Streaming platforms have quickly developed in recent times. With enhancements to web speeds and cellular units, there are extra customers streaming than ever earlier than. During the pandemic, customers’ screen time has solely elevated, creating extra demand for content material. As extra streaming platforms have launched, the competitors has considerably elevated to maintain customers loyal.
To survive, platforms have to proceed innovating their methods to differentiate themselves and their content material to keep aggressive. How they incorporate buyer information—an enormous a part of the streaming panorama—is a specific make or break second in the way in which manufacturers are connecting with their customers by suggestions.
Let’s check out 5 methods streaming platforms can stand out amongst the content material crowd.
5 Strategies to Differentiate Your Streaming Platform
1. Create Unique Experiences for Users
Streaming platforms have huge content material libraries that may overwhelm customers on the lookout for new content material. Behavioral information is important to limiting the friction that comes from this alternative paralysis. What a person watches, how lengthy they look ahead to, which exhibits they browse—all of those are related information factors that may lead to tailor-made playlists and proposals to assist customers discover related content material. Streaming platforms should not wont for extra information. But to stand out, manufacturers could be sensible to capitalize on this information, enabling them to create hyper-personalized experiences, improve engagement, and enhance general optimistic model sentiment.
Spotify is well-known for creating hyper-personalized experiences primarily based on listening information. They make the most of this information to acknowledge followers, present suggestions, create new playlists, and even develop unique artists. This email from Spotify teases personalised highlights and directs the person again to the platform to find out about their utilization developments from the earlier 12 months. Spotify has additionally gone a step additional and made their wrap-up information simply shareable on social media, which builds a neighborhood whereas permitting customers to deliver others into their very own, private expertise.

Spotify creates a customized expertise with person information to drive customers again to the platform. Source: ReallyGoodEmails.
Consider what personalised information you should utilize to create a memorable expertise on your customers.
2. Get Nostalgic
As the streaming wars proceed, platforms are combating for customers. Some customers are turning to extra nostalgic content material to present consolation. With new platforms rising with licensing for traditional films and exhibits, platforms, like Peacock TV, have leveraged the rights to their older exhibits to get new customers. These modifications have enabled manufacturers to faucet into new content material choices and supply related messaging primarily based on totally different ranges of nostalgia. Peacock, for instance, created new content material round The Office, which has a cult-like following. This email dug into the archives to deliver again hits of summers previous.

Highlighting nostalgic content material could be a comforting approach to drive customers to your platform. Source: Mailcharts.
Peacock constructed out substantial premium content material to encourage extra premium subscriptions. Because video content material manufacturing has stalled due to pandemic shutdowns and delays, they’ve efficiently created further social buzz and podcasts round older content material to renew curiosity in basic exhibits that don’t require any new manufacturing.
Brands can lengthen the lifetime of their content material by creating campaigns that help their present content material.
3. Add a Group Watch Feature
With theaters closed and households and buddies socially distancing, manufacturers have struggled to recreate the expertise of film nights—both in theaters or shoulder-to-shoulder on the couch. Browser plugins and functions like Teleparty have been created to allow a number of folks in numerous areas to watch a film concurrently with a chat characteristic. This was basically a workaround whereas platforms developed the potential natively.
In response to pandemic shutdowns, Disney+ created GroupWatch, a characteristic that allows a number of customers to stream the identical present or film from totally different areas and share reactions. This email highlights one in every of their hit exhibits, The Mandalorian, which created substantial hype for Disney+ throughout shutdowns, and showcases their new GroupWatch characteristic. Disney has additionally underlined this characteristic for his or her premium content material to assist recreate the expertise of going to the films with family and friends.

Look to see how one can recreate misplaced experiences that your customers are craving. Source: ReallyGoodEmails.
Whether it’s a brand new characteristic or an previous one, if you happen to assume it modifications the client expertise for the higher, don’t shrink back from giving that characteristic its personal spotlight in your communications.
4. Integrate New Technology
Integrating new know-how in your advertising and marketing campaigns can increase your attain past your typical viewers. It may also assist manufacturers capitalize on trending know-how, like good TVs or good house units.
This email from video-hosting platform Vimeo promotes their premium subscription service by freely giving a digicam whenever you improve your account. Streaming has turn out to be such an integral a part of our lives, it’s good to discover methods to incorporate the context of your viewers’s life—now and sooner or later—to enhance their expertise together with your model. Vimeo highlights one of the best qualities of the digicam and the premium subscription advantages, which go hand-in-hand.

This S-curve format snakes by the advantages of the service and digicam. Source: ReallyGoodEmails.
Consider what gadget partnerships your model might leverage to showcase one of the best attributes of your model.
5. Showcase Global Trends
Have you ever spent extra time on the lookout for one thing to watch than you do watching a present? Streaming platforms can have overwhelmingly massive libraries to browse. Highlighting the choose few choices can simplify the method. It may also assist generate phrase of mouth for the trending exhibits since folks usually ask, “have you seen this?”
This email from Netflix highlights trending content material within the US. It options trending content material that entices the recipient to subscribe. The language implies a way of urgency and worry of lacking out on the excitement round trending content material. Netflix has additionally featured international trending content material as extra customers have been watching worldwide packages for the reason that begin of the pandemic.
Spotlighting trending content material may be nice when there isn’t plenty of particular person person information obtainable. Brands can characteristic prime content material as a place to begin in a buyer’s journey till extra tailor-made info is obtainable.
Make your person’s resolution simpler by that includes present in style content material. Source: Mailcharts.
Offering options for in style content material can take away friction from the client expertise.
Differentiate Your Brand
The streaming wars should not slowing down anytime quickly. Established platforms, like Netflix and Spotify, have been profitable at differentiating themselves previously, however as with all trade, innovation and alter is probably going imminent. With such competitors, it’s crucial to use these 5 methods to keep top-of-mind. Few issues are as private as what a person decides to spend their precious time watching. Listen to the person’s information and arrange personalised programming for them.
Curious about what a streaming platform’s buyer expertise appears like? Check out our evaluation of the HBO Max buyer expertise.