There will be a day when a company will think about expanding its business and starting a new service. Among different ideas, starting an OTT platform is a good one. It can help you achieve various goals: from sharing your experience and spreading a brand message to having a new way of making revenue.
If you have your eyes on OTT solutions, then continue reading this article. We will speak about essential questions you should think about.
#1 Who are the people that will view your content?
It’s important to know your target audience. This knowledge will help you understand what content you should upload on the platform and what content is created in vain. Understanding your viewers is half the job when it comes to enhancing the service.
That’s why we recommend you communicate closely with your audience. You can use different social media platforms to do that. They have many tools that can help: from stories to live streams. Arrange polls, ask questions, and answer people’s comments – and you will learn what they think about your content and the platform and what they expect you to do.
What is more, it’s essential when it concerns expanding your brand into other countries. It’s better to be aware of their cultural peculiarities, and localize your content pursuant to them. Localization is a vital part of covering new markets as people won’t be able to buy your products if they don’t understand the language on your platform.
#2 What video content will you stream?
A video streaming platform is usually associated with services like Netflix or Disney+, which specialize in fictional videos. But there are various types of videos you can upload on such a platform:
- Fictional movies and series
- Educational videos
- Tutorials
- Documentaries
- Testimonials
- Reviews
- Webinars
- Live streamings
Decide what content you will create and stick to it. Of course, you can always mix different genres and types. But take into consideration users’ interests.
Content is what your users will chase when deciding to purchase access to a platform. You may have an appealing website design and convenient payment conditions, but they will mean nothing if users don’t find your videos interesting.
If you stream for several countries, don’t forget to add subtitles and translations. This feature will also be appreciated by those users who love watching videos in the original language. The more opportunities you provide, the more people will love your service.
#3 How will you develop a platform?
You can develop platform components all by yourself. In this case, you will have the features and the design you want. But it will take a lot of time and money to do: from hiring a developing team to deciding whether your OTT solution will be on-premise or in-cloud. We won’t focus on that in detail but if you are interested, learn more about on-prem vs cloud services in the blog article.
Also, you can obtain a white-label solution – software pre-developed by third-party companies specialized in it. They know what you might need when running a video streaming platform and what challenges you may face. What is more, they watch for trends in the market. That’s why they can offer you a satisfying OTT solution.
These companies usually work on enhancing their software by adding new features and opportunities for you and your viewers. These features refer to various parts of the solution: from monetization capabilities to design elements.
It’s up to you to decide which option is best for you.
#4 How will you monetize your content?
OTT platforms offer different methods of monetizing your videos. They can maintain the following models:
- An ad-based model means that your content is free of charge. Instead of paying for a subscription, users watch ads and after that, watch the video they chose. In this case, you receive revenue by “selling” your audience to an advertising company and allowing it to insert its ads into your videos. If you are interested, you can read more about inserting videos (SSAI) in the blog.
- A transaction-based model is usually good for those platforms that don’t have a huge library of videos. Consumers pay for several episodes or one video at once. The model is also popular among those providers who cover smartphones or tablets.
- A subscription-based platform requires consumers to pay for a subscription. The period varies depending on the platform packages and offers. Some OTT service providers allow users to buy a monthly or yearly subscription. There are those who sell a 10-days membership.
Of course, you can use a hybrid approach and mix several models. For example, you can separate your content into two parts: videos available with a subscription and videos requiring additional payment.
#5 What type of platform will it be?
You can create a VOD platform or use the OTT solution for live streamings. What is the difference? Here it is:
- A VOD platform allows users to access content whenever they want. It stands for Video-On-Demand. Consumers just access your service and choose a video they would like to watch from plenty of them. They can rewind a video, stop it whenever they want, or continue watching.
- A live streaming platform will allow you to go live whenever you want. You can communicate with people in real life, and they can ask you questions and get answers. It’s a convenient way of communicating with each other. Also, you can save your videos so that users that skipped your live stream can watch them later.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things to think about when creating a new service: the service itself, consumers and their interests, and business interests. We emphasized the most important areas for consideration. We hope the list will help.
Try to think carefully when answering these questions because the answers will define the way your business will operate in the future. Explore all the options you have and don’t forget to set a goal. It will help you solve many issues.