We’ve all had the unfortunate experience of trying out a new restaurant, not liking it, and getting involved in an ongoing vendetta on a review site. What’s more unfortunate for the restaurant is the fact that we’re unlikely to give their fare a second chance, let alone recommend them to anyone else.
This pattern of consumer advocacy plays out the same way in the world of online video delivery. Today’s online audience are more discerning than ever before, with expectations for content delivery rooted not in the Internet, but in its reliable predecessor – broadcast TV.
Imperfection is no longer tolerated: one moment of rebuffering can now result in hundreds of bad reviews.
> See also: Ten years on from its first ever video, who will be the next YouTube?
No need to panic, however – everything that a company could possibly need to present a perfectly prepared media session is now available off the shelf: from content packaging and transcoding to revealing analytics and metrics for online media streaming.
Thanks to innovative new products, all the ingredients for exciting viewers with great stories through high-quality online media delivery are now at your disposal.
The creation of satisfying viewer experiences is the abiding goal of everyone who participates in online media. So we’ve written some ‘recipes’ for the best online content delivery; a cookbook of ingredients, recipes and suggested techniques for keeping viewers satisfied in today’s online world. The following are some tips taken directly from the Media Delivery Cookbook.
Stock up on online media storage and efficient data transfers
By taking advantage of a distributed network that stores content in the best locations to suit your media delivery strategy, whilst using high speed upload features results in the instant receipt of content for your viewers at the highest quality.
> See also: Video in the smart home: the problem or the solution?
Beef up your content network defence
Media companies now face daily cyber attacks. It’s vital to your business to understand which of your online assets are most at risk, and then manage that risk by improving web security to guard against the types of vulnerabilities that cloud infrastructure presents.
Use appropriate packaging
Recognise that viewers will use a wide range of devices. Appropriate packaging & transcoding will ensure satisfaction when viewers receive the right content for their device and network conditions at the highest level of quality possible.
Ensure good reviews
You want to know details about the devices people are using to access your content, how long it took for your content to start playing, and more. Utilise quality monitoring to give you a detailed glimpse into the user experience, allowing you to track viewer metrics in the form of valuable activity summaries.
Sourced from Ian Munford, Director of Product Marketing EMEA at Akamai Technologies
