As the consumption of online video content continues to rise, the demand for cloud-based publishing tools makes creating and sharing videos easier than ever. If you’re looking for a way to take your online video presence to the next level, here are some best practices for using cloud-based OTT content publishing tools.
OTT services continue to grow in popularity as more and more people cut the cord on their traditional cable TV service. But with this new freedom to watch what you want, when you want, come new challenges for content publishers. How can you make sure the widest possible audience sees your content? And how can you ensure that your viewers have a great experience no matter which device they’re using? We’ll provide some best practices for publishing content in the cloud-based OTT environment.
Best Practices for Cloud-Based OTT Content Publishing
The delivery of media and entertainment over the internet will be valued for immediacy and follow a path similar to the digital delivery of financial services and information technology.
Content is delivered from the cloud from the perspective of the consumer. Even though the content is provided over the Internet, the experience will seem like broadcasting to the consumer. User devices will disappear. We will not see wires or recognize that we are using the Internet to access this content.
Television will be an on-demand experience dominated by traditional networks and cable providers, but with different added features, like social media or community engagement. Social media will be a dominant force in accessing and distributing content. Data will be collected on the user and perhaps specific recommendations and customized experiences.
OTT content publishing will happen not only on traditional television but also through mobile phone apps, computers, tablets, and other devices. Viewers will be “rented” and offered using a subscription model.
Broadcast and OTT videos will be distributed as a “video as a service” over the Internet, managed, and monetized over the cloud. Online publishers will produce videos. Aggregators and publishers will be “multichannel” and offer personalized video experiences. Consumers will be able to travel with video feeds.
Organizations are expected to move content publishing to the Cloud. They will rely on OTT (play to the cloud) systems and SaaS-based solutions to push information to mobile devices and consume it.
Entrepreneurs will harness the cloud to create new businesses, challenging the dominance of existing leaders. Their business models will be less tied to the sale of devices or ownership of media assets and more tied to the sale of add-ons (such as premium extras or digital games and apps), as well as advertising.
These future entrepreneurs will also leverage the user data they collect to gain insight into content to produce programs with greater appeal to specific demographics, advertisers, and audiences. In some cases, this will mean rethinking old ways of thinking about content in terms of networks, broadcast scheduling, and distribution. The future of OTT content production is toward a more user-centric system enabled by the web.
Users will have the convenience of using their Internet-enabled devices to access Internet-based entertainment, educational and other content with higher-quality video, more incredible speed, and the ability to customize their own experience through an on-demand approach.
TV will be offered as a cloud-based, “over the top” service, delivered via the Internet, bypassing traditional broadcasting and cable-television delivery methods and instead relying on the World Wide Web, IPTV delivery methods, and digital home networking technologies.
- Use a CDN to deliver content quickly and reliably
- Utilize cloud-based storage for video files
- Encrypt all video files before uploading them to the cloud
- Optimize your videos for faster streaming by using adaptive bitrate encoding, which reduces buffering time and improves playback quality on mobile devices
- Decide how you want to deliver your content
- Select a cloud-based OTT platform that meets your needs
- Develop an editorial calendar for publishing your content
- Set up your distribution channels, including social media and email marketing campaigns
- Determine the type of content you are publishing
- Research the best practices for your chosen platform
- Create a plan to publish your content on time and according to the schedule
- Identify any legal or ethical issues that may arise during publication, such as copyright infringement or defamation
- Use a CDN to deliver content faster
- Optimize your site for mobile devices
- Encrypt your data to prevent hacking and theft of customer information
- Host video on Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform
- Offer live streaming services with low latency, high-quality streams, and no buffering
- Determine your business objectives
- Identify the content you want to publish
- Determine what type of cloud-based OTT platform is best for your needs (e.g., AWS, Azure)
- Define the data flow and storage requirements for each piece of content published
- Map out the technical workflow required to publish a piece of content
- Develop an implementation plan with timelines and milestones
- Select the best platform for your business
- Choose a CMS that fits your needs and budget
- Create a content strategy that is scalable and flexible to meet changing demands in the market
- Make sure your content is optimized for all devices, including mobile phones, tablets, TVs, and desktop computers
- Consider your audience and what they want
- Find the right platform for you and your content
- Design a custom user interface that is easy to use and navigate
- Make sure the video player loads quickly and smoothly on any device
- Create an account with a CDN service so viewers can see your content from anywhere in the world
- Know what you’re uploading
- Make sure your content is compatible with the device and operating system of your viewers
- Upload at a high quality but not too large
- Create an account on YouTube or Vimeo if you don’t have one already
- Add captions to videos where necessary
- Consider the type of content you are creating and how it will be used
- Determine what features your audience is looking for in a streaming service
- Choose the right video player to fit your needs, including one with closed captioning capabilities
- Optimize your videos for playback on different devices by following the best codecs, resolutions, and formats.
Conclusion:
If you’re looking to get started with a new OTT content strategy or want to improve your current one, this blog post is for you.
We’ll cover the best practices in cloud-based content publishing and how they can be used to drive more engagement from viewers on your platform.
With these tips at hand, we hope that you will have an easier time when it comes down to executing your own OTT marketing plan.
Keep reading below if you need help implementing any of these strategies or would like advice on which ones might work well for your specific business needs!
