Tis the season…
...to be swamped with a limitless amount of holiday programming choices! It’s that time of year where families come together to celebrate seasonal festivities and gather around the TV to watch their favorite classic holiday specials while discovering new ones, alike. But with so many options flooding our TVs during this time of the year, how do audiences find the right show to watch?
KEYWORDS: that’s right! When it comes to search, they are a crucial component when submitting metadata for content discovery. Not only are these associated words vital to discovering what shows are out there but they also help to sift-through and find the most contextual and relatable content a viewer is searching for in that moment. Just like genre, keywords help drive discovery of new content. But there is a distinction between the two classifications.
Genre vs. Keyword
When searching for a show to watch, it’s good to know that genre and keywords are drivers for search and discovery. Let’s break down the distinction between them.
Genre refers to categories of works that are characterized by similar plots, themes, settings, situations, and characters (drama, science-fiction, action, comedy, etc.).
Keywords help add more detailed context to the program itself—they are words or phrases that help describe a program beyond its basic genre. When it comes to keywords, it’s easy to think of the five (5) W’s of journalism and a mood (the feeling that the program should illicit when viewing). Look at the table below to understand how the keyword types are associated:
Call the Midwife Holiday Special | Genre: Drama, Holiday | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Keyword Type: 5 W's & Mood | Keywords | |||
What | Subject | Midwifery, Healthcare | ||
Who | Character | Midwives, Nuns, Nurses, Mothers, Babies | ||
Where | Setting | London | ||
When | Time Period | 1950s, 1960s, Post-War, Christmas | ||
Why | Theme | Christmas, Friendships, Baby-Boom | ||
Mood | Feeling | Cheerful, Celebratory | ||
So, when it comes to searching for holiday programming, consider identifying each of the types mentioned above to create an effortless search experience for viewers. Look at the example for the TV program Call the Midwife Holiday Special above.
Not only do the genres and keywords help viewers filter through hundreds of holiday-related programs housed on a single platform, but they also help with ‘quick search’ when using a Voice-User Interface (VUI) on your smart device—making it easier to find the program—when searching by title produces limited results.
So, don’t leave viewers floundering this holiday season. Help them navigate easily by supplying these keyword types in your metadata. It just might be the driver that makes your holiday concert special stand-out this season!
Learn more about keyword best practices and content discovery at the Content Discovery for Content Creators, every Thursday (register here) or watch a recorded session here.