If you were the product manager of a video streaming content site, how would you determine what content to put on the landing page?
Google- Felipe Ribeiro
Clarifying questions:
- When we say video streaming service, are we talking about the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime where content is decided by them or is it like Youtube which is focused on UCG? You can take your pick. I’ll go ahead and pick Amazon Prime. So now I am a PM at Amazon Prime and I need to decide what content goes onto the Landing page.
- A landing page is different for logged-out vs logged-in customers. Which user segment do you want me to pick? If we are talking about content, I would pick logged-in users as it needs to be personalized vs landing page for logged-out users is mainly meant for them to get to sign up i.e. to subscribe to Prime. So it’s used more from a branding perspective calling out the benefits of subscribing. Hence, I’ll prioritize logged-in users.
I’ll start with the mission for Amazon which is “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company” and for Amazon Prime, it is to “provide best in class digital video customer experience.”
If I talk about the purpose of the landing page for logged-in users in Amazon Prime, it is used for discovery by the users. The users should be able to find relevant shows/movies based on their liking and should be motivated to start the video. Hence the overall goal is to increase user engagement resulting in more time being spent on the platform and hence more value gained by the users.
Assumption: I am taking an assumption that we are talking about Amazon Prime in the current state where we have some ML logic at the backend using some parameters and factors to personalize the recommendation. Hence if I were the PM, I would be required to define those parameters.
Amazon’s home page is divided into multiple sections where each section has a theme attached to it making it easier for the users to find content. There is also a marketing section at the top publicizing the newly added content on the platform. According to me, a landing page should be designed such that I am able to find content based on what I like but also should be able to find a whole new variety of content of which I am not a usual viewer but I may like a few content pieces of it letting me widen my viewing preferences. To handle the above use cases, there are 2 user groups to consider:
- 1st-time user: If the user is new to the Amazon Prime platform and is a new subscriber, the kind of content which will be shown will be more generic unless we have some data of the user from Amazon mini tv on the kind of content they may be interested in. Talking about the 1st kind, the sections would be based on what is most popular across genres, and what is trending filtering based on location. Similarly, the sections could also be Sci-fi, Thriller, etc.
- Repeat user: For these users, we have data about their viewing habits and we will use that data to personalize the page. E.g. metrics could be like which genre of shows has the user mostly watched. This could further be broken down into genres where he completed most episodes or movies, and where he spent the most time (shows could be many seasons). Actors or Directors whose shows or movies they watch most, Short form or long form shows, Timeline of show launch e.g. most recently or older shows, etc.
I’ll assign weights (low-1, medium-2, and high-3) to each of the above factors based on their importance. e.g. genre is given the most priority and hence will be assigned a weight of 3. Actors are also important but less than genres, so they are given a weight of 2. Once all weights are assigned, I’ll do a weighted average calculation. Wherever the scores get tied, the priority factor is considered. The repeat users will be shown personalized sections like “Because you watched XYZ show” etc. Here the priority is given to genre. In addition to this, categories such as “Top 10 shows in India” or “Top 10 shows global” etc. should also be shown which will be based on the number of users who have viewed the show.
This is how I would decide what to show to logged-in users. If I have to talk about logged-out users as well, they will be shown the USP of Prime Video like a huge collection of shows, in-house content (Amazon Originals), the addition of new channels, etc. This is done to entice users to sign up.