The appetite for e-learning is greater than ever. Whether you’re an online course creator or a corporate training manager, you are already well aware that you need to optimize e-learning with video. There’s an increasing demand for high-quality e-learning videos. However, scaling your e-learning business isn’t just about creating more videos. Learners want personalized and interactive video content. You need to ensure that every new course you create improves learning outcomes.
If you don’t understand how learners engage with your video content, your expansion efforts are likely to fail. This is why video analytics in e-learning are so important. When you track how learners interact with your videos, you have the insights to make evidence-based decisions that lead to sustainable growth.
Why raw content alone isn’t enough
You may keep churning out videos and wonder why learners are dropping off and not completing your courses. If you don’t know why this is happening, you have no idea of how to improve your content.
You need answers to questions
You need to find answers to questions such as which modules learners watch most, how long they watch, and much more. Are your employees watching technical explanations more than once? Which topics generate the most questions? Without these insights, you won’t know if you’re spending your time and efforts wisely. You should never rely on guesswork when you scale online learning.
Learning preferences keep evolving
A topic that was popular may become outdated. If you simply rely on your intuition about what topics you need to cover, the content you create may miss the mark. Scaling blindly may result in a large video library without giving learners what they really need or improving your ROI. There’s an increasing demand for you to create content that’s adaptable to the learning styles of different learners.
Analytics offer concrete evidence
Analytics show you what works and what doesn’t. Learner engagement data allows you to refine your strategies. You will focus on video formats that you know work best for your learners and have the confidence to invest in new topics when you know learners are drawn to such topics.
Key video analytics that reveal learner behavior and engagement
Video analytics cover a wide range of metrics that offer learner engagement data.
Play rate
Play rate measures how often learners start a video after you present it on a course page. A low play rate may indicate that your titles are unclear or thumbnails are unappealing.
Watch time
What percentage of a video do learners watch? If they watch the whole video, it suggests your content is engaging and well-paced. If a video doesn’t keep their attention, they will drop off before the end.
Device and location data
This type of data shows what devices learners use, from laptops to mobile phones. Geographic data shows where the demand for your course videos is strongest.
Interaction data
When videos include interactive elements, analytics show how learners respond to them. How do they score on quizzes? Do they fill in contact forms? Do they click links that take them to additional material?
Retention data
When you track how different groups of learners engage over time, it reveals retention patterns. What is it that keeps learners coming back? This is a very valuable insight to have if you want to create a sustainable online e-learning business.
The Cincopa video hosting platform offers video insights for educators with its engagement heatmaps. You have a visual image of how learners interact with different colors representing low or high engagement. You can see when they pause, skip, or replay content. This helps you to spot parts in your videos that learners may find confusing and helps you to identify optimal video length.
Using insights to refine, personalize, and expand learning offerings
Collecting data is only the first step. The real power that comes from using analytics is in applying the data insights. This will help you to keep improving and expanding your e-learning programs.
1. Refine existing content
View counts can help you track the reach of each module and identify content that attracts learners. You can then create more of the same type of content.
If the view-through rate is low, you may have to revisit sections to tighten up explanations or think about shortening the video length.
If many learners replay a complex demo, you may have to add supplementary materials or break the material into short clips. You may be able to introduce an interactive exercise to help improve their understanding.
If learners consistently skip certain sections, the content may be irrelevant. You should take a good look at it and see if you can rework it or remove it.
2. Personalize learning paths
No two learners are alike and analytics allow you to track the progress of each learner. You can check video completion rates, quiz results, etc. Some platforms are able to make recommendations based on this data and enable adaptive learning at scale. They may offer struggling learners remedial videos or high achievers advanced material. Video messaging helps you to communicate with learners to offer them support and get feedback on their progress. This leads to a more meaningful e-learning experience.
3. Expand strategically
When planning new courses, analytics give you insights into which topics generate the most engagement. This helps you to focus on topics you know learners will appreciate.
If the data shows a surge in mobile users, you need to make sure your videos are optimized for mobile. Quality should be just as high on smaller screens.
Low retention rates are one of the challenges you often have to face in online learning. Analytics can help you to find out more about the onboarding processes or course structures that create more trust and loyalty. This will help you to retain more learners.
Technology lies behind the successful expansion of any e-learning program. The Learning Management System (LMS) you use must support scalable growth. When you integrate an LMS and video hosting platform, you have the technology and analytics you need for successful growth.
The Cincopa video hosting platform has a content delivery network (CDN) and offers adaptive bitrate streaming. This means it delivers high-quality videos at speed to a global audience no matter where they’re located or what devices they use.
4. Improve marketing and monetization
Video analytics help you to improve your marketing and monetization strategies.
- See which demographics and locations show interest in your content. If you can segment viewers with insights from video heatmaps, your marketing campaigns are likely to be more successful.
- Insights into demographics can help you to target your advertising and pricing models. You may also discover partnership opportunities.
- If your courses attract learners from a certain geographic location, localizing your marketing will improve it as it will be more targeted.
- When you understand peak viewing times, you are able to schedule live streaming or promotional campaigns for maximum impact.
5. Create feedback loops
When you continually feed insights back into your course design, you create a positive cycle. Better content attracts more learners and their interactions generate more data. More data informs further improvements. A feedback loop is essential for sustainable, scalable growth.
Conclusion – Analytics as the foundation for sustainable e-learning growth
If you want to scale online learning strategically, it requires more than hard work and enthusiasm. You need a deep understanding of how learners interact with your video content. Cincopa offers video analytics in e-learning that help you to gain this understanding. Go to the home page now and sign up for a free trial to find out how insights from analytics expand your reach, help you to scale successfully, and improve your ROI.
