netflixeverywhere-blog

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BLACK MIRROR - Arkangel | Official Trailer

The key to good parenting is control.

Watch Black Mirror: https://www.netflix.com/title/70264888

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POST 9: RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Connect social media API's: The company's site isn’t connected with social media using the API’s provided by the social media networks, there would be immediate sharing of content via social media. By connecting the site with major social networks and adding their plugins, content could easily be shared to social media networks. For example, a user could like or share a video using the Facebook plugin button shown after watching an episode of a show, then that would be broadcast to the user’s Facebook network.

I would add "liking" and "sharing" functionality that connects to major social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, at the end of every video. This could be a pop-up that shows as the credits start to play, just like how Netflix currently has another video queue up to play during the credit sequence.

2. Add playlists: Allow for different types of playlists, like Spotify does. Currently, Netflix only allows the subscriber to add videos he or she likes to one overall list. Just like how Netflix provides different recommendations and sorting of their titles, the user should be allowed to sort the content into multiple categories/playlists to his or her liking. This combined with the above recommendation of connecting with social media API's would allow for sharing of these playlists as well, on social media networks, where user-generated content is key.

I can imagine Netflix lovers creating new memes and playlists to go along with them, and media influencers or just influencers in general gaining followers due to similar tastes in movies and tv shows. I often see other sites mention which titles are being added to or leaving Netflix each month, or which titles they would recommend to watch. Instead of just sharing text content, think of the immense sharing and viral capability of user-generated playlists that could spread like wildfire all over social media networks.

3. SEO optimization: Netflix can improve on its SEO ranking. When I search for random phrases such as “watch tv” or “watch movies” on Google, Hulu and several broadcast network websites are listed on the first page of the Search Engine Results Page but Netflix isn’t. Those keywords are included in the meta title and meta description of the website, but improvements can be made, such as including those and better keywords in H1 and H2 headings. Netflix can also work on its text ad.

As we have learned, being on the first page and near the very top can be crucial, as searchers may not search beyond the first few rankings. I believe Netflix could work on its keyword phrases for SEO optimization. Netflix should not rely on its past pop-culture infiltration alone and always work to stay relevant, by working on improving SEO and its ranking so that it can gain more subscribers.

4. Free content: People may be wary of signing up even for a free trial and providing a company with their credit card information. They may forget to unsubscribe or might worry about their information being secure. Perhaps they aren't sure if they will be receiving value for their money and don't want to go through the hassle of joining, which could be an impediment to even more conversion of potential new subscribers.

One way to convince people to join is to provide free content that people can access without the hassle of having to sign up or subscribe. Providing one to a few episodes of exclusive or original content for free, without requiring visitors to sign up, may hook viewers in and lead to higher conversion rates. Those people would most likely not have subscribed without viewing the free content so this can lead to more customer acquisition. Having certain content always free, a freemium-like model may lead to more profitability.

5. More interconnectivity and content marketing: Netflix currently does a phenomenal job with its social media marketing efforts, but the various channels could be more integrated together and also tied in with its content properties. It controls its exclusive, original content. There could be a website url displayed on screen within an episode of a Netflix original tv show, then Netflix could actually create that site. To drum up excitement for the tv show, Netflix could make mysterious posts about the new site across all social media channels before that episode is even released, perhaps with a countdown clock or release date. This type up marketing with create even more loyalty, with high levels of engagement.

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POST 8: SOCIAL MEDIA

Netflix is extremely good at making all of its marketing efforts tie in together, with consistent brand messaging and marketing across all avenues and platforms, including expert social media usage. It positions itself strategically across all social media networks, combining its use with that of its own website and paid marketing efforts to get its money's worth from the Paid, Owned, Earned framework.

Netflix, with its social media marketing, capitalizes on the loyalty path. Using social media, it generates customer acquisition, engagement with its subscribers and social media followers/subscribers, and creating valuable brand equity, which repeats in an endless cycle. People come back to the brand not just for its library and original content, but also due to the loyalty created from engagement and the brand equity the company has built, establishing a rabid following. It has millions of followers.

When Netflix releases a trailer for a movie or tv show, it uploads the video to all of its social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. The company always has someone interacting with the fans, responding to comments, liking comments, retweeting, reposting, etc. Many of its posts and shared content, and user-generated content about Netflix's shows and movies, go viral. The engagement rate is obviously very high, and Netflix often shares user-generated content about its titles, such as fanart or fan-made videos and GIFs. A piece of fanart, such as a movie poster, will be shared to each social media network. With followers creating the content for the company and millions of followers on every social media channel, Netflix is a social media success story. Its social media usage involves humor, contests, and collecting feedback.

There is always consistent branding and marketing, with the same branding and design elements used throughout all channels. The same content is shared to all channels. But at the same time, there are distinctive qualities that make each one different. The company likes to mix it up, and some photos may only be posted to certain channels. The important content and videos, such as trailers, are posted to all sites.

Netflix even goes so far as to create individual social media channels devoted exclusively to one content property, for their hot titles.

FACEBOOK

Currently 40,579,923 likes + 40,549,368 followers

Instead of using a cover photo, Netflix's page uses a cover video that advertises several of its latest titles and upcoming releases. The current video showcases what is being released in November 2017.

There are links to its other social media channels (Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube) as well as to its landing page of a one month free trial, using the trifecta of the Paid, Owned, Earned framework.

There is a support page in order to help subscribers who may be having trouble with the actual Netflix site itself and need troubleshooting advice. This acts as a product update page as well as a customer support and feedback page.

There can be thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of likes on one post, which can also receive thousands of comments and shares.

TWITTER

Currently 21.2k tweets, following 899 others, 4.07M followers + 11k likes

On Twitter, Netflix posts many tweets that are just text, not involving images or videos or GIFs. So the company seems to make more posts on this channel. It frequently retweets followers and celebrities that relate to the content titles, asks its followers questions, and replies to users.

INSTAGRAM

Currently 960 posts, following 261, 5.4M followers

On Instagram, Netflix posts mostly photos. It frequently regrams posts from related celebrities, such as actors from its tv shows and movies, as well as relevant grams from fans. Netflix makes and posts lots of photos only for this channel, which makes sense as Instagram is a photo-centric social media network for sharing photos.

YOUTUBE

Currently 2,548,384 subscribers

The main Netflix Youtube channel has millions of subscribers, but the company also has other featured channels. It has created region and language-specific channels, such as one for France, one for Brasil, etc., and a channel just for kid-friendly content. It also has a channel devoted to Chelsea Lately, with 183,123 current subscribers.

Its video content has been categorized into multiple playlists. For example, there is a playlist for Marvel videos, and within the Marvel playlist there is one for only "The Defenders" videos, only "Jessica Jones" videos, etc.

There is special content just for the Youtube channel. Netflix uploads new digital exclusive content each week only to here.

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POST 7: LANDING PAGE

Netflix has two landing pages, one available to all that new potential subscribers and current subscribers who are logged out can see. The other landing page is the page that subscribers land on when they are logged in and visit the site.

The first landing page is the more crucial one here, as it is what is used to draw in new customers, new subscribers. Unless if Netflix is creating a marketing-campaign specific landing page for content marketing, in order to perhaps market a specific show, all ads such as text ads or video trailers or just seeing the logo itself, possibly on physical billboards or magazine ads, would lead back to the main url: https://www.netflix.com. This would lead to the main landing page, which is a multi-product landing page and a subscription landing page in one.

This page uses Netflix’s typical design elements and is consistent with its overall branding. There is the ubiquitous black and/or dark overlays, with white and red. The Netflix logo is at the top left corner as it is for the rest of the company’s website, and the “sign in” button is at the top right corner, which is where the logged-in subscriber’s account information is also located inside the site.

The page is very minimal, with very lean content, minimal text and one main call-to-action for new subscribers. The “join free for a month” button is large and in red under the headline, with a majority of the page’s real estate devoted to gaining new subscribers. No other copy is needed and the products are shown. The image is one overall image and gives the landing page the feeling that the potential subscriber is watching a video already, while also advertising many of company’s content titles at the same time within the image, with several of the titles in key positions being Netflix-original content. The one image advertises multiple products and highlights Netflix’s unique value proposition of offering exclusive and original content.

Netflix’s landing page has been perfectly designed and optimized to lead to conversion. The conversion process is also very simple, with minimal forms that smooth the process and lead to high conversion rates.

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POST 6: DIGITAL ADVERTISING

With a $1000 budget for digital advertising, as Netflix is a company providing access to video content, I would suggest spending it on video and motion graphics advertisements on social media networks via placement targeting (instead of using a display ad through a display network) as social media users are susceptible to watching video content and ads. Using videos to show trailers of some of its content, for example, would be more effective than an image ad or a text ad. It makes sense to use video content to advertise movies and tv titles and banner ads aren't that effective, while video marketing content should explode in the future.

To capitalize on its content and with the limited budget, videos acting as trailers or showing captivating content from upcoming, soon-to-be-released shows would be best. There could also be motion graphics or GIFs created that highlight frames or certain sequences from the Netflix titles, such as meme-worthy moments. Video content can be expensive, but by using clips from existing footage to make videos or GIFs, these ads can be made on the cheap.

Example of a trailer video ad cut together from existing footage, shown on Facebook and Youtube. The video was uploaded to Youtube one day ago (Nov 25, 2017) and already has over 1.7M views. It’s #2 trending on Youtube. Free advertising on social media networks, existing content that only had to be edited together, and the video has gone viral.

The video ad or ads would be scheduled to advertise on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, and Youtube, with links at the end of the videos leading to Netflix's social media channels, as call-to-actions and to encourage virality. I chose these social media networks because their users already watch a lot of videos and of their user-generated sharing capability. These video ads can be chosen to display to users with similar interests using interest targeting. For example, someone who lists likes Marvel and action heroes would be shown a “Punisher” trailer video for the show that was just recently released.

The Netflix logo would of course be displayed through the entirety of the videos. I would also have the same videos uploaded to all of Netflix's social media networks for free advertising, as well as using email marketing to highlight these ads. It would be a mix of paid media, owned media, and earned media. Within the ads, it is important to highlight the unique value proposition of its original content that is only available through the Netflix platform, Netflix-exclusive movies and tv shows that can't be found anywhere else. There needs to be consistent messaging and branding. I would advertise a limited-time-only discounted subscription or a longer free trial, with the link leading to a targeted, consistent landing page advertising that special deal.

Throughout the digital advertising campaign, it is important to keep an eye on click-through-rates, conversion rates, and return on ad spend.

[netflixeverywhere-blog]

Stranger Things Season 2, now available only on NETFLIX

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BLOG POST 5: REVIEW

Success of Dunkin' Donuts; Kashiwagi; Kim https://successofdunkindonuts.tumblr.com

Mai has done an excellent job on this blog. She has included images in all of her posts and posted great assessments of the website, seo evaluation, and persona. I agree that the website could be improved by adding a search bar. I liked the introductory paragraph to the persona and especially the well-written ad extensions: free beverages, special offers & rewards. One recommendation I would have is for Mai to break up some of the longer paragraphs into shorter paragraphs so that they're easier to read, as long blocks of text are difficult to read on the internet.

Tesla Innovation; Foley; Kim https://teslainnovation.tumblr.com/

Foley's blog is well-designed, clean, and modern, like a Tesla. The posts all include images too. However, the image for the persona post should be of an actual person, not a Tesla model. Although Tesla started out as a luxury brand of cars only attainable by the wealthy, the company has been executing Musk's vision of lowering prices and developing models that are affordable to everyone, so Foley should easily be able to afford the newer, cheaper Model 3. I liked that the persona is said to care about the environment as Tesla cars are electric. The text ad has no ad extensions. I agree that their SEO could be improved with only a score of 77 and that their website could add more content, despite having down a great job of integrating images and videos highlighting the cars.

5th Watches Online; Hawkins; Kim https://5thwatchesonline.tumblr.com/

Deric's blog is very simple and minimalist, which matches the minimalist design of the brand's watches as well as its website. The website itself and the blog both are designed to attract the target demographic for the brand's product. Although I wished there was more content for some of the blog posts, having little content matches the minimalist style of the brand. I agree with reducing the H1 and H2 headings and making them more relevant so that the website has better SEO. These can be viewed as spam by search engines. I believe Deric forgot to bold all of the keywords. His text ad is missing ad extensions and a call-to-action, otherwise it is very well written. The target customer base is described in detail but there is no actual persona developed.

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POST 4: PERSONA

Persona

Name: Ashley Jones

Face: (image)

Background: Caucasian, single, college age/young adult, intelligent and educated, third generation American, lives in urban college town or metropolitan

Demographics: female, 18-29, low income on a student budget but from middle-class family

Identifiers: discount, trendy, social

Goals/Challenges: to find cost effective entertainment, socialize with friends while doing well in school

Interests: tv shows, social media, books, fashion, coffee shops, the gym, yoga

Media choices: Gossip Girl, Friends, The Vampire Diaries, Stranger Things, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, romantic movies, comedies, New York Times bestsellers

Methods for advertising

How we help: affordable quality entertainment, trending media content, can watch content together with others (socialize at the same time)

Objections: time, other media options (Hulu, HBO Go), torrenting

Marketing message: Entertaining and trending, exclusive media content at a low subscription price that can be watched anywhere, anytime

TEXT AD

UVP: Entertaining and trending, exclusive media content that is only available to subscribers (Netflix-only content). Also licensed content that may not be available on any other video sites

Headline 1: Netflix - See What’s Next

Headline 2: Watch TV and Movies Online

Description: Watch online or stream to your mobile. Watch with friends, anywhere, anytime. Start your free trial now.

Path/Display URL: www.netflix.com

Ad Extensions: offer extension of one additional month free, review extension, customer ratings extension to boost click-through-rates

Call to Action: free trial, subscribe today

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POST 3: SEO

Pros

Meta Title and Meta Description are appropriate and within search engine truncated lengths.

Meta Title: Netflix - Watch TV Shows Online, Watch Movies Online

Meta Description: Watch Netflix movies & TV shows online or stream right to your smart TV, game console, PC, Mac, mobile, tablet and more. Start your free trial today.

Keywords are being used in meta-tags. H1 and H2 headings are also used.

H1: See what’s next.

H2: Choose one plan and watch everything on Netflix.

Netflix’s site uses a sitemap, which allows search engine crawlers to crawl the website more easily by listing all of the site’s pages and their metadata. Netflix has 247 sitemap files.

There is a robots.txt file. There are no broken links and all webpage URLs are SEO-friendly. The site doesn’t use deprecated html tags but does have a favicon. There are also no severe javascript errors on the page. The site also has good security.

The site has short load times and due to its subscription-only model, no ads! Netflix has original and quality content that is valuable to subscribers, giving the site a high ranking.

 Cons

Image alt text isn’t used. There are five images, “img” tags that don’t contain the required “alt” attribute.

There is one inline css style, which should be moved to an external css file.

The site isn’t connected with social media using the API’s provided by the social media networks, there would be immediate sharing of content via social media.

 Fixes

The first two cons are very quick and easy fixes.

The last one regarding connecting to social media via provided API’s seems crucial. By connecting the site with major social networks and adding their plugins, content could easily be shared to social media networks. For example, a user could like or share a video using the Facebook plugin button shown after watching an episode of a show, then that would be broadcast to the user’s Facebook network.

When I search for random phrases such as “watch tv” or “watch movies,” Hulu and certain broadcast network websites show up on the first page of the Search Engine Results Page but Netflix doesn’t. I believe Netflix could work on its keyword phrases for SEO optimization. Although Netflix is has become meme-worthy and is nearly ubiquitous, it can always improve SEO and its ranking and gain more subscribers.

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POST 2: WEBSITE

Netflix is a media site that hosts and streams available media from its library to paying users (and free trial members). Being a visual company with its service being providing access to moving images, the design of the site is especially important.

Content is customized according to each user’s search patterns and previous viewing history. Besides Netflix’s recommendations, the user can search for a title; Netflix has a search engine built into its site architecture. Algorithms are used to display recommendations as well as search results, all which are done to maximize conversion - for a user to click and view a title.

The site is elegant in its simplicity. There are visual hierarchies, with the header and main navigation at the top, the slider just below showing the latest popular content, and then the recommended titles below and the footer at the bottom. The clearly defined areas allow for easy navigation.

There are grids of rows of the provided content of television shows and films, all organized into serial rectangles. There is consistency and repetition to the content, which is all streaming media organized according to Netflix’s algorithms, which each category an individual row populated by an array of tv show or movie titles.

Besides the categories and the names of each title displaying on the thumbnail images, there is no other copy needed. The thumbnails are all that is needed to grab the user’s interest. Thus there is no extraneous copy or distractions, allowing for easy scanning and browsing of titles.

When you hover over a title, the rectangle of that tv show or movie enlarges with information about it, with an arrow that leads to more options. The user can read a plot overview, choose to watch a specific episode, or view additional info such as user reviews. This displays congruence. When you click directly on a title, it starts playing the movie or where you left off on a show.

After you’re done watching an episode, the next one queues up to play within seconds, and there is a call-to-action for the user to play the video immediately. When a user hovers near the top left while watching a title, the back button allows the user to go back to the main page, to search for something else to watch. This is all continuance.

Other media streaming sites such as Hulu use similar media website conventions, putting page elements in the locations. The logo is on the top left, user account and search bar on the top right. The footer has social media icons as well as links that are unrelated to searching for media content, such as jobs with the company.

The site uses the color scheme of black, white and red. The black background simulates the movie-going experience, while white allows for legibility and the red stands out against the black background, creating contrast. These colors allow the thumbnails of the media content to shine and attract the user. It is obvious what is clickable throughout, with buttons and links in white or red, with iconography to indicate the usage (“play” button for playing a title or direction arrows). The home page that subscribed users see before logging in or a new customer sees before signing up also has the same look and feel as the rest of the site, all in the same colors, with the call-to-action buttons in red.

The site uses responsive web design and displays in the same manner on a user’s phone screen, but users are encouraged to use the Netflix mobile app for a more streamlined and smoother viewing experience.

The website uses good design principles and is optimized for conversion. As of now, I can’t think of anything to add or change.

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Netflix is a joke. There, we said it. Brand new stand-up specials from Dave Chappelle, Ellen DeGeneres, Chris Rock, and Jerry Seinfeld are coming soon. Only on Netflix. 

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POST 1: START

This blog will function as a term project for MKT 151 (Fullerton College, Fall 2017) about the NETFLIX brand.

Kim https://netflixeverywhere.tumblr.com Netflix