You know Netflix perfectly, every user knows its catalog, the release dates of its next hit series. But there is certainly one thing we don’t realize, that Netflix knows us just as well, or even better.
Our tastes, our preferences, our ways of interacting on social networks…. So many elements that your favorite streaming platform analyzes to be closer to you and what you expect from it; So Netflix, wouldn’t it be your best friend?
But how does Netflix know me so well?
Like many app and online services, Netflix is based on an Algorithm. And like any Artificial Intelligence, this algorithm needs data to work and to get it, nothing could be easier. First, when you define your profile during the subscription, you fill in some information that will be used by Netflix to determine your tastes. Then, depending on what you decide to watch, Netflix continues to feed its algorithm. The idea is that it compares all profiles to segment them, so if you are part of a group of profiles, Netflix will recommend what other members of the group like, your tastes being probably similar.
An algorithm that seems to work very well; according to a small survey, a large majority of people are more than satisfied with the content offered by the platform:
(1 = It always recommend content that fit with me, 4 = I struggle to find interesting content)
The objective of such an algorithm is to offer to its users an ultra-personalized offer, in line with their preference, so that the service embedded in their daily lives facilitates the search for the rare pearl in terms of content.
But the personalization does not stop there. In order to promote its exclusive content on the platform, Netflix will continue to use its algorithm and the data you provide. So, to make the promotion of its contents more like you (and at the same time to push to click and watch), the platform adjusts these clips of promotion of its contents according to your preferences.
The best example is Stranger Things, one of the successful Netflix productions. To promote content from its platform, Netflix looks at your preference; do you watch more comedy series? The platform will then offer you a comedy-oriented clip of the series. On the other hand, if you are more fond of horror movies, then the clip will be more frightening and at the height of your worst nightmares. A way to design not only the content, but also the promotion of the service according to your tastes.
A technique that works, since according to our study, the majority of users have already clicked more than once on a welcome video. Proof that the brand knows us and knows what we like to raise our interest.
Last but not least, the data collected by the platform also allows it to know the trends, and to better target the general purchase of titles for its catalog, but also to direct it on the future original productions that it could then create. A smart way to always improve its service, as close as possible to its users
A proximity that continues beyond the platform?
Netflix knows very well how to communicate (ndlr: A Creative Brand: Communication that you can’t miss), the brand offers a young, fresh and connected personality.
Through its communication on social networks it manages to build a close and different relationship with its users.
Namely, most of the subscribers of our sample of participants follow Netflix on social networks: proof that Netflix offers a strategy that works. By adopting the best trends on social networks, the brand seeks to be noticed as a friend of its consumers, able to understand them and having the same humor as the digital native generation.
Thus, the survey shows us that the type of brand that Generation Z prefers to follow on social networks swings between streaming brand, luxury and sports brands, the industries that generate the most interest on the networks:
The reason this generation follows brands is totally in line with the brand strategy; to inform, entertain and inspire.
The proof is in the pudding, as a majority of our survey respondents say that Netflix is a better fit for them on social media.
The reasons to follow the brand on social networks are diverse, on the one hand mostly because it is entertaining and offers innovative content, but also and especially because users feel close to Netflix. Here is proof of the proximity that the brand maintains with its consumers.
At last, it is noted that the majority of respondents feel close to Netflix, a strategy of proximity that knows therefore bear fruit.
Participants were then asked to define Netflix in 2 words; Entertaining/funny, Innovative, Listening, Accessible and Diverse were the words that that mostly come out, proving a positive presence in everyone’s heart.
So many answers that allow us to say that Netflix knows how to maintain a close relationship with its users, listening to them, it offers them innovative content to match their preference. It understands them and knows how to talk to them, adopting their language code as well as those specific to the platforms it uses.
In short, Netflix is a brand that is rooted in the heart of its users’ daily lives, it knows them and recommends them in their choices, accompanies them, consoles them with certain content when they are not well and entertains them even when they are not on the platform… so many qualities that would not make it as a precious friend?
____________ Noémie TSILA
Word count: 917
Works Cited –
Bosle, C. (2021, October 27). Netflix : décryptage d’une stratégie social media à succès. Spitak. https://www.spitak.fr/netflix-decryptage-dune-strategie-social-media-a-succes/
Hay, J. (2021, July 1). Netflix : 95% des contenus sur votre page d’accueil sont recommandés par l’algorithme. Journal du Geek. https://www.journaldugeek.com/2021/07/01/netflix-95-des-contenus-sur-votre-page-daccueil-sont-recommandes-par-lalgorithme/#:%7E:text=Bons%20plans%20Plus-,Netflix%20%3A%2095%25%20des%20contenus%20sur%20votre%20page%20d’accueil,sont%20recommand%C3%A9s%20par%20l’algorithme&text=Sans%20surprise%2C%20Netflix%20est%20la,habitudes%20de%20lecture%20des%20utilisateurs
J. (2018, June 2). Voici comment Netflix compte vous faire passer plus de temps sur sa plateforme ! Hitek. https://hitek.fr/actualite/astuces-methodes-netflix-forcer-public-regarder-plus-contenus_16233
Illustrations –
“I’m in relationships with Netflix” mug. (n.d.). [Photograph]. Lookhuman. https://www.lookhuman.com/design/91700-i-m-in-a-relationship-with-netflix/mug
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