With the right content, user experience, marketing, and monetization strategies, your streaming service has the potential to thrive in this booming market.
The streaming media industry is experiencing a meteoric rise. In 2022, the global streaming media market is expected to be worth a staggering $157.4 billion. The increasing popularity of streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video globally, and strong regional players, is being driven by the growing number of users who (have cancelled their cable connections and) are willing to pay for content delivered to them over the internet.
If you're a media company, you may be considering launching your own streaming service to tap into this lucrative market. Before you jump in, there are several factors you need to consider to maximise your chances of success.
Define your target audience and niche
The first step in launching a streaming service is to define your target audience. Determine who you are trying to reach with your service and what kind of content they're interested in. Are you targeting a specific age group, region, or interest? Once you know your target audience, you can start developing a content strategy that will appeal to them. Furthermore, finding a niche market to differentiate yourself from competitors can help you stand out in a crowded market.
Secure the rights to high-quality content and create original programming
The most crucial factor in the success of a streaming service is the quality of its content. You need to secure the rights to high-quality content that will keep your subscribers coming back for more. This could include popular movies, TV shows, exclusive content, or even live sports events. Original programming is also a significant driver for success, as it creates unique value for your service that can't be found elsewhere.
How Laminar Helps You
Our comprehensive content and asset management platform allows you to publish content to specific regions, sparing you the cost of paying for global rights. We also enable you to strike revenue-sharing partnerships with content owners where they get a dashboard that lets them track how their content is performing on your platform.
Build a user-friendly platform with exceptional UX/UI design
Your streaming service should be easy to use and visually appealing. Users should be able to find the content they're looking for quickly and easily. A seamless user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design are critical, as they impact how your audience perceives your service. The platform should also be responsive, reliable, and compatible with various devices, including smart TVs, gaming consoles, and mobile devices.
How Laminar Helps You
You get apps for 25+ platforms immediately that you can customise to your heart's content from an easy-to-use backend. What's more, you can have a UI that is specific to regions — and you can change it as many times a day as you like.
Market your service effectively with a diverse strategy
Once you have a great service, you need to let people know about it. Implement a diverse marketing strategy that utilises social media, online advertising, public relations, and influencer partnerships. It's also essential to develop a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience.
How Laminar Helps You
Our industry-leading data platform doesn't just give you insights, it gives you the ability to export and target audience segments on the basis of what they like to watch, their on-platform behaviour and more.
Price your service competitively and offer flexible plans
The price of your streaming service is also important. You need to find a price point that is affordable for your target audience while allowing you to make a profit. Offering different pricing tiers, such as basic, premium, or family plans, can cater to different consumer preferences and encourage subscriptions.
How Laminar Helps You
People in different parts of the world will value your content differently, and will be willing to pay different amounts of money for it — we enable you to publish as many country-specific plans as you like. We have also integrated multiple payment gateways to make it easy for your users to transact with you using a payment method of their choice.
Monetise your service through diverse revenue streams
There are several ways to monetise a streaming service, including:
Subscription fees: The most common method of monetising a streaming service. Users pay a monthly or annual fee to access the service.
Advertising: Another popular way to monetise a streaming service. Partner with advertisers to display their ads within the service, either as pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll ads.
Selling merchandise: Although less common, selling merchandise like t-shirts, hats, and mugs with your service's logo or branding can generate additional revenue.
Selling premium content: Offer exclusive content such as episodes, behind-the-scenes footage, or deleted scenes to your most dedicated fans for an additional cost.
Pay-per-view (PPV) events: If your streaming service offers live events, such as sports or concerts, offering them on a pay-per-view basis can be a lucrative revenue stream.
How Laminar Helps You
Laminar enables you to offer all of these options quickly. Perhaps, the best thing we have to offer customers is the speed with which you can go to market with multiple offerings.
Provide excellent customer service with various support channels
No matter how good your service is, there will always be customers who need help. Ensure you have a team of customer service representatives available to assist customers with any problems they may have. Offer support through various channels, such as live chat, email, and social media, to accommodate different customer preferences.
How Laminar Helps You
We easily integrate against multiple help desk solutions and give you a secure panel where your help-desk staff can access user information, sell plans, offer discounts and more.
Optimise technical infrastructure for global distribution
In addition to the factors listed above, you also need to consider a number of technical considerations when launching a streaming service, such as:
Content delivery network (CDN): A CDN is a network of servers distributed around the world, enabling the quick and reliable delivery of content to users, regardless of their location.
Content protection: Protect your content from piracy using methods like DRM (digital rights management) and watermarking.
Latency: Minimise latency to ensure a seamless streaming experience for users. Optimise buffering algorithms, and use adaptive bitrate streaming to accommodate varying network conditions.
Bandwidth: Ensure adequate bandwidth to support the number of users expected to be streaming simultaneously.
Security: Protect user data from unauthorised access, theft, or modification. Implement robust security measures, such as encryption and secure authentication, to maintain the integrity of your streaming service.
How Laminar Helps You
We have built the world's best streaming Platform-as-a-Service — think of us as the Shopify of streaming. Our customers don't need a single engineer on staff — we manage everything technical for you with industry-leading Service-Level commitments ensuring you can focus on what really matters — creating amazing content and delighting your audiences.
Utilise data analytics to refine and improve your service
Data analytics plays a vital role in the continuous improvement of your streaming service. By monitoring and analysing user behaviour, content preferences, and engagement metrics, you can identify trends and optimise your content strategy. Data-driven decisions will help you create a better user experience, drive customer retention, and ultimately increase revenue.
How Laminar Helps You
Laminar's comprehensive data platform is the best in the world — it is comprehensive and allows you to do more than just look at analytics. The recommendation engine is just one example, but there's a lot more.
Ensure scalability and adaptability
The streaming industry is ever-changing, and your streaming service must be adaptable to keep up with market trends and technological advancements. Plan for scalability, ensuring that your platform can handle growth in both content and user base. Continuously refine your content offerings, pricing strategies, and platform features to maintain relevance and keep your audience engaged.
By following these comprehensive steps, you can increase your chances of success in the competitive streaming media industry. With the right content, user experience, marketing, and monetization strategies, your streaming service has the potential to thrive in this booming market.
We'll be at Festival de Cannes between 16th to 27th May, 2023. Come meet us at Marché du Film, Festival De Cannes, Rivera J-9 to discover the full potential of your content library and explore how we can help you spin up your own Live, AVOD or SVOD platform within weeks.