OTT Marketing Strategy: How Netflix India uses Indian-Global parallels for better content discovery

We take a look at the Netflix India strategy of drawing parallels between content to give their followers a glimpse into their library.

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Jagruti Verma
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We take a closer look at the Netflix India Instagram strategy of drawing parallels between content pieces to give their followers a better glimpse into their library of shows and movies.

Almost half a decade of offering services in the country has given Netflix India plenty of time to feel the pulse of the viewers here. It shows in the content on their platform as well as their social media strategy. As they make headway into expanding their local content here, drawing parallels between popular global and Indian content is helping them introduce their new offerings as part of their Instagram strategy.

This can be seen very prominently in the content they have recently put up for their new show, Mismatched.

In some cases, they put up two images with some connection between the characters. Finding similar scenes, especially when it comes to those depicting a blooming romance in different shows and movies seems to be a popular post type. In a few instances, they have also linked to not so related stories to create a third, almost in a way a fan would create fanfic.

All these posts feature stills from shows and movies available on Netflix, the names of which are almost always mentioned in the top right corner.

Leveraging Similarities

Netflix India often juxtapositions stills from two unrelated shows/movies to build a narrative around the characters, creating crossovers. One-half of such posts is a screenshot from a global content piece. The other half, either an upcoming show/movie or a really old one with scope for nostalgia.

Memes & Topicals

Putting together two unrelated shows/movies are a potential ground for humorous content. It brings fictional characters into the realms of reality, via social media. For some Instagram posts, Netflix India has brought forth such connections through memes as part of its strategy to increase engagement as well as leverage the goodwill of popular shows to promote a new one.

Subtle Subtitle Magic

Have you ever watched something foreign that reminded you strongly of something familiar back home? It is likely that a piece of a particular music or a signature dialogue was involved. This sentiment has been used by Netflix India to draw parallels on Instagram. Not as often but in some cases, they have also used content in regional languages to draw such parallels.

Also Read: When we read long Instagram captions by Netflix India…

Building on Key Scenes

Love stories across the globe have some key ingredients: People, emotions, misunderstandings, heartbreaks, and comfort. To promote Mismatched, Netflix India has used the storyline of Sex Education in multiple posts. The former being a new series and the latter a global phenomenon that has brought success to Netflix, such parallels are likely to help Mismatched find its ground among Indian viewers or even among global viewers who enjoy Indian content.

Such posts work for Netflix India in two key ways: Followers get introduced to new content and these associations are built on the grounds of positive sentiments. People with fond memories of the older content recall those emotions and judge the newer content in a similar light. Drawing parallels seems like a win-win strategy for Netflix and its viewers.

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