The Value of Video for Membership and Subscription Websites

By Chris Smith on September 21, 2017

In the last 5 years, OTT has redefined traditional content distribution and ownership, transforming the media and entertainment industry. Now, brands across industries are taking advantage of video and new ways to reach and engage their customers. Like many OTT services, consumer-facing brands are adopting a subscription or membership-based model. It’s the gold-standard for online businesses long-term success, but it’s also what today’s consumer expects— an on-demand, personalized experience that provides ongoing value, not just a transaction.

 

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It doesn’t matter if your offering is a physical product, a service or premium content mix, in order to be successful in today’s evolving market, all brands need to operate as multimedia companies. Video is a powerful medium for marketing and engagement and can help provide ongoing value to your members and subscribers.

Red Bull, for example, took a brand and successfully built a media company - using video and other content to sell their target audience a lifestyle, not just an energy drink. They’ve recently launched a stand-alone subscription OTT service, Redbull.tv, to stream the extreme sports video content they’re known for, along with new programming that includes fiction and documentaries.

First Things First - Is Your Content Valuable?

In order for video to add any value to your website, your content must be valuable. This means video that is professionally produced, easily-accessible across multiple platforms and engaging for your audience. Align your content strategy with your brand and your unique value propositions to ensure your video adds value to your customer’s experience.

You can also use video to incentivize an action from customers - whether it’s subscribing, upgrading or continually engaging with your content. There are many different types of subscription and membership websites, what video content your customers consider to be valuable and engaging will depend on your area of expertise and your target audience.

Provide Ongoing Value to Customers

When people sign up for a membership or subscription, they’re looking for a personalized experience that goes beyond a transaction— whether that’s access to premium content, curated products, features, benefits or a community. Your subscribers and members aren’t obligated to stick around, so it’s imperative to provide ongoing and added value to your service with premium content.

Video is the most authentic and direct way to connect with your customers and ultimately helps to build long-term relationships that drive brand loyalty. Educating and engaging your current subscribers or members with video increases the value of your service and helps retain your customers for longer.

Birchbox, the successful beauty subscription service, attributes much of their success to their video content strategy. Birchbox’s teaches subscribers (and potential customers) how to use and get the most out of their products with short makeup and beauty video tutorials. These videos are engaging and valuable for current customers, in addition to being powerful marketing tools to attract and convert new subscribers.

Reach New Audiences and Drive Subscriptions

In order to be successful, it’s critical for membership and subscription services to have a marketing strategy that’s focused on customer acquisition. Because video is easily shareable and highly engaging on social channels, it is a very effective way to drive brand awareness, reach new audiences and convert them into paying customers.  Hosting video on your website also helps to increase your SEO rankings and make your content and brand more discoverable.

In order to be effective, it’s important to distribute your video across multiple platforms, including your website, social platforms and even your own branded OTT app, then drive those audiences back to your subscription or membership page with a clear call to action.

How Membership and Subscription Websites Leverage OTT Video

In order for your video to offer value to your subscribers and members, you must take distribution seriously. There’s no value in slapping a YouTube video on your website and it may even hurt your brand by appearing amateur. Most importantly free platforms (like YouTube) don’t give you any control over your content.

Using a video distribution service, like Zype, makes it easy for membership and subscription websites to manage their video library, deliver high-quality streams to every screen and have control over their premium content and audience. Zype also gives membership and subscription services control over their content, with the ability to gate and monetize their video in a way that makes sense for their membership tiers and business goals.

Incorporating premium video content into your membership or subscription service will provide value to your customers at every stage. Not only do your customers expect it,  but premium video content attracts and converts new customers, keeps your existing customers engaged for longer and reduces membership and subscription churn.

Connect your video with viewers, everywhere.