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Okay – it’s confession time. I’ve got a big problem and it starts with N. It was bad enough when I could stream old episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation or finally catch up on the revamped Doctor Who. Then they started creating original series. The television industry thought they were crazy – but their $100 million gamble on House of Cards paid off and paved the way for Orange is the New Black, Hemlock Grove, and (my personal favorite) the long awaited return of Arrested Development, among others.

I’m hooked on them all – and I’m not alone in my love. Netflix garnered a historic 15 Emmy nominations for their original programming.

Netflix’s innovative thinking can be applied to your business. Here’s what their original programming can teach you about content creation and delivery.

Understand how your audience is consuming content.

It’s not hyperbole to say that Netflix has turned the entertainment industry upside down, yet again. By making all of an original series’ episodes available all at once they changed the way that people watch television. The audience is fragmented. Some people who clear their schedule to watch an entire new series in a weekend, and others who pick and choose when to watch. Unlike with network television, it’s not a shared experience – it’s a personal one. As a result, a lot of the series feel like one long movie with smaller arcs to keep you engaged across several episodes.

Your audience is even more fragmented. When your audience encounters your brand online, they do it in multiple ways. They might see a Tweet, favorite a picture on Instagram or (and know this sounds old school) land on your homepage. You can’t tell your brand story in an A, B, C fashion – some people will never see A! You have to strategically define your story and tell it in multiple formats so it makes sense to anyone that comes across it. You need to appeal to the “piece meal” crowd as well as the “marathon watchers” of your content.

Create an ongoing content experience.

Speaking of marathon watching, I’m not too proud to admit that I traded some sleep when season two of Orange is the New Black launched and finished the episodes in about four days. It was just that good, so it was worth it.

If your marketing content is good, your audience will want more of it – and you need to make it easy for them to get it. For example, your great blog post on endurance as an entrepreneur should include links to more of the same. Use a category structure on your blog so your visitors can easy read the next great article on that topic. Pay close attention to your web and social stats to see what is resonating best with your audience – and then create an ongoing content experience around those categories.

Focus on quality.

For their flagship original series, Netflix went directly to the top. With Academy Award Winner Kevin Spacey lead a cast of top notch actors, and the writers and directors had multiple notches in their belt from top shows and movies. What resulted was a critically acclaimed series, and the other originals from Netflix have done the same. These shows only come out once per year, yet their quality makes them an entertainment experience worth waiting for.

Now you can’t publish new content once per year, but you can strike a balance of quality and quantity that fits your audience. If you’re rapidly publishing content and not seeing the results you’re looking for, maybe it’s time to take a different approach. Instead of five posts per week, try two pieces of long form blog content. Rather than spreading yourself thin over all the social channels you can register for, take time to develop and implement a killer Facebook strategy.

Streaming subscribers or target audience, the message is the same. Understand your audience, give them more of what they want and focus on quality and you’ll have your own “critically acclaimed” hits on your hands in the content department.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Hemlock Grove to indulge in. What’s your favorite Netflix original series? And do you see any parallels between marketing and this new form of TV on demand?