Hot Trend - How Brands Benefit From Video Apps

User consumption of TV and video content is shifting toward smartphones and tablets with the expansion of 4G internet and higher quality devices. We live in an era of video where YouTube and Twitch channels could be just as popular as Netflix shows.

The abundance and availability of video content facilitates the competition between video service providers. For news channels, brands, and companies, mobile apps become a major tool for expanding and engaging audiences.

Video streaming apps experience massive growth as user video consumption habits are changing. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

Mobile video is on the rise. Half of all digital videos were played on mobile devices in 2015 (Ooyala).

Mobile video is winning the battle for attention over TV. US consumers spent 198 minutes a day using mobile apps in comparison to 168 minutes watching TV (Flurry research). 22% of users use mobile apps to stream video while simultaneously watching TV (IAB study).

Kids and young people choose to watch video from smartphones. 57% of kids prefer to watch video content on mobile devices (Ooyala Q2 2015 Video Index) while 48% of millennials watch videos only from their smartphones (Animoto).

Video services have to adapt. 23% of Netflix users are streaming on mobile phones while 15% are streaming on tablets(BI Intelligence).

Source: Ooyala.com

Video streaming and VOD services should view mobile as a priority nowadays as more users commit to longer form content on their smartphones and spend hours watching mobile video. For brands, the mobile platform can become a strategic point for engaging users with video content.

Video services and brands shift to mobile

There is still a difference between apps that provide TV streaming content and content on demand apps (Video On Demand - VOD), whereas some apps and platforms offer a wide variety of content, blurring the line between TV streaming, VOD and networks.

Famous brand name apps such as Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Now offer TV shows on demand. According to the latest App Annie statistics, Netflix is a top video streaming app in the US by number of downloads while HBO Now leads by the amount of revenue. BuzzFeed recently launched the BuzzFeed Video app for viral video content and the app has already reached the 500,000 installs level.

Source: App Annie

There are also TV streaming apps that let users stream TV in real time on a mobile device, but most of them offer content from only one network.

The NewsOn streaming app is an exception. This app offers news videos from several local TV stations. It allows users to choose a preferable local station based on geolocation and watch news, weather, and sports content.

Services like Sling TV and AT&T’s DIRECTV offer a mix of video content including streaming TV channels as well as video on demand. These apps are expected to become an alternative to cable TV as they allow users to watch the same video content from all kinds of devices while not requiring service plans, cables, and/or satellite dishes.

Open app platforms like Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku provide a new opportunity for brands to reach potential consumers through their own video streaming apps.

Video app promotion

While big name companies, like Buzzfeed, can rely on their followers when launching mobile video apps on the app stores, less well known brands have to use promotional methods, like user acquisition, in order to build an active user base for their apps.

Before launching a marketing campaign, it’s crucial for video streaming apps to perform market and competitor research, define a target audience(s), and create a clear message for potential users. What unique features does the app have that will allow it to stand out? What promotional methods and monetization models do competitors use? Having a clear understanding of what the target audience looks like and what it expects from the product will help you build an effective marketing strategy.

For example, an app with video content for kids can have an emphasis on the parental control feature in its promotional campaign. For the target audience, parents who choose and install apps for kids, this is an important benefit.

When it comes down to user acquisition, it’s crucial for video streaming apps to acquire interested and engaged users with high LTV (life time value). Having a trusted marketing partner, like app marketing platform GoWide, will allow to buy premium traffic from direct publishers and optimize marketing costs. Mobile user acquisition, organized by experts, has many benefits such as:

-large potential audience

-detailed real-time data

-precise audience segmentation

-constant campaign adjustment and optimization

What to expect?

Let’s see where the mobile video streaming apps will take the industry:

Amazon creates its own shows (pretty good ones) and HBO launches services. It looks like the merge of different content, services, and platforms into one global mobile video streaming channel.

With the growing popularity of video streaming apps, more and more users will give up cable TV and switch to mobile TV.

Mobile video apps will offer a more personalized experience for its users. Mobile video is all about personal preferences and comfort. Users can watch it anywhere, easily navigate content, and post feedback.

Twitch and YouTube Gaming shows how niche video streaming apps can become extremely popular. We should expect more successful niche video apps in beauty, tech, and online education.

While video streaming apps give users an amazing and comfortable content consumption channel, brands can benefit from building an active base of mobile users and turning them into loyal customers through video engagement.