5 STEPS TO MONETIZE YOUR FANHERO PLATFORMContent monetization

What stops some creators from launching their own platform is financial uncertainty. They don’t know where the money is going to come from. Maybe they’re not reaching their full potential on social media, but at least they understand the process.

If this is holding you back, don’t worry! Here’s how you’re going to start generating revenue with a FanHero platform in 5 steps. 

 

Sign up for a platform. 

You can’t win if you’re not in the game! Set up an appointment with a FanHero advisor and get started on building your own platform. 

Your advisor will have a lot of technical knowledge, so focus on the business side. Lay out what you want your platform to do and choose features that support those functionalities.  

 

It’s also worth deciding whether you want your branding to be identical to your other platforms. You might want to use generally consistent cross-platform branding with a premium addition or styling element to make your own platform stand out. 

Find a balance between fun bonus features and what you definitely need at launch. You want to have a great product in the beginning but also leave room for “upgrades” later to keep things exciting.

 

Choose the types of monetization you want to use.

The first monetization decision you’ll make is whether your platform will be subscription based, ad-supported, or a pay per view (PPV) model.

 

Subscription: Users pay a regular monthly fee for full access to your platform.

Ad-supported: There’s no fee, but ads are included across the platform.

Pay per view: Users only pay for the content they view.

 

You might find that a combination of models works best for your audience. For example, many creators find that having the base app ad-supported with some PPV special events is most attractive to their fans. You could also have a premium ad-free tier that has extra features for those who want to subscribe. Go with the model that fits how your audience likes to engage.

 

You have access to other monetization options that might be more familiar to you, like:

 

All the revenue streams you’re used to will be available on your FanHero platform. The difference is they’ll all be more productive because of the greater access to your data (and the audience segmentation that follows).

 

Populate your platform with content. 

While you can use existing content as a base, there should be a healthy amount of content that’s completely new to your audience. You want people who sign up to feel like they’re getting value for their effort. 

Have enough available that users can’t casually go through it in a week. (Binge watchers are another matter, but since those tend to be your more loyal fans it’s not a major concern.) 

Set up a schedule for updates and stick to it. The audience needs a reason to keep coming back, and they’re easily disappointed when you miss a posting date. You can also let email reminders or push notifications in advance of new events.

 

As you build your content strategy, make sure there’s a clear path to audience engagement. Active users are more valuable than passive ones, and if fans feel like your platform is an interactive activity they stay engaged longer.

 

Move your audience from third party platforms to your platform.

This isn’t as hard as it sounds! Your base loves your content. They’ll enjoy having access to more and special content as well as having another way to support you.

Don’t make the move overnight. Build excitement while your platform is under construction. When you’re ready to launch, make the “switch on” a big event across all your third-party platforms.

 

It’s a good idea to maintain your other platforms as a recruiting funnel. They give you free advertising and a way to hang onto fans until they are ready to move to your platform.

 

Profit!

Once your content is up and your audience is using it, money goes into the account you set up with FanHero. There are no extra steps of check-ins. 

Plus, you’ll have full transparency on platform financials through a simple-to-use dashboard. You can rest easy knowing you’re in control of your money.

 

Ready to get started? Claim your free consultation today to find out where FanHero can take you!

 

HOW TO UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE BETTER BY LEVERAGING YOUR DATA The importance of knowing your audience

Whatever your reason for creating content, one thing is always true. The more you know about your audience, the more effective your content will be. If you really want to reach your goals, it’s time to take ownership of your data so you can understand your audience better.

 

The importance of knowing your audience

Most creators have a “target audience” they tailor their content to- some demographic they’d like to reach. A lot of times these “buyer personas” are made either using outside data (that is, general market information and predictions) or no data at all. 

However, your target audience is not the same thing as your actual audience. Your actual audience consists of the people who are watching and engaging with your content right now. It’s based in reality, with actionable information rather than assumptions about a persona.

This is a much more important group than your target audience. Focusing on your actual audience is more productive due to the simple fact that you’re not trying to get their attention- you already have it. 

 

You might ask, “Why is it important to make that distinction? If my actual audience is already watching, can’t I just keep aiming for my target audience and pull them both together?”

 

The problem with that line of thinking is that when you create content for your target audience without considering your actual audience, you can lose those valuable productive members. With no guarantee you can attract your target audience, that could leave you with falling reach.

You have to find ways to stay true to your brand’s style and messaging while also speaking to your audience. Present content in a way the audience understands and can engage with. Offer things they’re comfortable seeing, plus some extras they might be interested in but don’t know yet. 

 

Knowing your audience and creating for them pays off. You’ll find yourself with more views and richer engagement. Content will be shared more often, and with those who could be interested in becoming a fan as well. 

Having a better understanding of your audience has financial benefits, too. You’ll get better access to high-value sponsorships with a well segmented audience, and you can make more efficient use of your production budget.

 

So…. how do you go about knowing your actual audience?

 

Owning your data is key

The best measure of what your audience wants is what they do with the content you’ve already shared. Study how they respond to your current and past work by digging into your data. 

There are a lot useful metrics to consider:

 

Gathering this data is often the tricky part. You can find some of it- especially views and surface engagement data- using social media metrics. This is usually the first data source most creators use starting out. 

However, technically you have no ownership of your social media data. You are only entitled to what the specific platform chooses to share, and they can change or revoke that access at any time. 

There are a number of third party tools that can be used to track your current social media statistics and changes over time. You can then correlate that to your content, giving you some insight.

 

Surveys are a way to gather information directly from your audience. You can ask them what they like and don’t like without having to make guesses from information. This is somewhat limited in scope, though, and using it too much can alienate your audience. People tend not to want to share information about themselves to enjoy content.

 

A creator-owned platform is the best way to take control of your data. It provides the highest level of transparency into your audience’s behavior surrounding your content. You can integrate analytics tools to track platform activity and present it through an easy-to-read dashboard, taking the work out of 

It may take a bit more work to set up, but once a creator-owned platform is running it’s the only option that truly generates enough data to segment your audience and create data-driven user profiles.

 

How to shape content using your data

You’ve realized that knowing your audience is important, and you’ve gathered your data. Now it’s time to combine the two. Keep these core concepts in mind as you create content.

 

As experimental content gains popularity, you can start counting it with that 70% effective content. This is one way you can reach towards a target audience without losing your actual audience.

 

Use your data to identify the highest levels of engagement and launch new types of content that way whenever possible.

 

 

Finally and most importantly, always stay flexible. Your audience can change and evolve, and that’s a good thing. Just keep an eye on your data to be sure you’re on top of the changes so you can grow along with them.

 

Ready to take ownership of your data? FanHero can give you a backstage pass to your audience with a high-powered suite of analytics tools. Reach out today to find out what’s possible!

WHAT DO YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A CMS?CMS

OTT platforms are growing as companies embrace enterprise streaming and creators take control of their content. To exercise that control, though, you need to get familiar with your CMS.

Don’t be intimidated. The entire point of a CMS is to be approachable, freeing you to focus on content instead of technology. Here’s what you need to know to get started. 

 

WHAT IS A CMS?

CMS stands for “content management system”. It’s an interface that allows you to manage a website or OTT platform without writing a single line of code. A CMS is absolutely essential for non-technical users who still want to have direct control over how things work.

Building a CMS does involve coding, so you do need someone knowledgeable to set it up. Once that’s done, however, you can update, rearrange, and add to your platform using user-friendly tools.

 

LIFE WITHOUT A CMS

Without a CMS, you need coding skills to do anything at all with your OTT platform. Here’s a simplified overview of what that looks like:

 

  1. Create whatever content is to be added, or decide what you’re going to change.
  2. Download the HTML files for the page you are going to work with.
  3. Use HTML and CSS to add the new text as well as graphics, navigation arrows, and other visual elements, then design them to follow company branding guidelines.
  4. Write any JavaScript needed for interactive or advanced site functions. For example, is there a chatbot? Will scrolling over images prompt a Call To Action (CTA)? All of that needs to be coded.
  5. Double check that no links or elements were broken by the new code. Not all code plays well together, and it’s common for an element that hasn’t been maintained to interfere with new elements.
  6. Upload the file back to the server.
  7. Content appears on the website.
  8. Repeat for every page to be edited.

 

With so many complex steps, there’s a lot of room for error. Someone who doesn’t fully understand what they’re doing can break an entire website trying to update a blog or add a photo to a gallery.

You could send your team to coding lessons to learn how to handle the system- but is that really in your best financial interests? If you aren’t specifically in the business of building OTT platforms, that’s a more granular approach than you really need. 

Worse, it takes time that your employees could more efficiently use on their core business tasks. Their other skills go underutilized because they’re having to spend half the morning posting a video.

Even for companies with IT departments, a CMS makes sense. IT has more pressing things to do than updating your website or uploading new content to training pages. With those user-level tasks taken off their plates, they can focus on higher level technical issues.

 

TAKING CONTROL BACK INTO YOUR HANDS

How different is using a CMS? Let’s take a look at the same updating process with a CMS:

  1. Create the content to be added.
  2. Open the CMS interface. If you’re already logged into your website, this can be as easy as clicking a link or tab.
  3. Use intuitive tools and text boxes to add content, then apply styling using tools similar to other programs you use regularly. For example, inputting text is very similar to how common word processors work. You can even embed video and links through this same interface.
  4. Consult a user-friendly checklist to manage SEO optimization, social media sharing, or other functions that have been made available at your level.
  5. Publish the content, or push it to an editorial team for approval.
  6. Content appears on the website.

 

There are fewer steps, and every one of them is more approachable than it would be without a CMS. The whole process is fast, simple, and safe. Best of all, new users can be trained on the CMS in a single day. 

 

WHAT CAN A CMS DO FOR YOU?

Update Content

The most obvious thing a CMS is used for is content curation. It gives you direct control over your content, letting you make changes personally without having to send a work order to IT. 

A CMS is especially helpful for projects that require collaboration. More than one person can be using the CMS at the same time for the same purpose (for example, writing a blog post). If higher approval is needed, users can push their finished to an editing team at the click of a button. 

Because the CMS is fast and easy to use, you can push updates more often. This keeps your audience engaged and helps build brand loyalty. 

Plus, you’re not spending time you could use more productively elsewhere poring over lines of code. That by itself would be enough to recommend a CMS- but it’s far from the only benefit.

 

Maintain brand consistency

A CMS enforces your branding and styling across your entire platform. Though this is a subtle advantage, it’s a powerful one. 

There are templates for new pages, preset colors and page design elements, and a full set of pre-approved functionalities to create a cohesive visual experience. 

When every user’s content is automatically given the same visual elements and styling, your platform gives viewers a more professional impression than if each person tried to interpret a style sheet when designing a page.

 

Control user roles

When more than one person will be editing the platform, you can assign different levels of access based on what each position involves. Specifically: 

 

The CMS automatically directs any alerts where they’re needed. Support requests go to support role holders, marketing interactions are visible to marketing and executives, editors get notifications to approve content, and so one. 

A person can hold more than one role, as well. They will have the highest level of access to a specific function offered by any of their roles, so be thoughtful when assigning roles. 

Having platform access controlled by a CMS gives you peace of mind when delegating responsibilities, since you know each user can only act within their specific roles. 

For creators, this means they can let an assistant post content while they work on new projects. For enterprise users, content can be created by staffers and approved by the management team as they have time.

 

Raise SEO rankings

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most critical aspects of any online presence. Better SEO leads to higher brand awareness and more sales leads. 

With a CMS, SEO is straightforward and intuitive. Most include automatic indexing options, and there’s a host of tools that can be added during development to walk users through SEO procedures. 

Even entry-level CMS users are able to check on their SEO quality using a dashboard that helps them:

 

The dashboard provides a dynamic evaluation of SEO quality as content is input and will prompt users when change is needed. If the keyword density is too low, or the keywords aren’t used in the right places to rank high, both entry users and editors can see that at a glance. 

Ease of posting has been brought up a few times so far, but it’s worth mentioning here because frequent updates boost SEO rankings. Platforms that update often are seen as more relevant by search engines and will appear higher in searches.  

 

Gather data

Owning your data is one of the strongest advantages of owning a platform as opposed to using existing platforms like YouTube or Medium. The CMS can be designed to give you easy insight into that data through dynamic dashboards and statistics panels. 

Use your CMS dashboards to answer questions like:

 

You can choose during development to integrate more analytics tools into your CMS to track things like user behavior across platforms and how they navigate your site. That offers valuable insight to guide your future decisions.

 

Improve user experience

A CMS isn’t only for your convenience. It gives your users a better experience, too. They benefit from easy to find and use search functions and responsive support channels. 

Your CMS performs the all-important task of device optimization for a consistent experience on desktop or mobile. (Being mobile friendly also boosts your SEO rankings; many of these advantages play into each other.)

 

You know what a CMS is and why it matters… now what?

Now that you know how valuable a tool your CMS is, you can use that to your advantage. Really engage with your developer when setting up your website or OTT platform. Share any pain points in your current process, and ask questions about what’s possible to explore how much you can get out of your new CMS. 

 

Make CMS training a priority for your team, too, so they can get in on the action. 

A CMS can be one of your most effective digital tools. The more you understand it, the more effectively you can use it to meet your business goals. 

At FanHero, we specialize in customizing a CMS for each of our partner’s needs. If you’re having trouble managing your “one size fits all” platform, we can design one that has your goals built in from the start.