One trick to acquiring customers for FAST streaming platforms
May 16, 2023
…and how to retain existing active users
We’ve all seen that click bait headline offering to show you one weird trick to burn belly fat, combat hair loss or reverse your diabetes (or does that say something about our search history?). Well, there’s one trick to getting customers for your FAST streaming platform and it’s called marketing. OK, it’s not a trick, but you can’t just create a streaming platform, fill it with awesome content and then sit back and wait for the money to come pouring in! You’ve got to tell people about your service and encourage them to watch your movies and shows.
If we try to take lessons from the big SVoD players, it’s a struggle: you probably don’t have the budget for a prime time ad, or to produce blockbuster original content. So, which marketing levers can you pull?
Segmentation FTW
First and foremost, how well do you know your prospective customers? Have you researched who your target audience is? Before getting into the nitty-gritty of building your platform, you must know who your target audience is.
If you think everyone is a potential customer, you will end up with randomly targeted campaigns that fail to reach your desired audience. By dividing your target market into smaller, more specific groupings, it allows you to create a more relevant marketing message for each group.
Your target market should be based on research, so before getting started, ask yourself these questions:
· Can you identify particular interests or hobbies that might be common to a specific channel’s target audience?
· Does your content target particular demographics – age groups, gender, ethnicity, or cultural background?
· Which geographies offer higher advertising CPM and have better conversion rates?
For example, Fast Channels TV has over 200 channels showing everything from sports, news, classic Hollywood movies, and comedy, as well as channels with LatAm, Indian and African content. Create your marketing strategy around these common themes and target segments of your audience.
Remember — you can’t be all things to all people, but you can be different things to different groups of people.
How much should I spend?
As a ballpark, you should be looking at marketing first (80 per cent of your budget), then content (15 per cent) and the technology investment could be as low as 5 per cent.
Use analytics to track KPIs and improve
Once you’ve launched your marketing campaign, it’s essential to keep an eye on what’s working and what isn’t. This isn’t an exact science, so there’s some trial and error learning involved. Luckily, every option outlined above has some kind of analytical tool available.
And finally…
Free ad-supported streaming is a fast-paced industry. It may take weeks or months to increase your customer acquisition rate, it entirely depends on your approach. Being open to experimenting and innovating will help you gain more customers in the long run.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy: no ‘one trick.’ You will need to consider multiple methods to market your content. Each niche has a different audience, and what works for one may not work for another. We recommend applying more than one method discussed here for your strategy and see what works for you and your audience.
And with our sophisticated white-label platform and FAST playout generation services, launching a successful FAST channel, or entire OTT streaming service, has never been easier. FAST Channels TV continues to bring advanced, flexible solutions to the market to give operators the power and confidence to leverage the value of their existing content library, build a global audience, maximise monetisation, expand channel lineups, and onboard new partners.
To learn how FAST Channel TV’s products and services can help you set up your FAST channels quickly and effectively, visit fastchannels.tv.
This is a sponsored article.