My Approach: On Measuring Success of YT Shorts
It's important to understand the mission statement of YT Shorts before laying down the metrics because success is linked to the mission statement for the short term.
"To give everyone a voice and show them the world. Everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share and build community through our stories."
What is YT Shorts?
YouTube Shorts as a product. Videos can be up to 60 seconds in length maximum. Videos are typically in vertical orientation.
There could be more internal success metrics for various teams within YouTube shorts. But for the sake of this case study.
It is important to prioritize content creators because without content there are no users. 2nd priority is users who consume content. Larger the user base, better are the chances to monetize through advertisements and subscriptions. Finally advertisers are the ones who would want to advertise their products/ services on YouTube shorts. YouTube premium is another way of monetization that applies to YouTube shorts.
Success Metrics for YouTube Shorts
The metrics that YouTube shorts need to track with respect to the content creators are
Total content (total no. of videos uploaded on the platform)-
Here I propose to track total no. of videos instead of total no. of content creators because there could be content creators who post very less or no videos.Content uploaded per week-
This is important because YouTube shorts can track and monitor content uploaded each week. This could be seasonal. During holiday for example, there could be more content uploaded than usual. The historic data would help you tube shorts team be prepared for the content that will be uploaded during a particular season.Content by genre-
This is related to the mission statement of giving everyone a voice. Percentage of content by genre like politics, sports, food, travel, music, comedy, entertainment, technology, business & finance etc. will be a great way to track which content from which genre is uploaded the most. This will help in recommendation feed as well.Content Performance-
(i) Top-Performing Videos: Identify which videos are driving the most traffic and engagement.
(ii) Search Terms: Discover what keywords viewers use to find the content.Monetization Statistics for content creators-
Information on the number of channels monetizing their content through ads, channel memberships, Super Chat etc.
The metrics that YouTube shorts need to track with respect to the content users are
DAU-
Daily active users.
Daily Active Views-
This total no. of views of the short videos on YouTube shorts.Watch time-
(i) Total watch time- The overall minutes viewers have spent watching the short videos is a crucial metric.
(ii) Average time spent per session per user- This measures the average time viewers spend watching the short videos.Recommendation Engine Metrics-
(i) Engagement Metrics- This metrics will track likes, dislikes, comments etc. by users.
(ii) Content consumed by Demography- This will help to gain insights into the audience demographics to tailor the content to the target audience while recommending content.
(iii) Content consumed by genre- Again this a metric that would help in recommendation feed depending upon the content consumed by users in various genre.Subscriber Metrics for YouTube Premium-
(i) Subscriber Count: Monitor the growth or decline of YouTube premium subscriber base.
(ii) Revenue from premium subscription
The metrics that YouTube shorts need to track with respect to the advertisers are
Total Advertisement Revenue-
This is the obvious one.Total no. of advertisers-
Tracking total no. of advertisers with their contact details will help YouTube shorts reach out to them to advertise their product/ service.Total Advertisements by genre-
Advertisements by various genres will help YouTube shorts target audiences who are interested in that genre.Total Advertisements by genre by season-
There are certain advertisements that are seasonal. For example- Festive ads, Ads for a sporting event etc.
Considering North Star Metric
The North star metric would be the Daily Active Views & the reason being:
Engagement Focus-
Daily Active Shorts Views reflect how many users are actively consuming and interacting with the content on the platform on a daily basis.
Content Virality-
By focusing on daily views, YouTube can measure the virality of short-form content and how well it is being discovered and shared across the platform.
User Retention-
A high number of daily views suggests that users are coming back frequently and consistently for more content. This metric encourages content creators to produce more engaging short videos.
Monetization Potential-
As YouTube Shorts becomes more integrated with the platform’s monetization features, daily views could serve as a key indicator for revenue potential.
Community Building-
Daily Active Shorts Views encourages creators to build a dedicated audience for their short-form content. This is inline with part of the mission statement of YouTube “share and build community through our stories”
The North Star Metric is a metric that refers to a single metric that captures the core value of a product or service. It is a metric that aligns the efforts of a team or organization towards a common goal providing a clear focus on what truly matters for long-term success.
Disclaimer:
This is a self-published article, and is in no way associated with Uber or any other ride hailing apps professionally. I have written this article only for the educational purpose only.
