Views don’t matter anymore. Neither do comments, likes, or subscribers — at least not in the way most artists think they do. The only number that really tells you if your content is working today is average view duration.
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The Death of Vanity Metrics
Everyone knows views can be bought. Engagement can be faked. Comments can be generated in pods or through bots (more on that here). Even subscribers don’t tell the truth anymore — because the algorithm decides what people see, not their subscription list. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok all learned the same thing: what matters is how long people stay.
Average view duration (AVD) is the purest signal that someone actually cares about what you made. It measures how long, on average, people watched your video before leaving. That’s it. It’s brutally honest. It’s also the number that drives every major platform’s recommendation engine.
What Average View Duration Really Is
Average View Duration (AVD) = Total Watch Time ÷ Total Views.
If your video gets 10,000 views and a total of 30,000 minutes of watch time, your AVD is 3 minutes. That means, on average, people watched three minutes before dropping off.
How to Check Your AVD
- On YouTube: Go to YouTube Studio → Analytics → Engagement. You’ll see “Average View Duration” right next to “Watch Time” and “Average Percentage Viewed.”
- On Instagram: Open Insights → Content You Shared → Videos or Reels. Select a post to view metrics like “Average Watch Time” and “Retention.”
Check these numbers often. That’s your truth. If people aren’t watching long, your video isn’t working — no matter how many likes or comments it gets.
Why Platforms Reward Watch Time
Average view duration is valuable because it connects directly to revenue. The longer people watch, the more ads can be served. That means platforms like YouTube literally make more money from creators who keep audiences watching longer. So naturally, those creators get pushed harder in the algorithm.
On Instagram and Facebook, it’s similar — even if ads aren’t served mid-video, Meta still benefits from keeping users engaged. High AVD tells Meta that your content holds attention, which lowers your cost per impression when you’re running ads. Low AVD? Your content looks like a bad bet, and your ad costs rise fast.
Also, increasing average view duration is not easy for bots to fake. It requires a lot of machines doing a lot of watching. Most bot farms simply aren’t that sophisticated.
CTR + AVD = The Metrics That Matter
When you’re running content organically or through ads, two numbers tell the whole story:
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Who’s actually clicking and starting your video.
- Average View Duration (AVD): How long they’re staying once they do.
CTR tells you if your hook works. AVD tells you if your story does. That combination is everything — for organic growth, for paid campaigns, for both.
How to Raise Your Average View Duration
- Storyboard every second. Know exactly where the viewer’s attention is going and why.
- Start strong. No long intros, no logos, no talking heads before the action. Hook them immediately.
- Cut everything that doesn’t earn its place. If a shot doesn’t serve the story, it’s costing you retention.
- Test multiple edits. Post different cuts to see which keeps people watching longer. You’ll save ad dollars and gain insight fast.
- Aim for 50% retention or better. If your average viewer gets halfway through, you’re beating most of the field.
Platforms literally price your ads and your reach around this metric. A higher AVD makes your content cheaper to promote and easier to scale. A low one means you’re paying more for less visibility. More on how to edit your vertical videos here.
The New Creative Mindset
Forget going viral. Focus on keeping attention. The algorithm doesn’t care who you know — it cares how long people stay. The longer they stay, the more the platform trusts you to deliver what audiences want.
If you can keep someone watching for 10 seconds today, aim for 20 tomorrow. That’s how you build momentum that actually pays off.
Turn Strategy into Action
If you’re ready to act on this kind of strategy, explore our services built for it — UGC Promotion and Social Media Ads.
360 Promo is a full-service music marketing, promotion, distribution and admin company. Learn more about us and what we do at 360 Promo, follow us on Instagram and contact us to tailor a plan that works for you.