Most marketers are tracking the wrong numbers. They report views, impressions, and engagement rates to clients — metrics that feel good in presentations but do not predict revenue. Here is what actually matters when the CFO asks if the video campaign is working.

The Vanity Metrics to Kill

Before we get to what works, let us kill what does not:

• Views / impressions: Anyone can buy 1M views for $50. They mean nothing about revenue.
• Follower count: A large following with no engagement is a sunk cost. Track revenue per follower, not raw followers.
• Likes: Likes feel rewarding but do not correlate with buying behavior. A video with 10K likes and 0 purchases is a bad video.
• Reach: Reach without conversion is a branding exercise — and if you are running performance campaigns, branding is not the goal.
• Watch time percentage alone: A 90% watch rate on a 3-second video is still only 3 seconds of real attention.

The 7 Metrics That Actually Matter

1. Cost Per Action (CPA)

The single most important metric for performance campaigns. How much does it cost to get one desired action — a purchase, a signup, an add-to-cart?

Benchmark: For UGC-style video ads, a CPA under $30 for e-commerce products under $100 is good. Under $15 is excellent.

2. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Revenue generated per dollar spent on ads. This is what the CFO cares about.

Benchmark: 3x ROAS is break-even for most e-commerce when you factor in COGS. 4x+ is where you are scaling. UGC video ads at UGC Studio's pricing regularly hit 5-8x ROAS.

3. Video Completion Rate (VCR)

What percentage of viewers watch the entire video? This tells you if your content is holding attention.

Benchmark: For 15-30s ads, 40%+ completion is strong. For 60s ads, 25%+ is strong. If you are below 20% on short ads, the hook is broken.

4. Click-Through Rate (CTR) on First Frame

The swipe-away rate on your first frame is the most honest signal of creative quality. It tells you if the hook is working before the rest of the video even loads.

Benchmark: If more than 40% of people swipe away in the first second, your thumbnail/hook is broken. 20-35% swipe away = room for improvement. Under 20% swipe away = strong hook.

5. Conversion Rate by Hook Type

Not all hooks drive equal purchases. Track conversions segmented by hook type to build a playbook of what actually works for your product.

Benchmark: POV hooks typically convert 2-3x better than "About us" style hooks for beauty and wellness. Skeptic hooks win for high-consideration purchases.

6. Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM) by Placement

Know what you are paying per 1,000 impressions on each platform and placement. This is where optimization happens.

Benchmark: TikTok Feed: $3-7 CPM. Instagram Reels: $5-10 CPM. YouTube Shorts: $4-8 CPM. If your CPM is double the benchmark, your creative or targeting needs work.

7. Frequency-Adjusted ROAS

Running the same ad to the same people repeatedly kills performance. Track ROAS by frequency bucket.

Benchmark: ROAS typically drops 30-50% when frequency hits 3+. When your ROAS starts declining, refresh the creative — do not increase budget on tired ads.

The Reporting Framework That Compounds

Track these 3 numbers every day and report them to stakeholders weekly:

1. CPA trend: Is it going up or down week-over-week? What is driving it?
2. ROAS by creative: Which video variants are hitting 4x+ ROAS? Which are failing below 2x?
3. Frequency: How many times is the average user seeing your ads? When frequency exceeds 3 and ROAS is declining, rotate creative.