In part one we looked at optimizing the marketing conversion funnel and user journey to turn new leads into loyal subscribers. This week we dive deeper and take a closer look at the digital ecosystem and ideal channel mix for marketing a new OTT service.

The digital ecosystem gives an overview of the channels you should be utilizing pre, during and post launch. The channels outlined work together to build brand awareness, user interest, drive action and improve retention rates. 

The Digital Ecosystem

Your website homepage and the OTT service itself are central to your digital ecosystem as all channels feed into them. They are the area on your funnel and user flow where potential customers take action – whether that’s submitting their email for future comms or subscribing to the service.

To break it down, there are two channel categories in your digital ecosystem that help drive leads and convert them into subscribers – the first being acquisition channels and the second, retention channels. Some channels, like social for example, can and do fall into both categories but play different roles depending on where the customer is in the user journey (as outlined in last weeks blog post).

Acquisition Channels

Your acquisition channels essentially help build customer awareness and interest. Acquisition channels for new OTT service entrants should include:

• PR

Work with an external agency or build your own PR strategy pre-launch. To get the word out, you’ll need to build relations with publications that your target audience is likely to relate to, solidify your key message and create an exciting press release for launch.

• Social (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Identify which social channels are most commonly used by your target audience. You don’t need to be on all social networking sites. It’s better to have fewer pages on a handful of sites that are active and engaging than a lot of neglected pages everywhere.

• Paid SEM

Put a budget in place for online advertising and stick to it. Paid ads can help boost awareness and enable you to stand out in a crowded market. Research your competitors, identify your keywords and experiment with ad copy and A/B testing.  

• Organic SEO

Search engine optimization is essential and will help drive organic traffic to your website and service. Identify your keywords and phrases and use them in the copy on your webpage and within the service. Content metadata that is SEO optimized is a great way to boost traffic – for example, potential customers could find you simply by searching online for a particular TV show or movie.

Retention Channels

Your retention channels keep customers interested and engaged before and most importantly after they have taken action and subscribed to your service.

• Email

Create an email comms strategy that includes, welcome emails, onboarding emails, and even weekly or monthly newsletters. It’s important to keep subscribers engaged, and emails are a great way to promote new content, offers and inform them on service updates or new features.

• Social

Your social channels are as important for retention as they are for acquisition. Build a trusted online community for your users where you can keep them up-to-date on new content releases and service features. Your customer service team can also play an active role here and use social channels to communicate directly with customers.

• Overlays and Push Messages

Overlays are a fantastic way to promote new content, offers, and discounts in your service, and even encourage visitors on your website to sign up to a newsletter. Push messages are useful if you want to send direct messages to users to remind them to open the app if you have new content available for example.

Check out last weeks post where we looked at the convesion funnel and ideal user journey here. You can also read more on reducing churn rates.

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Want more advice and support on converting your leads into loyal subscribers? Get in touch with the Magine Pro team and find out how we can help. You can also learn more about our branded OTT solutions and services here.

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