by Carl Bunton 3 years ago 
The shift to OTT is happening in the media and entertainment industry. Today’s consumers have new expectations and unique preferences on what type of content they want to watch and how. The increasing demand for OTT content makes the market an immense opportunity for businesses looking to create a space for themselves. However, diving into the highly competitive OTT industry without the right planning is going to be a waste of time and money.
Before exploring the three main OTT software development approaches, let’s look into some smart tactics to build successful OTT offerings.
Find your OTT niche
When creating an OTT app, finding a niche is important to establish a loyal audience and create a steady stream of revenue. When creating a Netflix-style OTT app, you don’t need to limit your offerings to entertainment. You can start an OTT service in niches like fitness, education, sports, and a lot more. Creating a religious OTT channel is a great idea, too. These are some of the common and profitable niche ideas you can choose from the sub-niches as well to attract a specific audience group. If you’re looking to develop an app for some OTT service and do not know how to go about it, hire a mobile app design company to do it for you.
Choose the right revenue model
Making money from your OTT content isn’t difficult only if you choose the right monetization model. Here are some of the revenue models you can adopt:
Advertising
You can offer your VOD content to users for free but with the interruption of ads between the videos. You make money by collaborating with advertisers to display their ads in the content on your OTT platform.
Transactional model
Users pay to watch movies and shows, and they pay individually for each video, either to rent it for a limited time or to own it.
Subscription model
Allow users access to your OTT platform through subscriptions that have to be renewed monthly or yearly. This works great if you have ongoing content like a series of several episodes that can entertain users for long.
Define a unique content strategy
Exceptional content is what makes OTT apps even more powerful. Hence, it is important to have a compelling content strategy to build a solid foundation for your OTT platform. When you are creating videos for your OTT app, consider the genres you plan to create content, describe your target audience, and decide on the frequency.
Every content marketing strategy begins with defining your purpose. Start with a direct goal like getting more viewers, increasing engagement, or reaching a specific subscriber quota. The clearer your goals, the easier it would be to stay on track to achieve them.
Leverage your buyer persona to align your content marketing. The more you know about your target audience, the better you will be able to create interactive content they would engage with. Consider creating a unique brand avatar (with help from companies like WellSaid Labs) for voice advertising through different channels; a voice that your customers can immediately associate with your brand, wherever they hear it.
Three development approaches to build your OTT app
When it comes to building your OTT app, here are three main OTT software developmentapproachesyou can adopt to create your own VOD service.
Building from scratch
Building an OTT app from scratch is the most complex and costly process. It is done by dividing the entire project into various parts and considering each part individually for development. The cost can vary considerably according to UI/UX aspects, technology preferences, number and complexity of features, number of platforms you want to consider, project management, development team and their location, quality assurance, and more. Moreover, it can take months or even years to complete developing your OTT app finally.
Using SaaS solution
SaaS solution or Software as a Service is basically a cloud-based service that offers ready-built Software to help you effortlessly build your OTT app. Instead of having to install and maintain Software, you can simply access it online and in certain cases offline as well through desktop apps. Leveraging a SaaS solution to build your OTT platform is a better alternative than developing your OTT from scratch. It allows you to own the technology, but it also comes with additional costs.
Leveraging a white-labeled VOD software
Now comes the most recommended approach to effortlessly build your OTT app- Developing it using a white label solution or a clone script. A white label solution is a VOD software that allows you to create your Netflix-like app and proffer an incredible video streaming experience across devices.
VOD software comes with all stunning features like CMS, in-app video player, payment integration, analytics, etc., enabling you to launch your OTT app cost-efficiently in any niche of your choice. The Software also offers several combinations of monetization options to maximize your revenue. The best part is that it is customizable, you can own the source code, have your own branding, and all this comes at a one-time cost with lifetime upgrades.
Advantages of building custom OTT apps
OTT allows content creators, production houses, or any business to directly reach their audience to facilitate better engagement with the target audience. By creating a brand experience across OTT, you can help your audience familiarise themselves with you as a brand.
Here are some of the benefits of creating an OTT app for your business:
Create brand awareness
Videos are a proven way to increase brand perception and grow user interest positively. By building an OTT service of your own, you can initiate an audience behavior that can build a loyal customer base.
Broad audience reach
Launching an OTT app will help you reach a broad and vast audience base and build new brand experience across OTT channels.
Engaging audience
Gathering your content and allowing your users to access it on demand is a great way to facilitate audience engagement. Create an efficient video marketing plan to create and license that your audience would love to watch.
Monetize
Building an OTT app of yours is a great way to monetize your services. BY using any of the above-mentioned revenue models, you can successfully generate revenue from your OTT content.
Conclusion
The three ways to develop OTT apps can be added to your development process to launch an OTT business. By selecting the approach that suits your requirements the best, you will be able to complete your project in the outlined time frame. By choosing the right OTT solution providers, you can launch an OTT platform [H1] cost-effectively in the shortest time.
Infographic Created by Dogtown Media, mHealth App Developer Team Dedicated to Quality