Metricool separated video views and engaged YouTube views in its September update, published Oct. 1, 2026 . It also introduced Instagram follower gains and losses for accounts with at least 100 followers. The additional columns expose a distinction capable of changing a budget: starting to watch is different from continuing, and a stable balance can conceal turnover.
Official YouTube documentation places counting from the start of playback for all formats in August 2026. It says revenue and partner-programme participation continue to depend on engaged views and engaged watch time. An increase in the new column does not establish that the commercial message reached more people.
A platform’s scale provides context; attention belongs to each piece
Monthly Instagram use reached 73.5% and YouTube use 49.3% among Spanish internet users aged 16 to 64 in the third quarter of 2025, according to GWI as reported by Statista. These are widely used environments, but that observation does not identify how many people started or continued a brand’s video.
Spain: monthly use of Instagram and YouTube
Internet users aged 16 to 64, third quarter of 2025.
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
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GWI / DataReportal, via Statista. Online panel; sample size is unpublished in the statistic’s details. Overlapping use must not be added. This is not advertising reach, account views or buyers.
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| Category | Monthly use |
|---|---|
| 73.5% | |
| YouTube | 49.3% |
For a business, the relevant stage depends on when its offer becomes understandable. A video can obtain many starts and lose viewers before explaining a decisive condition. It can also end after answering the question that prompted the viewing. The same departure permits different interpretations; the curve needs to be read alongside the script and the piece’s commercial job.
Shortening is not a universal answer. A technical demonstration can need more time than a straightforward announcement. The criterion is that the relevant explanation reaches the person needing it without an opening that promises something else delaying it. Judging starts alone can reward a striking introduction while discouraging a more accurate promise.
Preference helps separate presence from relationship
The favourite-platform question provides another observation. For the same reference period, Statista records 20.7% for Instagram, 11.3% for TikTok and 9.5% for Facebook. This is declared affinity, distinct from monthly use. It does not measure which content retains followers or explain why each person leaves an account.
Spain: preference for social platforms
Four selected platforms. Internet users aged 16 to 64, third quarter of 2025.
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Collapse notes
GWI / DataReportal, via Statista; online panel, with sample size unpublished. This selection is not the entire questionnaire. YouTube was not offered as an option: its absence does not mean zero preference.
Explore the data table
| Category | Favourite platform |
|---|---|
| 20.7% | |
| TikTok | 11.3% |
| 9.5% | |
| 1.0% |
The distinction matters when interpreting Follower Balance. Gains and losses are movements; the closing number is a stock. The balance combines both and can hide a community entering and leaving rapidly. Eligibility for the feature with 100 followers is a product condition, rather than assurance of a representative sample or enough events to resolve a commercial decision.
The brand needs to ask which relationship it is building. Broad content can attract people who do not fit the offer; a more specific explanation can stop interesting part of the previous audience. These are hypotheses to investigate through content and actual responses, rather than conclusions automatically established by the sign of the balance.
A new definition needs a visible boundary in the historical record
Report recipients often assume a column retains its meaning across months. Counting previously excluded plays can reward content for a change in the instrument. Keeping the date and definition beside the series prevents asking for another creative strategy to fix what changed in the counting method.
Comparable periods since publication also need preserving. A video available for months had more chances to accumulate views than a new release. Paid advertising, a collaboration or an external mention can coincide with follower gains. A calendar directs investigation, but does not turn every coincidence into a cause.
An indicator earns its value by directing the next job
A demonstration’s next step can be consulting a specification or submitting a well-defined inquiry. A service explanation can aim to resolve a question without another contact. Those continuations need their own records. Social metrics describe part of the journey and remain useful even when they do not fully explain a later sale.
Metricool’s update supports more detailed decisions about what happens between the first moment and the relationship that remains. Its announcement does not demonstrate additional customer sales or time saved. Investing in the extra columns is justified when they prevent the wrong commission or budget: preserve what was counted, when it changed and what the buyer needs to understand before continuing.
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Marian Vasile
Marian Vasile is a MarTech and growth professional. His work spans product marketing, SEO, paid advertising and deep online tracking, including behavioral analytics and attribution.