#itsnetflixtime

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Improve Netflix.

Netflix has paved the way for other services such as Hulu, Amazon Prime, and even HBO GO. What separates each service from another is their exclusive content and/or their functionality that they offer for their users. There are some features that users like myself wish the service would take into consideration to help make the brand that much more appealing to its existing users and new customers.

 1. Rental Streaming

           Rental streaming is something that Apple is currently leading when it comes to TV and Movies which is Netflix’s niche market. Looking at Netflix, not every title is available for streaming at the convenience of your television or your connect device. Customers are willing to pay a fee as shown through apple to view a movie or television show for a certain amount of time for a small fee. By adding this service, it would not only make the brand more viable but also be more convenient for those who do not want to wait for an actual dvd to appear at their door step to watch something that is readily unavailable on Netflix.

 2. Calendar Optimization

           A lot of users often get consumed into a new season of a TV shows, especially if it is one that you are trying out and get completely engulfed in without warning because it is that good. Having a feature that would allow users to schedule days as to when they wish to watch a show or a movie would be convenient for syncing to your current calendar on your mobile device. This also would give people the motivation to get through an entire season of a show within a certain amount of time prior to a new season starting, example, the revamp of the Gilmore girls. At the same time of the Calendar Optimization, allowing for the number of hours committed to a program without interruption would go hand in hand with this feature.

 3. Feature More Movies

           This specific recommendation ties into the first recommendation as well. Netflix prides itself on its diversity amongst films, television shows, and even comedic shows. However, there has been a decline of movies available to stream, both current and classics. Unfortunately, video stores like Blockbuster are no longer around for those movies that we would want to revisit or even make those early afternoon visits to get the newest film on tape when it got released to ensure you would be able to watch it first. Movies are still a huge part of our culture and should not be left in the dark. This also reinforces the rental service I was talking about earlier, which would turn into a small profit and create a ROI for allowing a temporary stream of the content chosen.

 4. Incorporate More Ratings

           The ratings currently are based off what users rate the film or television show, rating from one star to five stars. This does not include the ratings from other accredited sites such as IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. Critic ratings are more commonly seen across the board when affiliated with any film or television show. If you were to google one or the other, a rating from both or at least one of those sites will be affiliated with your search giving a breakdown of score of how the project lies. Taking it a step further, even movie theaters display the ratings when you are checking for times on a website as well. The general public’s view is not always perceivable as an accurate portrayal of something. People tend to be extremists when rating something between a one to five range which could simply have a movie or show skipped because of a mediocre or low rating. This just give the brand more creditability and also more exposure of the shows or movies people will be watching.

 5. Offline Streaming

           Offline Streaming would be the utmost convenient change available for the brand to piggyback on. Sure, almost everybody has a device that can connect to Wi-Fi or is connected to a service where you can stream your favorite shows or movies, however what if you do not live somewhere where your connectivity is spotty, or you are constantly traveling, offline streaming would improve all of that. By allowing users to offline stream specific content based on selecting an option to download the content to be available as an offline stream would alleviate problems such as this. This would change the game of Netflix and allow users to fully access content at any point in time regardless of their whereabouts. I feel as if this topic has been a constant battle for the service to tackle upon, but I do feel like it is time they make a big splash and separate themselves by adding this service to users to help continue and show how they lead the streaming industry.

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Social Media Across the Board.

Netflix has a very strong social media presence. They are actively updating their Instagram (Over 3.7 Million Followers), Facebook ( Over 34 Million Followers), Pinterest, YouTube (For each specified country), and even Twitter ( Over 3 million Followers with also country specific accounts). Netflix tends to stay on top of Twitter the most out of all of the social media platforms, by not only posting but also replying to users tweets quite frequently, which establishes the connection of how the brand values their customers. They are seen in Twitter to retweet content from their other countries accounts but also from everyday users who directly input their twitter handle @Twitter. It looks as if Netflix is utilizing the targeting method of tailored audience that Twitter has available, which would explain their increased involvement amongst the other social media platforms. Their content is often broadcasting and socializing the current trends in pop culture that is trending amongst Television and Movies on all of the platforms to ensure the relevance factor is current.  Netflix is also on top of their YouTube account which features anywhere from three to 4 posts a week of what’s currently trending this season or what the month has to offer to its subscribers. With each video Netflix posts on Netflix they do not utilize advertising such as: display ads, overlay ads, bumper ads, or even  sponsor ads which all could revert to signing up potential clients for the streaming service if they are not already signed up, which in return would help with conversion. I feel like the brand is represented extremely well amongst every platform, providing visuals in both videos and phots but personalizing each platform with different content so that they are not repeated and just mass produced in sense to get it in front of the consumer. They do an amazing job at representing what is in store for users both now and next which keeps people constantly viewing these social media platforms and staying current with what is happening. Aside from those social media platforms, Netflix also has Blogs that are available for the users who love to discuss their current obsessions and how the brand impacts their day to day. The only other inconsistent feature is a lack there of for maintaining a call to action that is replicated amongst each platform. If you view the website, their call to action is consistent throughout the marketing stand point, however, when viewing each social media platform, they all evoke something focus on a different aspect of the brand by either highlighting a show, providing a brief history of the brand, or providing customer care information. I feel by establishing a consistent brand message amongst each platform and having a strong call to action which they already have, they would be able to convert more customers over to the free trial period and effectively create a greater ROI.

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Landing Pages.

Landing pages can be extremely crucial to a brands business, virtually creating that initial experience for a potential customer to the brand after expressing some interest. Landing pages are utilized to expand the initial message of the previous advertisement that brought them to the page and convert that customer, which coincides with the importance of Conversion Rate Optimization. One of Netflix’s strength is their Marketing, which makes perfect sense as to how sleek their Landing Page formats out. Netflix utilizes the combination of simple content mixed with a great call to action, “Join Free for a Month” in a big red box that stands out from the black background. This also is represented in the companies banner ads and maintaining the same call to action to get people to sign up for the free trial. By also maintaining the same usage of call to action it helps reduce the bounce rate from landing pages which in turn helps with conversion as well by not possibly misleading a customer by changing lingo.

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What $1000 Marketing can do.

If I had a $1000 budget for digital advertising of Netflix I would approach spending the money on a basis of ensuring each potential customer visiting our site was consistently either signing into a previous account or signing up for a free trial. I would invest in Content Marketing, ensuring that the companies branded niche is completely clear but also ensuring the content is rich with graphics of popular tv shows and movies, but also make it personalized by offering personalization. Another are I would invest in would be Social Media Marketing, which touches base amongst platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or even Snapchat to help captivate every age group.  With that same concept I would also utilize the assistance of paid search marketing and displays to help promote the streaming service, specifically highlighting the free trial and flashing through the current popular movies. Having these banners help promote traffic and eventually create conversion which is the final area I would invest in. Conversion Rate Optimization is crucial for ensuring people are not just visiting your site but actually utilizing the site for what it is intended for, which in this case is to one of two options, 1. Sign into an existing account or 2. Start a New Free Trial. In conjunction all of these strategies would equate to more potential customers signing up for the free trial Netflix has to offer.

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Sign Up Time.

Susie is a twenty-four-year-old girl who is attending her final year in college at Cal State Long Beach. Susie really is a socialite but does enjoy staying in a few days every so often to offset the expense of going out so much. On her days in if she is not doing homework she is watching movies and/or television shows while doing her day to day activities such as cleaning, homework, or even cooking. Susie grew up watching shows like Gilmore Girls, Friends, Gossip Girl, and even the O.C. To ensure Susie initiates a trial with Netflix I would utilize keywords such as stream, shows, watch, free, download, phone, month, anytime, movies, join, and cancel. All of those tag reinforce the brands interest target of signing up consumers to their original content of streaming services. I would further ensure a Meta Description read as the following “Stream Netflix movies and TV shows from any connectable platform for free. Start your free trial today, cancel anytime.” By incorporating all aspects of the company’s testimony to its clients, it corresponds to the main content on the Netflix website and also highlights the mobile optimization feature the company provides for its users. My Headline 1 would include something along the lines of “Catch up on your favorites or find a new one” with a Headline 2 again reinforcing the mobility of the service, “Stream anywhere, cancel at your leisure”. With keeping a consistent message along with the Headlines and content of the website I would simply incorporate both headline 1 and headline 2 to create an ad copy to get Susie to click on the website and explore what Netflix would offer to her. Similar to my Headline’s, my Display URL, would impose a more quick and efficient wording to allow for not only Susie, but others to know exactly what the brand represents, and would state “Stream TV Shows and Movies Anywhere, Anytime.” When it comes to ad extensions, I feel several quick links would be crucial for users. I would not include a cancellation link due to the business looking to grow and get more consumers to sign up, I would include items such as “sign in, your account, free trial, stream movies now, stream TV shows now, and Netflix originals.” By having 3 areas of similar nature of either signing up, or managing your account, it establishes consistency for a user who already has an account or if they do not, allows them to sign into their account. With the other three, Stream TV Shows, Stream Movies, and Netflix Originals, it allows for the same users who have an account act as a quick link to either genre of their choice, but also enacts the fact that Netflix has their own shows through Netflix Originals which are solely on the platform themselves and nowhere else, creating exclusivity. Finally, my  call to action to Susie would to be getting Susie to sign up for a free trial for a month. “Stream TV Shows, Movies anywhere, any time, any place, any state, with a button stating “Start your Free month”.

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SEO

When looking at Netflix’s website and their seo score, they have a handful of low points that could impede on the users experience when visiting. The meta title fully reignites with the brands message of streaming TV Shows and movies via online. By doing so the keyword usage is incorporated into the meta-tags which helps search engines find the websites page. The site also represents over 240 sitemap files, again reinforcing the brands power in creating traffic to the website. One of the things that I noticed when viewing the website was the feature of a Favicon, which essentially incorporates the brands small logo next to the URL of the website which helps signify brand value and reflects the media of Netflix throughout the site.  As stated earlier, the site load speed was very quick and the SEO reinforced that by 3.886 seconds which is faster than the average loading speed of 5 seconds. Netflix also does not incorporate Flash, which also reinforces the short load times when viewing both via computer or through mobile optimizations. However, Netflix is not utilizing expires headers which virtually helps speed up serving for users who regularly view the webpage and see the same images. This factor can be useful for those who are consistently logging into the website and cut down the load time much further. In reference to load time, the page objects does however exceed the recommended 20 http requests by totaling 28 objects which could further impede the load time even though the site speed is registering at a 3.886 seconds. The only other cons are tests that do not fully impact the severity of the website which include the Image ALT Test and the Inline CSS Test, aside from the previously noted Social Media presence, having no connection to Facebook, Google, Twitter, or Instagram.

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Netflix.com

Netflix has branded society with not only its logo but its red, white, and black color pattern. By either googling the brand or even typing in the URL of Netflix, the company successfully incorporates a meta title that evokes the service the brand is trying to impose to its consumers stating, “Netflix - Watch TV Shows Online, Watch Movies Online”. When viewing the brands website, the consumer immediately is exposed to popular media that contain both “Netflix Originals” and popular Television Shows along with popular Movies that span across the past 10 years. By doing this, Netflix immediately utilizes their interest target technique to those consumers who are not already enrolled in the business, acquainting the consumer with relatable main content from any age span from titles such as ‘Finding Dory’, ‘Family Guy’, a Netflix Original ‘Orange is the New Black’ and even ‘Sausage Party’. The interface for the website has consistent messaging, either indicating for a consumer to either sign into an account or start their free trial. The brand message is clearly signified when opening the page, having a short load time allows the consumer to see the bolded print of starting their free trial stating “See what’s next. Watch Anywhere. Cancel Anytime.” Which ultimately reinforces the brands message to have consumers try the program and see if the service is right for them. The colors flow into the brands color scheme and highlight the main content by sticking with the black background layout and overlapping with white text with red boxing to signify the Netflix brand. The website does utilize mobile optimization and does not impede on load times or even content. With a simple scroll downwards, the brand imposes their original content, further explaining simply how easy the service of Netflix really is. By breaking down further the “No commitment policy, Watching anywhere, and picking your Price”, consumers are able to visually see from with images as to what each of those three contents relate too, which reinforces the consistent messaging of the brands values of how portable, easy, and affordable Netflix can be. The website is very simplistic but does assume the position of whether you are inquiring about the service or simply already have the service. The visual content is helpful to those who are simply inquiring by visualizing how someone could cancel, all the different outlets that are viable with Netflix such as your TV, tablet and/or phone, or even laptop, and breaking down the different packages in a simplistic chart of the benefits of each plan with pricing. I do feel that the non-addition of having ad space helps promote the brand and not stray potential clients to wandering to other places and focusing on either signing up for a free trial or simply login to their account. However, when it comes to social media there is no indication of the brand’s accounts anywhere, which I feel is a huge benefactor for any type business in today’s society. The brand is very active on their social media accounts spanning from Twitter to Instagram, they constantly are updating their feeds, promoting new content or simply poking at fun with their current users. Being able to see updates of new content via social media for myself would be a huge help and would enable me to use the service more than if I were to not know of new content. Additionally, when it comes to content, I feel that visual ads as far as videos would also impact the consumers attention, highlighting examples as to how easy it is to stream the service but also cancel the service at the same time to reinforce the brands message.

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Breaking Records.

The company is proudly based in the United States, specifically in Los Gatos, California providing employment to 3,700 people. Netflix is currently up in the stock market with a 142.22 stock which has shot up drastically ever since October of 2016 shooting up over 40% within those few months. This company has reached great heights since beginning in 1997 and has built an empire that is the top 20 innovative companies and within the top 80 of the world's most valuable companies in the world, being able to understand how their marketing techniques helped propel their success is what I hope to achieve once in my life.

http://www.forbes.com/companies/netflix/