Which vertical should be the focus for Meta (Facebook) Watch? Why?
- Felipe Ribeiro
- CLARIFY:
- Is there a specific goal in mind? For example, increasing average user engagement, increasing user pool, etc? You choose.
- Is there a specific user we want to focus on? You choose.
- US v. international? Can focus on US.
- BACKGROUND: Facebook Watch is a video streaming service owned by Facebook. It offers personalized recommendations on videos to watch (based on popularity and user engagement). It has a Home Page of videos it recommends. It also offers shows, live videos and music videos. It allows a user to save videos and see a personalized Watchlist.
- GOAL: Increase the usage of Facebook Watch.
- COMPETITORS: In the video space, there are a few competitors to think about. As we think about strategic verticals, we should think about who FaceBook Watch wants to position itself against.
- Subscription Platforms: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu+ etc. There are multiple subscription platforms that offer access to movies or TV shows or both.
- Youtube: Video upload platform that generally is used to watch shorter clips and music videos but also offers free or paid free movies / TV shows.
- Social Media Platforms: Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat are other social media platforms with video content capabilities. Think stories, lives, or permanent video content.
- USERS: If we think about existing Facebook users, there are 4 tiers of users we can focus on from a Facebook Watch standpoint. I’d like to focus on verticals that will draw in non-users and rare users of Facebook Watch. Note – these users focus on the people watching Facebook Watch videos not the creators.
- Non User: Has never used FaceBook Watch. Likely has lower engagement on Facebook in general.
- Rare User: Potentially watches something 1-2 every 2 weeks.
- Medium User: Watches 1-2 videos each week.
- Power User: Watches 3-5 videos each week.
- STRATEGIC VERTICALS: I’d like to break down verticals by type of video.
- Movies: Currently, there is no movie section so these verticals would be brand new.
- New Movie Section: Facebook could partner with production studios to bring in content across multiple movie genres similar to Netflix, Amazon Video, etc. This content would position Facebook against other subscription services.
- Facebook Movies Originals: Facebook could expand its production aspect (already has Facebook TV Show Originals) to include movies. Again, this movie would position Facebook against subscription giants. Netflix Originals and Amazon Original films come to mind.
- TV Shows: Generally, expanding TV show content would position Facebook against the subscription services.
- Everyday Popular Genres: Facebook Watch could expand the show offerings it has. Right now, the TV shows listed look like a long list of TV shows but there is no classification of the type. Facebook could survey its users or review data on current popular TV shows to think about genres they like and focus on expanding into those categories – partnering with studios to bring their content into the paltform. (I’d also recommend adding classifications of show types to the UX).
- Niche Genres: Given that Facebook has a lot of user data, Facebook could review the genres of videos its users like. If it notices certain patterns particularly around niche genres of videos (ex. videos of fishing or mountain biking, etc.), it could focus on building out video content pertaining to that niche.
- Short Clips: Short clips would position Facebook more so against Youtube and social media platforms generally.
- Educational Classes: Facebook could partner with educational institutions to host educational content for its users based on the data it has re. current user interest – think online classes like Coursera. For example, if it knows that many of its users also have an interest in Computer Science, it could start building an educational video content focused in that area and slowly expand. This work would not only position Facebook against Youtube but also educational platforms like Coursera and EdX.
- How Tos: Facebook could begin partnering with businesses or influencers or even create its own content on how to do XYZ. For example, how to build a resume, how to change a car tire, etc.
- Influencer and Business Partnerships: Facebook could partner with popular influencers or businesses and incentivize them to create more Facebook Watch video content or lives. For example, if Facebook sees that an influencer has an active Facebook page, it could pay them to create Facebook Watch videos or provide data that tells them pgs with X number of Facebook Watch videos leads to an increase in customer engagement, etc. It could even think about producing content with the influencer or business via Facebook Studios like it does for Facebook Originals.
- Music Videos:
- Music Video Originals: Facebook could partner with popular or upcoming artists to produce original music videos. These videos may at first only be hosted on the Facebook platform.
- Virtual Concerts: Facebook could partner with artists and DJs to host live concerts.
- Movies: Currently, there is no movie section so these verticals would be brand new.
- PRIORITIZE VERTICALS:
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Video Type Vertical Impact to Goal Cost to Facebook Watch Movies New Movie Section Medium Low Movies Facebook Movie Originals High High TV Shows Everyday Popular Genres Medium Low TV Shows Niche Genres Low Low Short Clips Educational Classes High Low Short Clips How Tos Medium Low Short Clips Influencer and Business Partnerships Medium Low Music Videos Music Video Originals Medium High Music Videos Virtual Concerts Medium Medium
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- MAKE RECOMMENDATION: Given the prioritization, I’d recommend that Facebook Watch think about expanding into the educational classes area and focus on areas of education that its current user base is very interested in. There are a large number of subscription services that are already very popular, so Facebook may have more difficulty pulling users to engage on Facebook Watch. Educational classes could be a differentiator when it comes to various video streaming services because they are generally found on educational platforms like EdX and Coursera. Facebook Watch may be able to get its non or rare users to engage in educational videos. (You would need to do further analysis on the population to really understand what they want from Facebook Watch to confirm.)

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