm to show your video to more people.
• How to increase your video’s watch time and completion rate: Keep it tight, cut the dead air, and give people a reason to watch to the end or loop back. Shorter videos usually complete at higher rates, so don’t add unnecessary scenes that make the video longer.

Shares & saves

• Shares track how many people shared your TikTok video, and saves measure how many saved it.
• Why track these metrics: Shares and saves are the strongest signal on TikTok that a video is worth passing on or keeping. They carry more weight than a like.
• How to get more shares and saves: Make content people want to send to a friend or come back to, like a genuinely useful tip, a strong take, or something funny enough to share. Watch which videos earn the most and lean in.

Best X video KPIs

People scroll fast on X, so short and snappy videos win. That’s why X values views, engagement, and video completion rates.

Views

• The views metric on X is how many times your video post was seen. X displays this publicly on every post.
• Why track this metric: X surfaces posts based on how people engage with them, measured by reposts, replies, likes, and bookmarks. The more of those a video earns, the more people X shows it to.
• How to get more views: Check which videos pull the most views, and study the highest-performing videos in your feed for patterns you can borrow.

Engagement

• On X, the engagement metric is how many reposts, likes, replies, and bookmarks your video gets.
• Why track this metric: A repost is a strong sign a video resonated, since people are attaching their name to it. Bookmarks have become a big signal too. People save your video to return to it, and X now weighs that heavily.
• How to get better engagement: When people repost or reply, engage back. Compare the videos that spark replies and reposts against the ones that don’t, and make more of the former.

Video completion rate

• The video completion rate on X is the share of people who watch your video from start to finish.
• Why track this metric: A high completion rate tells X the video holds attention, which helps it reach more people.
• How to increase your video’s completion rate: If people drop off in the middle, ask why. Too neutral? Too long? People on X tend to reward clever, opinionated videos over dry, educational posts.