# Read Meta video metrics beyond the click

> Tier: recipe. Operating recipe: real tool sequence, core rules, known traps.

Video engagement metrics read as the creative's own funnel.

**Intent.** ThruPlay, holds and drop-offs: what the video does before the click.

## When to use

- Video-heavy accounts.
- Creative post-mortems.

## When not to use

- No specific contraindication beyond the preconditions below.

## Sources

Required: Meta Ads

## Preconditions

- The account is ticked in the dashboard, confirmed via list_accounts.

## Inputs

- `window`: Analysis window. Default: last 30 days.

## Procedure

1. Pull video metrics per ad. — tools: `meta_get_insights`
2. Read the retention shape against the creative's structure. — tools: `meta_get_creatives`

## Decision rules

- **When** Three-second views are high but ThruPlay collapses → **conclude** The hook works, the body loses them: a cutting note, not a targeting note.

## Evidence requirements

- Every figure carries its account, metric and window.
- Anything below a readable sample size is reported as unjudged, not as zero.

## Human approval boundary

- The readout changes nothing. Any change it motivates goes through Safe Writes: preview, human confirmation, then apply.

## Failure modes

- Autoplay inflates shallow views: judge holds and completions, not view counts.

## Output

- **Readout**: The figures, with windows and accounts named.
- **Flags**: What deserves a deeper skill or a human decision.

## Related

- Skill: [creative-fatigue](https://www.getmcpads.com/skills/creative-fatigue.md)