What is audience retention rate?
Audience retention rate is a social media metric that calculates the percentage representing the average amount of time people spend consuming your video, or we can say, the average amount of time your video retain the viewers.
It is sometimes also referred to as viewer retention. The audience retention rate is generally calculated for YouTube videos.
How to calculate audience retention rate?
To calculate the audience retention rate, first, you’ll need to calculate the ‘average watch time’ by dividing the ‘total watch time of all viewers’ by the ‘number of viewers’.
Now, divide this number by the ‘length of your video’ and multiply by 100 to get your audience retention rate.
Formula for calculating audience retention rate
Real-life example of audience retention rate
For example, your brand published a 10-minute video on YouTube, explaining some jargon about your industry.
Let’s say your video was viewed by 4 users. Out of those 4 viewers, 2 of them stuck through the entire video, 1 of them watched the first 7 minutes, and 1 watched just 3 minutes of the video.
So, first, you’ll need to calculate the average time users watch your video, which in this case is: 7.5 minutes (10+10+7+3 / 4)
Now, your audience retention rate will be: 7.5/10 x 100 = 75%
What’s considered a good audience retention rate? (benchmark)
A decent audience retention rate to aim for is at least 50%. This isn’t a set benchmark as there is a lot that can affect your retention rate. There’s no doubt that 100% is the holy grail of retention rates, but of course, that’s pretty hard to achieve, and not every video can go up to this mark.
VidIQ’s YouTuber-in-residence Rob Wilson gives an average number:
“If your video is longer than 5 minutes, and audience retention is above 50%, you’re probably doing a good job,” Wilson says. “If your video is longer than 5 minutes, and you’re getting audience retention above 70% in the first 30 seconds, then you’ve got your hook on the video and you’re doing a good job.”
Sometimes videos with low viewer count may get a higher retention rate whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning.
So, it’s advised to aim for a higher retention rate from where it is currently.
Videos with high Audience Retention scores tend to have increased visibility on YouTube’s platform.
YouTube announced that “We’ve started adjusting the ranking of videos in YouTube search to reward engaging videos that keep viewers watching.”
Ways to increase your audience retention
- Start with a compelling hook: YouTube says that the first 15 seconds can make or break your entire video. Create a hook that grabs the viewer’s attention and makes them want to continue watching.
- Add graphics and pattern interrupts: Viewers will get bored easily if your video is monotonous and jump to another video. You need to switch things up with pattern interruptions like – on-screen graphics and visuals, camera angle changes, B-rolls, lower thirds, etc.
- Don’t add fluff in videos: Don’t make your video lengthy by adding fluffs and unnecessary elements. Lengthy segments that don’t add value will push viewers to click away, thus hurting your audience retention. Find out the best video length for you: 3 Ways to Find the Best YouTube Video Length