An OTT platform may become a winning supplement to your business as it can increase customer engagement, their level of satisfaction and loyalty, and your revenue. The research results show that people tend to pay more attention to video content as it is more engaging than podcasts or texts. Even the competition between TikTok and Instagram in the short video format shows that video content is getting more popular day after day.
It doesn’t mean that articles or podcasts are becoming unnecessary. No. It means that videos of different formats are on the rise, and it is a good idea to follow the trend.
Why should a business consider launching its own OTT/VOD service?
There is a row of reasons:
Marketing strategy
An important marketing rule recommends being presented on those platforms that your target audience uses. More and more consumers are turning to OTT platforms today. They also give many benefits to their owners, such as new audience reach, analytics, freedom in expressing your ideas, etc. It gives you many opportunities to realize your ideas and build trusting relationships with your audience.
Customer satisfaction
Customer experience is sometimes more important than price or product. Improper customer service influences your brand reputation and, consequently, your company revenue. However, you can be in touch with them with the help of the OTT platform to increase their level of satisfaction.
Monetization possibilities
Not only are there AVOD, SVOD, and other monetization models, but also OTT service users are more receptive to ads than TV viewers, according to Statista. Moreover, the OTT platform gives more opportunities for customer engagement.
We mentioned the reasons we consider the most essential, but there are much more of them and the opportunities the businesses should consider about OTT services. So, we hope these reasons work for you. Let’s move on to discuss what you need to start your own OTT/VOD business service.
How to Develop an OTT Platform? Step-by-Step Guide
You need to create a meticulously detailed business plan. There are elements you need to figure out before launching an OTT platform.
1. Define your target audience
As we said above, you should understand your audience and be there where it is. If you are just starting the OTT service business, then you need to choose a niche and, consequently, understand what kind of people will consume the content. The same concerns big companies looking for opportunities to expand their business, they also need to make clear what kind of people will watch their videos, what are their interests and needs.
For instance, if your customers use mobile phones, you should dive into mobile OTT application development. If your customers prefer to watch video content in native languages, you should provide them with the video content in native languages. Understanding your customers and their needs is part of the business’s success and building strong relationships with customers.
Also, it will not harm you if you connect with your audience, for example, through social media services. People can share their thoughts about what they would like to see on your OTT platform, what they like or dislike about it, and so on. Such information can be quite insightful showing you the areas to work on.
2. Choose the OTT solution
It is better to choose an end-to-end OTT solution as it will include all you need to manage all video operations, such as uploading a video, organizing all video content, monetizing, providing analytics and OTT subscription management, etc. Check whether the OTT solution:
- Maintains customization;
- Is user-friendly;
- Provides monetization possibilities;
- Can accept global payments;
- Is quick to launch.
Also, check if the company has a support team as it will help if you have some troubles operating a platform.
Take the question of choosing the OTT solution seriously as it will define the way users interact with your platform, their impression of your service, and your revenue.
3. Choose your monetization strategy
The most popular OTT monetization models are AVOD, SVOD, TVOD, and Hybrid. Let’s look at them in detail:
- TVOD (Transactional Video On Demand) means that a customer buys only for a piece of content. Examples of TVOD are Apple iTunes and Sky Box Office.
- SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) means that a user pays once for a certain period of time and watches video content as much as they want. Examples of SVOD are Netflix, HBO, and many more.
- AVOD (Advertising-based Video On Demand) means that the content is free to consumers, but the video can be interrupted with an ad. You can see AVOD usage on YouTube or DailyMotion.
- The Hybrid monetization model combines 2 or 3 major strategies. For instance, an OTT platform can show ads (AVOD) to those users who don’t pay for a premium account (SVOD).
Each of these models has its pros and cons. You should consider your business goals when choosing the monetization strategy to follow. It will also define the way the OTT subscription management will work.
4. Develop your video streaming website
Fortunately or unfortunately, the website is still the cornerstone of video streaming. If your customers cannot use an OTT app on a different device, they will be able to access the website. The branded with your colors and logo website will make you stand out and deliver a message to the audience.
Also, designing a website has more advantages than only users’ convenience. For instance:
- Leads generation;
- Customer loyalty growth;
- Search engines ranking;
- Organization’s credibility increase;
- OTT subscription management;
- Announcements and updates post;
- Support queries handle.
The website gives people a feeling that your business is real and you are not going to trick them. It increases the chances that the customers will buy from you.
5. Choose the platform for OTT application development
OTT application development is an essential part of creating your OTT platform. We highly recommend you build an OTT app so that a user can access your video content whenever they want and wherever they are. They love watching videos on Smart TVs, mobile phones, tablets, or computers, and they love that if one of their devices is broken, they will be able to access favorite services on another.
When deciding on OTT application development, keep in mind the peculiarities of your content, the way people will access it, and what devices the majority of them use. It is important to be where your audience is. You will have higher traffic and, consequently, higher revenue.
In conclusion
We hope these steps will simplify the process of developing your OTT platform. OTT platform will be a great element of your business whether you are a content maker shifting from YouTube or a major company additionally benefiting from OTT platform.