Enhancing OTT User Experience with Advanced Personalization Techniques

OTT media allows for a much higher degree of personalization than traditional TV. Users can customize what they want to see and what they never want to hear about again. Algorithms recommend content to drum up more engagement. As a content creator, however, it may feel like you don't have much input. How can creators personalize experiences for their audience when platforms primarily take care of personalization on their own? Consider a few ideas to improve personalization on your channel.

Enhancing OTT User Experience With Advanced Personalization Techniques

Take Advantage of OTT Media Algorithms

While it's true that OTT platforms will handle personalized recommendations on their own through algorithms, you can take advantage of that algorithm to get more of your viewers to see your content. Consider where your audience is based, and make short-form videos or consider tweaking titles of existing productions to cater to that audience. Rather than a "5 Things everyone should know about x" video, a channel with lots of Indian viewers might change "everyone" to "Indians".

It can also be beneficial to show your audience how to best use the platform's features to distort their own algorithm. You may have noticed that many YouTubers started telling their audience to subscribe and click the bell icon. The bell icon controls notifications for the channel, and if it's not turned on, then YouTube will eventually stop pushing notifications if a user hasn't clicked on one in a while or if the channel hasn't uploaded anything in months.

Use Platform Features for Personalization

Some OTT platforms provide extra features for content creators to deliver more personalized experiences. For instance, YouTube has memberships that users can join directly through the platform for a monthly fee. Members could be allowed to see content before others, or have exclusive access to promotions, giveaways, and more.

Features like these give you more control as a content creator, allowing you to deliver more personalized experiences to your followers. Polls and surveys are also useful for learning what your audience likes. Some creators have even gone as far as to include usernames of members or Patreon subscribers in their content!

Build a Personalized Community

Engaging directly with your community is one of the most personalized forms of interaction. This approach can work quite well for smaller channels in growth stages, since it can be easier to manage the volume of communications with a smaller group. Larger channels may want to paywall this level of contact with memberships or Patreon subscriptions.

The channel Climate Town famously put a red phone on the desk that members can call at literally any time to ask questions. While that might be a bit extreme for some creators, this example shows just how far you can take personalization if you really want to.

Get Viewers Onto Other Platforms

Consider encouraging your viewers to follow on other platforms where you can have more personalized contact. Many communities complement their content with access to Discord servers or online forums on their website. These spaces allow for more controlled interaction and don't have to increase your expenses.

You can also publish your content on more platforms, which will expand your audience and allow users to personalize their own experience by viewing your content on their favorite OTT media service. To make that easier, schedule a callback with Lightcast to use our Media Cloud. You can publish your content everywhere all at once and help your OTT content find a wider audience.