Some entrepreneurs think of following trends as an exhausting procedure. They don’t want to change anything that is currently working well. However, some get inspired by trends in the OTT solution industry and, almost without a second thought, implement them in business. These people usually appear several steps ahead of their competitors.

Let’s talk a bit more about why it is worth using trend ideas and what are those important for the OTT industry. Keep reading!

Why Are Trends Essential In Business?

Let’s discuss some reasons that can convince over the top platform (OTT) owners to incorporate trends. There are the following reasons:

  • Trends can inspire your ideas. Some trends can bring you many ideas on how to expand your business and make more revenue. For instance, creating videos is extremely popular right now, and you can let your imagination run wild, thriving with ideas on how to use videos in your business.
  • You can attract new customers while implementing trends. Some people chase everything trendy. Especially, it concerns the younger generation as they mostly prefer things that are in vogue. So, if you want to attract new customers, you need to be aware of what are their interests right now, what is on their minds, etc.
  • Trends make you stay up-to-date. Growing and enhancing is crucial for businesses. The reputation of trend followers is quite dubious. Some people are skeptical about all the fuss. However, sometimes changes bring better things. It is the question of whether to stay conservative or be more open-minded and try something new.

Of course, we do not push you to follow all trends that appear every day. It is essential to be selective and reasonable. It is hard to predict the future and what will be the result of this or that action. However, it is still worth doing something instead of not improving at all.

But let’s return to the main topic.

What trends should OTT/IPTV service providers follow?

5G Technology

The 5G tech solution has been a household word in the IT world for a while. There are significant reasons for that, as 5G can boost the OTT industry performance greatly.

5G has up to 10 times higher loading speed than the network that we currently use. It has the potential to deliver videos without irritating latencies, which will probably eliminate the buffering issue that many consumers experience. 

Along with the mind-blowing speed, 5G can provide high-quality video content. 5G increases the bandwidth reliability. It means that users will be able to watch full-HD videos in motion.

AR/VR

The OTT market has been exploring Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) for a while. The cooperation of two technologies is expected to increase the viewer engagement in the story or even make choices instead of main heroes. VR/AR gives the participants the possibility of a 360-degree view.

The experience of watching sports or entertainment shows using AR/VR technologies can be completely different. It can be close to the experience of visiting the event in real life. Those who cannot attend the occasion will highly appreciate the invention.

Localized content

The content produced in the audience’s native language is on the rise. Content localization means that you transform your content so that other audiences can understand it. It is the process of adapting content to the specific market by incorporating it with cultural and linguistic peculiarities.

It only partially involves translation. It is about knowing the peculiarities of different languages. For example, the American word “color” localized for the British market will look like “colour.”

UX/UI

User experience rules almost everything as consumers tend to stop using the platform if they find it difficult to navigate or the customer service doesn’t help properly. Every little detail can influence the user’s satisfaction.

The user interface is an essential part of the user experience. There are many alternatives to an OTT/IPTV platform. That is why a consumer knows that if they don’t find a particular movie on this platform, they can use the other one. Or, if this platform is difficult to navigate, they will switch to the one that is more user-friendly.

The content, subscription opportunities, personalization also matter to a consumer selecting an OTT solution.

Audio streaming

It seems like radios are gradually becoming history with audio streaming solutions replacing them. The situation is the same as with cable TV and OTT/IPTV platforms. Consumers cannot choose what they want to listen to right now as there is a set program on the radio.

Audio streaming allows a user to choose the music or a podcast to listen to. The content is also categorized pursuant to the genre, customer mood, topic, etc.

Mobile phones

Mobile phones are becoming the preferred device for watching video content. The reasons for their popularity can be broadband, the increased Internet speed with the help of 5G or LTE services, and the OTT services providing OTT solutions for mobile devices.

What is more, mobile phones allow users to access video or audio content wherever they are. Everything essential is the Internet connection.

Niche content

The trend aims at reaching a smaller group of people. It focuses on creating video content of high quality that a narrow target audience would definitely like. For example, it can be the OTT platform streaming romance movies or religious videos. The variety is eliminated by the business imagination. 

The target audience can be small, but the OTT/IPTV service provider has all chances to build strong relationships with these people, making them extremely loyal.

Conclusion

Following trends can open new horizons to businesses, bringing along a lot of benefits. For instance, customer satisfaction, increased user loyalty, business expansion, revenue growth, and other valuable things.

Trends help to stay up-to-date and keep up with the times. However, it is essential to sort out which trends to follow and which ones aren’t worth it. Not all of them can bring a business much profit.

By Manali