As competition in the OTT world increases it is more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and target audiences with the right content for them, on the right screen at the right time.
According to a recent study by Parks Associates, after content selection, the most common feature viewers look for in an OTT service is the availability on multiple devices. OTT businesses therefore need to focus on making content easy to discover and access. They must pay attention to personalisation and the specific use cases of targeted viewers: they should consider the time of day the viewer is watching, which device they are using and how long they want to view for. The ideal is to build a portal that reflects the individual and keeps them coming back again and again.
Promotion strategies for OTT services will vary according to the target audience. Though large players may have budgets for traditional mass media campaigns, niche services will likely rely on the more targeted marketing opportunities and social media. Parks Associates found that one-third of video app users found their preferred platform after browsing the app store or Google Play. Keeping this in mind, having an understanding of how to stand out amongst thousands of others and gathering top user ratings is essential.
Once an interested user is identified, the monetisation experience must also be seamless. Problems with processing transactional or subscription payments, intrusive or poorly targeted advertising will likely result in drop-offs, abandonment or cancellation.
From the article "Going Over The Top: Broadcaster Opportunities in New Digital Business Models" by Rags Gupta.
