Lifecycle Management: How Often to Refresh AV Content

Have you ever called a company and listened to the same hold music play as it did the last time you called or hear the same message drone on while you wait? Have you walked into an office and seen the same channel on the TV or the same content scrolling across a digital display board you saw on your previous visit? If so, you’ve likely done one of two things: 1) Felt like the staff must have forgotten to update the content, or 2) Tuned it out entirely. 

The fact is that using the same content repeatedly loses customers’ interest or can even make it seem like a company doesn’t care about staying up to date. This is a common mistake to make and luckily, there is a fairly easy fix: content lifecycle management. Here are a couple lifecycle management tips to help you keep things fresh so you retain your customers’ attention and keep your company in a positive light. 

1. Make a Plan 

Many companies get excited about their digital wall display and work hard to create content for it initially. But as with most things, the novelty wears off and other priorities take your attention. This is why it is important to come up with a lifecycle management schedule. Similar to an editorial calendar you might create for your company blog, the point is to look ahead several months to a year and anticipate how often your content should be updated. 

Many companies are comfortable changing their digital display board once per month, but others prefer to do so more frequently. A good rule of thumb is to consider your type of business and how often your customers come through your doors. An OB/GYN office, for instance, may see most patients once a year but see their pregnant patients as much as monthly or weekly. In this sort of scenario, refreshing your content every week is probably the best way to hold all patients’ interest and not have your messages fade into the background like the wallpaper does. 

2. Revisit Regularly 

Once you have a plan in place, decide how you’ll remember to make your content lifecycle management a priority. If you have an A/V partner, work with them to make these decisions and ask for their help in executing the content updates. If not, be sure you have these updates on your calendar so you are reminded to produce and display new content at the intervals you have set. 

Also remember that the best laid plans don’t always pan out perfectly and that’s ok. You might find that you hoped to switch up your digital wall display once every quarter but keep getting questions from customers about seasonal hours or offerings. This is a good indication that you might want to update your content more frequently. Try to stick to the plan you set but give yourself the freedom to roll with the punches as your industry, customers and the world around you may necessitate. 

The biggest key here is to understand content lifecycle management and make it a priority. If you do this, it’s hard to get it wrong. But, it’s always easier to manage such a process with an experienced partner. Give us a call to find out how we can help keep your content up to date and engage your customers.