Netflix's “Moments”: the streaming giant relives on social media to get the word out about its content

On November 28, Netflix launched “Moments,” a new feature that allows users to share links to specific scenes from series or movies with loved ones directly via social networks. Netflix wants to make it easier to share powerful scenes, without users having to search on YouTube or manually save their favorite clips.
They now have the possibility to save their favorite moments in a personal library within the application, while inviting their contacts to rediscover or discover memorable scenes. This encourages recipients who do not yet have the application to download it and/or subscribe, as the video is only visible within the platform, a clever strategy for Netflix to recruit new subscribers.
It can also be seen as a desire on the part of the platform to regain power over discussions around its productions, by bringing users directly back to the “source.”

Here's how this new feature can improve the platform's user experience and communication strategy.

1/ Fueling Dark Social and Boosting Commitments

Moments could become a key lever for stimulating engagement on social networks and especially within private messaging. Users can thus easily share their favorite scenes in their group chats, whether on Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Messenger, Snapchat, or other messaging applications. This sharing in “dark social”, that is to say exchanges in private, outside of public networks, would be a way of enriching discussions around movies and series, by redirecting contacts to Netflix.

In practice, this means that users will be able to directly share a specific moment in a movie or series, facilitating conversations around specific content and strengthening the interaction around Netflix productions.
At the same time, local community managers will have a strengthened role in this strategy, by adapting content to regional preferences. By highlighting popular shows by geographic area, they encourage subscribers to engage more with content that resonates with their local culture.

2/ The choice of the best scenes by users

Here, Netflix empowers users to select and share cult scenes from series and movies, offering a promotion channel based on user-generated content (UGC). By sharing special moments, fans become ambassadors, contributing to the rise of the visibility of their favorite scenes. These sequences shared in the form of short videos, which are not necessarily the ones that Netflix would have chosen to highlight in its official teasers, will draw attention to unique aspects of the content.

This format of teasing by users brings a touch of spontaneity and proximity, integrating perfectly with the humorous and authentic communication style already used by the production company.

3/ New metrics to assess the most engaging scenes

The Moments feature will inevitably lead to the implementation of new metrics, making it possible to assess the types of scenes that most engage viewers and that are most likely to share. By analyzing the most shared moments, we can also wonder if Netflix and content creators will not adjust their productions to include more “shareable” scenes, designed to make an impression and generate interaction.

Moreover, this new data on user preferences could influence product placement strategies. Brands would be in a position to negotiate to be integrated into specific scenes (identified as particularly popular and engaging), in order to maximize their visibility in the moments that viewers will choose to broadcast most often to their loved ones.

Indeed, the feature represents an opportunity for brands that want to integrate more organically into the user viewing experience. The database could identify in advance the types of scenes that are most likely to go viral, thus making it possible to target strategic moments to maximize visibility.
Rather than simple product placements visible in the background, brands could be an integral part of the key scenes that viewers are encouraged to share. For example, a product used in a cult scene or a particular setting would become an element associated with a highlight.

This paves the way for more immersive partnerships, in which brands no longer content themselves with appearing, but integrate naturally into the emotional or memorable moments of series and movies, participating in the design of these “shareable” scenes, adapted to the expectations of viewers and to the image of the brand.

4/ Netflix: towards a vertical social network?

It is questionable whether with Moments, Netflix wants to transform its platform into a vertical social network in its own right focused on its productions, like Spotify in the audio field.
Indeed, by integrating functionalities allowing interactions, Netflix would offer fans of series a privileged space to exchange, react, and comment directly within the platform. In this idea, users would be able to chat with each other, react to episodes live, comment on highlights, and publish content related to their favorite series and movies. We can imagine temporary discussion feeds depending on the series, or even “lounges” dedicated to specific productions. A social network with an algorithm customized according to the user's cinematographic interests, allowing discussions around common passions.
The platform would thus increase the loyalty of subscribers by creating an active community around content. It would strengthen the link between fans and Netflix productions. The platform would then no longer be just a streaming service, but a social network dedicated to the world of cinema and series.

In conclusion, the Netflix Moments feature wants to redefine how users share content and offers brands new opportunities to integrate naturally into memorable scenes. By letting viewers become active ambassadors, Moments creates an organic promotion network around the highlights of series and movies. With the addition of interactive features, Netflix also seems to be moving towards a vertical social media model, offering a space for fans to exchange, react, and comment directly within the platform.