The NUMBER ONE metric you need to know for social media in 2025
Let’s talk about watch time… but first a little back story.
Gone are the days when we can count on our following to be the ones who our content is distributed to. You can thank the almighty algorithm for that, who acts more like a popcorn flavored pez dispenser these days than a social networking tool.
Interest based content is currently King. Liked a reel of a friend with a giraffe? Here’s a thousand giraffe reels. Although you and I know the context is wrong to assume we like giraffes (or really anything our friends are posing with on vacation) the algorithm is going to do whatever it can to keep your attention. While it can’t generate more content from your friend, it CAN control giving you more content like it.
The main goal of every platform is to keep you scrolling as long as possible and it generally speaking, it works reeeeeeally well. (Facebook is now worth $1.4 Trillion dollars) They’re not just going to show you ANY giraffe videos. They know down to the wire which videos you are most likely to engage with based off watch time data. Average View Duration or Retention Rate to be precise.
While interest/intent based algorithms are absolutely not new (TiVo, Pandora, Netflix) they are relatively new to social platforms. And giving users that info to create with is even newer. YouTube figured this out about 13 years ago. TikTok mid 2020… IG and FB are FINALLY yet barely starting to display this vital piece of information. Mainly because they are using it more now than ever on how content is weighted/distributed in the algorithm.
Watch time. In order for your content to reach the people it needs to get to, we HAVE to master watch time…Let’s freakin go.
Let’s take a look at how the 2024 TikTok algorithm is prioritizing watch time.
Long story short, how much a user watches of your video and what they do while they’re there seriously determines your success in growing/reaching a bigger audience.
If you’re like me you’re thinking, cool, just make shorter videos so users have to watch 100%, right? Yes and no, kinda…
In each tier, the platforms are looking at how much of a video did users complete (watch time) and what actions they took (engagement) and how fast they took those actions. Though watch time > engagement right now, they are not making assumptions, Likes, comments, shares (and on IG saves) all come in to play when the watch time is under consideration. So in tier 1, let’s say 200-500 watched 100% but the video is only 5-10 seconds, the engagement and speed of engagement will be immediately checked.
Algorithm aside, we do recommend shorter, BETTER content, than longer and more drawn out content based on data we’ve seen across a wide variety of accounts. IF you can confidently pique attention and keep an audience watching, rewatching and commenting, then please do so.
I know this can all be a lot to learn and keep track of. That’s why we’re here to help.
Set up a strategy session with our team to help increase your watch time and reach your audience with confidence.