How to Set Effective Goals for YouTube: A Product Manager's Approach

As a product manager, one of the key responsibilities is setting and evaluating goals that align with the overall mission and vision of the product. In this blog, we'll explore how to set effective goals for YouTube, considering its mission, user engagement, monetization strategies, and the potential challenges that may arise along the way.

Understanding YouTube's Mission

Before diving into goal setting, it's essential to understand YouTube's mission. YouTube aims to entertain and inform its users. With billions of people worldwide turning to YouTube for everything from entertainment to education, the platform's overarching goal is to create an environment where users can consume and share video content seamlessly.

Given this mission, YouTube’s goals should focus on driving engagement and retention, which will naturally lead to monetization opportunities. While monetization is crucial, focusing on user engagement ensures that the platform remains a preferred choice for both viewers and creators.

High-Level Metrics: Engagement Over Monetization

When setting goals for YouTube, it's important to prioritize engagement metrics. This approach aligns with the belief that if users are deeply engaged with the platform, monetization will follow. Here’s why engagement should be the North Star:

User Retention: High engagement indicates that users are finding value in the platform, which encourages them to return. Retained users are more likely to interact with ads or consider subscription services like YouTube Premium.

Content Creation and Diversity: Engaged users are not just passive consumers; they interact by liking, commenting, and subscribing, which fuels the content ecosystem. This, in turn, motivates creators to produce more diverse content, further enriching the platform.

Key Engagement Metrics to Track

1. Watch Time: This is the primary metric for engagement. It’s crucial to track how long users are watching videos and how many videos they watch per session. Watch time is a direct indicator of user satisfaction and platform stickiness.

2. User Actions (Likes, Comments, Subscribes): These actions are secondary engagement metrics that provide insight into how users are interacting with content. A high rate of these actions suggests that users are not only watching videos but are also actively engaging with the platform.

3. Diversity of Content Consumed: Understanding whether users are exploring different types of content or sticking to a narrow range can provide insights into content distribution. Encouraging diverse content consumption can lead to a more robust and inclusive platform.

Setting Tactical Metrics and North Star Metrics

After identifying the high-level metrics, the next step is to establish tactical metrics that can act as leading indicators of success. These metrics include:

Average Watch Time per User: A strong indicator of engagement, this metric helps in understanding the depth of user interaction with the platform.

Number of Videos Watched per Session: This metric gives insight into user behavior during each visit. It helps in determining whether users are binge-watching or casually browsing.

Likes, Comments, and Subscribes per Video: This blended metric helps in assessing the overall health of user engagement on the platform.

However, the North Star metric for YouTube should be

Total Watch Time

This metric encapsulates the platform’s mission by reflecting both user engagement and the effectiveness of content distribution. It’s a comprehensive measure that aligns with YouTube’s goal of being a leading platform for both entertainment and information.

Monitoring Counter Metrics

While focusing on engagement, it’s important to monitor counter metrics to ensure that the platform’s growth is sustainable and aligned with its mission:

Churn Rate: A sudden increase in churn rate may indicate that users are not finding content engaging enough, leading them to explore other platforms.

Content Quality (Reported Videos): High watch time should not come at the cost of content quality. Monitoring the number of reported videos helps ensure that the platform remains a safe and enjoyable place for all users.

Creator Distribution: It’s essential to ensure that watch time is not overly concentrated on a few creators, which could discourage smaller or emerging creators from contributing to the platform.

Investigating a Decline in Watch Time

Let’s imagine that YouTube experiences a 3-4% decline in watch time over a few months. As a product manager, how would you investigate this?

Start by asking key questions:

1. Duration of Decline: How long has the decline been occurring? Is it a sudden drop or a gradual decline over time?

2. Geographical Impact: Is the decline uniform across all regions, or is it concentrated in specific markets, like the U.S.?

3. Device-Specific Trends: Is the decline associated with a particular type of device, or is it consistent across all platforms?

After gathering this information, consider three possible causes:

External Factors (Competitor Influence): Could competitors have launched new features or content that’s drawing users away from YouTube?

Internal Factors (Product Changes): Has YouTube launched new features, like YouTube Shorts, that might be cannibalizing watch time from longer videos?

Partnership Changes: Have there been any changes in partnerships, such as with device manufacturers, that could affect how users access YouTube?

In this scenario, suppose YouTube recently launched YouTube Shorts, a feature similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels. It’s likely that the shorter video format is contributing to the decline in total watch time, as users are spending less time on individual videos. While this might seem concerning, it’s not necessarily a negative outcome. The key is to ensure that users are still highly engaged and that the platform continues to evolve with user preferences.

Conclusion

Setting goals for a platform like YouTube requires a deep understanding of user behavior, market trends, and the platform’s mission. By prioritizing engagement metrics and being mindful of counter metrics, product managers can guide the platform toward sustainable growth. And when challenges arise, a methodical approach to investigating and addressing issues will ensure that the platform continues to thrive in an ever-competitive landscape.