Viewability: A Key Social Media KPI

Viewability is a critical Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in the sphere of social media metrics. It measures whether or not an ad had the chance to be seen by a user. For an ad to be considered viewable, a significant portion of it needs to be visible on the user's screen for a certain amount of time.

In the context of social media platforms, the definition of viewability may vary, but most platforms follow the standard set by the Media Rating Council (MRC). According to the MRC, a display ad is considered viewable if at least 50% of its pixels are visible on the screen for at least one second. For video ads, at least 50% of the ad's pixels must be visible while the video is playing for at least two consecutive seconds.

Viewability is a crucial KPI as it not only takes into account impressions but also whether these impressions had the chance to be seen by users. In other words, it helps to filter out impressions that may have loaded in the background or off-screen, providing a more accurate measure of the advertisement's potential reach and effectiveness.

The general formula to calculate Viewability is as follows:

Viewability (%) = (Viewable Impressions / Total Impressions) * 100

In this formula:

• 'Viewable Impressions' refers to the number of ads that were viewable by users.
• 'Total Impressions' refers to the total number of times the ad was displayed, irrespective of whether it was seen or not.

By dividing the viewable impressions by the total impressions and multiplying by 100, we get the viewability percentage. The higher the viewability percentage, the more likely the ad was actually seen by viewers, which can greatly impact the success and return on investment of advertising campaigns.

However, it's important to note that high viewability does not necessarily guarantee engagement or conversion. Hence, it should be used in conjunction with other KPIs like click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate for a comprehensive understanding of an ad campaign's performance.