Do I Have Enough Videos to Display on a TV in my Business?

Good question. If you’re a business owner looking to do more with your TV, then chances are you’ve seen the value of using custom videos to showcase your brand. Swapping out cable for something with a little more personal touch can be a great investment if done correctly. If you’re looking for an alternative to cable, check out It’s Relevant TV.

Getting the Most Out of Your Custom Videos

The first step towards making a successful business TV is content. Whether it’s content that you paid someone to make for you or content that you put together yourself, the videos that play are the bread and butter of your business TV.

But how many videos is too little, or too much?

Having too few custom videos gets repetitive – looping the same thing again and again is boring. Showcasing only a few of your own videos on their own may turn your messages into something that ends up annoying people instead of attracting them. If you’re looking to keep things interesting, you don’t want to show the same thing over and over again.

When it comes to the other side of the coin, there isn’t necessarily such a thing as too many custom videos. The longer your list of content, the more you’re exposing people to your brand. If there is a downside to building an effective library of content, it’s the time and money that goes into producing it, and sometimes maintaining it. Unless you have a lot of both to invest in your TV, it can be difficult putting together something worthwhile.

You Don’t Need That Many Videos if You Have a Partner:
Consider It’s Relevant TV

If you’re interested in utilizing custom videos on your business TV, and what you have doesn’t fit your vision – It’s Relevant can help. We recommend creating a custom TV network that combines the videos you have – even if it’s only 1 or 2, with loads of other content to keep your visitors interested.

Our library of content features over half a million videos. So we’ve got you covered when it comes to bringing in the rest. If you have your own videos that feature your own brand, explore what It’s Relevant TV can do for your message:

It’s Relevant provides businesses with a living, breathing, TV network that is fully customizable and easy to control. Our platform delivers interesting, short-form content that draws people’s attention so they can see your messages playing alongside the videos. If there’s something you want visitors to walk away with after they leave your business, we can help you get that message across.

For more information please visit: http://www.itsrelevant.com

Marketing Inside Your Business: Broaden Your Marketing Horizon

Most marketing dollars are spent on “external marketing.” That is, marketing which is done physically outside your business. Having to market is necessary for any business – it allows you to advertise your brand, giving you the chance to bring in new customers, and remind old ones that you still exist. There are plenty of ways to get your message out and raise brand awareness, though they are often quite expensive…

Some of the Most Common External Marketing Techniques:
– Billboards ($3,000 – $30,000+)
– TV Commercials (Local: $200 – $1,500+ / National: $342,000+)
– Facebook Advertising ($7.19 @ 1000 CPM)
– Google AdWords (Avg: $1 – $2 per click / High: $50 per click)
– Newspaper Ads ($7.25 – $43.50)
– Bus Ads (Small: $150 – $600 / Large: $3,000 – $6,500)

A Less Expensive Alternative

If there is one downside to an external market solution, it is the high cost that comes with it – though advertising on platforms outside your business isn’t the only answer. Too few business owners recognize the potential to market inside their businesses when such a solution can be both cost effective, and beneficial for drawing in more business – not from attracting new customers, but rather by getting older ones to return instead. In the end, the most important step is choosing which platform will carry your brand and message.

It’s Relevant TV is an Inexpensive Internal Marketing Solution

When it comes to market strategies there are two simple truths to consider. One; it’s more expensive to market outside of your business than it is to market inside it. And two; it’s easier to get an existing customer to come back than it is to get a new customer to visit for the first time. That’s where It’s Relevant TV shines.

It’s Relevant is a service that transforms business TVs into tools that not only allows you to market your brand, but improves visitor experience as well. The service gives your business access to ever-changing interesting short-form content that’s designed to draw the eye better than traditional signage. And while people are engaged, they are exposed to your brand and messages. It’s Relevant TV saves on the traditional marketing costs while using a more effective medium – your TV. It targets existing customers, getting them to come back more, and spend more.

For more information please visit: http://www.itsrelevant.com

Business Owners: Get More Mileage out of Your Videos

Does Your Business Have A Video?

More and more businesses are creating videos and seeing the value. Videos are a great way to demonstrate a product, detail a service, or introduce people to your staff. Videos can be time consuming to create, and expensive to make. While we have observed a growth in the number of businesses making videos, the majority of them fail to think about the next step: How do you get customers to see it?

We see the video process as having two parts: Production & Distribution. Production is the planning, shooting and editing of the video. Distribution is taking the finished video and putting it in front of people. While there has been a great increase in attention paid to the production, distribution is something many forget to focus on.

Where Are You Putting Your Finished Videos?

So where do your videos go? How do you get them seen? How do you measure the success of a video you’ve made? These are all questions you should ask yourself.

We’ve found that many business owners take a “Field of Dreams” approach to video distribution. The famous quote from the movie, “If you build it they will come”. If you build a great video and throw it on YouTube, you will soon find that your intended audience will not find it automatically.

It’s similar to printing fliers. Just because you’ve printed 100 fliers and have them stacked in a box, doesn’t mean people will seem them. You have to do the work to get those 100 fliers into 100 prime locations to reach your desired audience. Video works in much the same way. Even though you aren’t passing out physical videos, you do have to think about how to place them in front of people you want to see them. Youtube, your website, community pages etc. are all places you can start. We have found a primary space for these videos should be on TV in your business location(s).

Putting Your Videos on TV

download — This doesn’t have to be your TV solution.

Having your videos on TV will draw more attention to them. It will get them seen by customers that are more likely to act upon your messaging.

There are many ways you can get your videos onto TVs in your locations. We have details the top methods in this article: 3 Ways to put your videos on TV.

The problem with most display solutions is that they loop. Unless you have a large library of content at the ready, people are going to watch the same thing again and again with no break and nothing new. Maintenance and upkeep are also issues – often needing to brave a utility closet full of wires, re-load physical drives or USB sticks, or having to hire a specialist in order to update or fix what’s on the TV.

Making the Most out of Your Videos

Putting an easy-to-use system in place that will play your videos and mix them with other TV programming is key. It’s Relevant TV takes the majority of the work away- providing your business with relevant TV programming, and a way to make the most out of your media.

It’s Relevant is a cable alternative that provides businesses a TV solution in the form of a living network of short-form content. IRTV’s library of videos is broken up into categories for you to choose from based on your customer’s interests, and gives you full control over what’s on your TV. The service provides compliments to your own videos as well as complete management of one or multiple TVs. IRTV tracks everything so you can know how many times each of your videos were displayed, along with specific timing and location.

The big difference between It’s Relevant TV and other solutions is in the content. IRTV provides interesting and entertaining content while inserting your own messages and real-time social media for people to see while engaged.

Visit itsrelevant.com to learn more about the easy-to-use and cost effective TV solution.

Beat the Snow: Manage Your Messaging on the Go

Trying to manage a business is hard enough without weather getting in the way. If snow is in the forecast, and you take your first look outside to find the world looks like the picture above, chances are the last thing you want to do, or even should do, is go out driving in that winter wonderland.

But you’re a business owner. Or a manager who is responsible for your location, or locations. In the event of poor weather, conditions may prompt your business to change strategy, close, or reduce hours. Given the severity of the forecast, it’s entirely possible that loyal customers will nevertheless visit your business – unaware of the irregular hours. In lieu, and in anticipation of bad weather, business owners need to inform visitors of any changes. If driving is a bad idea, how does one manage?

A Tool to Manage Your Business

It’s Relevant TV features the ability to control the TVs in your business from your phone – from anywhere. There’s no need to dig out your car or brave icy roads when you’re able to send out messages from your phone for people to see on the TVs at your locations. Inform visitors of possible closings, irregular hours, or even reminders to travel safely on the roads.

Take a look at a message from our CEO below, demonstrating the system:

It’s Relevant TV works for any business setting with a TV. It is a tool that is less expensive than most cable subscriptions, improves visitor experience, generates more business, and allows you to get people engaged with your social media and excited about your brand. When it comes to what goes on the TV, It’s Relevant is the best option for businesses. Feel free to visit us on the web at itsrelevant.com to learn more about It’s Relevant.

Replace the DVD Player In Your Business

If you’re a business owner with a TV in your business, it goes without saying that at some point in time you sat down to consider what to have playing on it. Whether it’s basic cable, a DVD player or Netflix, an Amazon Firestick, or even a regular old USB drive with pictures and a slideshow, sometimes it’s time to revisit old tech and consider newer alternatives.

People say “Don’t fix what isn’t broken.” And this is true – no one should fritter away money on a whim. But at the same time, there’s a risk in the comfort of long standing familiarity. People who are happy with what they have seldom consider alternatives – less out of alternatives being better and more out of avoiding the hassle of change.

Out With The Old

It’s not unusual to want to get the most mileage out something, but it’s also important to recognize when something is worth revisiting. Even if it isn’t necessarily old. DVD players, services like Netflix, and external devices such as Amazon Firestick and USB Drives have broadened the options for ways you can put things on your TV.

DVD Players Are Outdated For Businesses

DVD players are great – at home. When it comes to DVD players in businesses, two common uses rise to the surface: DVDs, and looping slideshows. Regarding the former, playing a commercially available DVD, like a movie or TV show can result in a heavy fine. The reason is that even though you own the copy of the DVD, you don’t own the license to play it in public. The following article delves deeper into the risks involved when choosing to display content in your business without the rights: “Using Netflix in your Business, Don’t Put your Business at Risk!”

Legality aside, throwing a movie or the latest Disney Pixar flick up on the TV still isn’t that great of a solution. Feature-length movies can be as long as 90-120 minutes – built around characters and storytelling. Unless you’re waiting for a car to be serviced, there are few instances where putting something like a movie on for the enjoyment of visitors is going to be relevant. People don’t have the same focus to devote to a movie in a waiting room, restaurant or retailer as they do at home – and there’s no guarantee that people won’t arrive in the middle of story, or walk in on spoilers of a movie they were waiting to see. It just isn’t a good fit for businesses, and it carries the risk of disappointing visitors.

Movies aren’t the only thing that a DVD player is good for. Business owners who know that it’s illegal to show unlicensed videos, or don’t believe in playing videos in general, lean towards another option when it comes to what’s on their TVs – and that’s custom DVDs.

Custom DVDs & Slideshows Get Old Quick

It’s not uncommon for business owners to put together personal videos or collections of pictures for their TVs. While this alternative is certainly cheaper than basic cable, it isn’t without its flaws.

Custom videos loop constantly. Unless the business owner has a dedicated staff member with a lot of free time on their hands to put together a large library of content, people visiting are likely going to see the same things again and again. This can get boring, and depending on the setting in which people are waiting, the comfort of your visitors can have a large impact on their satisfaction and overall opinion of your business.

DVDs and USBs packed with videos and pictures plugged into your Smart TV lack a crutial level of customization. In order to update or make changes to either of those platforms, the devices need to be manually removed – and in the case of DVDs, new ones need to be made or switched out by hand. This is inconvenient, and in an age of innovative technology, shouldn’t be an option you have to settle for.

Another heavy loss at the cost of using custom DVDs or slideshows is the lack of live intergrations onto your TV. Features such as the local news, weather updates, and even recent posts from social media, aren’t able to be streamed and put where people are going to see it. So what else is there?

It’s Relevant TV is the Next Generation, Here Today

It’s Relevant TV is a custom TV service made for businesses. It gives you access to a vast library of short-form content to be played alongside your own videos to get people interested, and engaged. All of the content is licensed for public display, so you can avoid legal issues of playing commercial DVDs. Everything is divided into set categories for you to pick and choose from to keep the programming “relevant”.

The platform is easy to use and fully customizable – you can easily upload videos and images from your phone or computer straight to your TV. And best of all, it’s always fresh. Without you doing a thing, IRTV constantly changes the programming to keep it all interesting for your visitors.

Do away with the old, and embrace the new. It’s Relevant TV will provide your business with so much more than a DVD player can. IRTV is constantly evolving and provides business owners with the control they desire.

Change can be Hard. But It’s Worth it for Your Business.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building the new.”

-Socrates

Hesitant to Change Your TV Service? You’re not Alone.

Services like cable and satellite are bought and subscribed to as early as the point of purchasing a TV. From there on out, one’s choice of provider tends to adopt a Set It & Forget It sort of mentality. You’re comfortable with what you have, you don’t ever think to replace it, and you’re “happy“ with it.

But what does “happy” mean here? Are you excited? Does it help your business every day? Or is saying you are “happy” more like a nice way of saying that you’re settling for what you currently have because the alternative is something unfamiliar. Very few business and offices really LOVE or even LIKE the TV service they subscribe to.

Many of our clients hesitated at first to change from away from the TV service they had. Reasons included many false assumptions like needing to schedule an installation, reading long contracts, or having to make phone calls. These can all be avoided.

The single worst feedback we’ve heard is that some business owners don’t care about what’s on their TVs! Even if you don’t care, your customers DO! If you care about them, it’s worth considering what you put in front of them. Our clients find their visitors enjoy the programming more, complain far less, and leave better educated about their business. This can lead to a real return on investment from your TV. On top of the benefits, it’s also quite easy to make the switch. The installation is simple and doesn’t require scheduling an “appointment window”. You can install it yourself in under 5 minutes.

Why Fix what isn’t Broken?

Business owners and office managers should not settle. If there is something that is better and most cost-effective for our businesses we should explore it.

People tend to favor what’s familiar to them, pure and simple. That’s because with familiarity comes a sense of trust, reliance, and security. While there isn’t anything wrong with this, it can leave you blind to alternatives better suited for your needs. It’s less about fixing something that isn’t broken, and more about upgrading to better options.

airplane-open-seats-1

If you were in an airplane, squished in between two people for a flight, and were given the opportunity to sit in a set of seats completely open next to you, would you move? Of course you would! Your seat may not be broken, but it’s just not as comfortable as the open seats will be. The better option is worth taking, and the sooner you make the decision to move the more time you have to enjoy the results of the change.

Fit Your Business with something Made for Business

It’s Relevant TV is a cable alternative that’s designed for the business setting. It compliments the brief time that people are exposed to the TV and is tailored to the casual attention span of your visitors. It’s Relevant’s short-form content is easy to watch. And the diverse library of content gives your business enough categories to choose from, to be relevant to as many people possible.

Why It’s Relevant TV?

With It’s Relevant in the picture, you’re able to explore the ways in which your TV can be used to transform your business. Beyond short-form content that’s family-friendly, IRTV allows you to expose visitors to your social media and educate them about the services you provide. They become interested and engaged, come back more, and spend more on each visit. That’s where It’s Relevant TV excels. It’s built specifically for you, and it’s designed to MAKE your business money.

Generally speaking, when you see something new that you’re interested in, you look into it for more details. You take a closer look in order to see if it’s better or worse than what you currently have, and in the end chose whether or not to replace the old with the new. If you operate a business, office or public space with a TV take a few minutes to explore It’s Relevant TV. You can reach out to the staff for a personalized presentation by calling 855-ITS-RELE or emailing support {at} itsrelevant.com.

iOS 11 Hidden Feature That Will Help Your Business (iPhone/iPad)

With Apple’s release of iOS 11 on Tuesday September 19, 2017 many new features have been introduced to the iPhone and iPad. Most of these features matter mostly to consumers, not to business owners. But there is one feature in particular that businesses should take advantage of.

QR Code Scanning on the iPhone

Apple has made it easier than ever for consumers to scan QR codes while they are out and about. What are QR Codes? They are a lot like barcodes in that they are quick to scan from a compatible device but they are used in much more of an interactive way. QR codes have been used for about a decade now to bring users to web sites while out and about. They are really big in Asia, but never really took off here in the U.S.

What’s different now?

You used to need a dedicated app to scan a QR code on your iPhone. The problem has always been that once you saw a QR codeyou wanted to scan you had to fumble through your apps, find the QR scanning one, wait for it to load and then shoot the code. This long process made it hard to use QR codes in dynamic ways. Now Apple has built the technology into their standard Camera App. The Camera App remains one of the easiest to access apps on the phone, available right from the lock screen.

What are the opportunities for businesses?

Getting customers to access your websites while in your retail locations, or through ads in remote locations are a great way to grow your business. Once users access a link through a QR code, they can fill out a survey, join a loyalty club or even purchase a product that’s not available in the store.

iOS 11 QR Code Scanning App — QR Code Editing Tool inside of It’s Relevant TV

Make the most of this update with It’s Relevant TV

As you’ll see in the video below, It’s Relevant TV has a QR code generator built right into their free iPhone/iPad app. You can design, edit and upload interactive ads right from your phone to all of your business TVs using the service. IRTV puts these QR codes in a place that your customers can see and interact them. Customer awareness will be key to your success.

There is really no quicker way to easily build active links into your business signage. We hope that you’ll take advantage this great technology that is surely to gain usage in the months to come!

If you have questions or want to chat about ways to make this technology work for you, please reach out to us.

Why Customer Retention Should be a Higher Priority than Customer Acquisition

In-Location Marketing vs. External Advertising

Customer retention is key. Most marketing budgets center around getting a company’s message out to the masses. TV commercials, print ads, billboards, sponsorships, direct mail, are all forms of external advertising that are commonly used to attract new customers to businesses. But once you bring someone in, what are you doing to get them to come back?

Companies that have to advertise all of the time in order to stay in business are likely not doing enough to keep their customers happy.

Many business owners focus most of their efforts on attracting new customers in order to make more money. But you don’t only need new customers! If your goal this year was to grow your revenues by 10%, would you care if that increase came from new business, or increasing the average spend from your current customers? Of course not! More revenue is more revenue.

Money earned from new customer vs. existing

They look the same, don’t they? Because they are! An added dollar earned from an existing customer is just as good as a dollar form a new one. But it’s proven to earn that extra dollar from an existing customer than to get it from a new one.

“Research shows that it can cost up to 30 times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. It pays to stay very close to your customers, so you know their exact needs, today and tomorrow. Your aim is to be irreplaceable as their supplier.”
–Mike Johnston, The Chartered Institute of Marketing

An Inexpensive Solution

It’s Relevant TV has come up with an easy way to increase customer retention (getting customers to come back more often). Each custom TV network IRTV creates is unique to each business that displays it. Short-form TV programs grab the attention of visitors while the integrated real-time social media and promotional tools help get the business’ message across.

If you own or manage a business and have a TV, It’s Relevant TV offers a free consultation. You can explore various types of programming with an expert and start to craft something that will do much more for your business.

For more information check out It’s Relevant TV’s official site: http://www.itsrelevant.com or call their U.S. Headquarters at: (203) 588-1689

Controlling Multiple TVs Across Your Business or Organization

Easy to Manage One or Multiple Business TV Screens

Do you have a business or practice with more than one location? Many managers, franchise owners, and practice managers have found it to be increasingly difficult to get a consistent message out to multiple locations.

Printing and distributing fliers or emailing announcements often get overlooked, and are hard to police. We’ve found that being able to put the messaging up directly is the best way. But how can you control all of your TVs from one place? It’s Relevant TV makes it easy.

iPhone X (iPhone 10) - Home Screen — iPhone X (Apple iPhone 10)

It’s as easy as accessing logging in to the website or free iPhone/iPad app and selecting what you want to have shown on your screens. The settings can be updated 24/7 from anywhere.

You can control one or multiple screens at once. This gives national brands dual level control. You can design ads, mix in images, change your social media preferences, and upload videos of your own. And best of all, the messages you distribute get seen! They garner more attention by being mixed with TV programs your customers want to watch.

It’s your TV, make it work for you!

It’s Relevant features more than just TV content. Custom messaging and weather from each location’s zip code are easily added and managed. The service gives you the ability to reach out to visitors in ways you can’t with basic cable. IRTV can be linked to your social media feeds, showcasing your most recent posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

It’s Relevant TV’s platform boasts a number of features that make the digital signage/video service an invaluable tool for businesses. Its library of 500,000+ short-form content licensed for public display is the largest of its kind, with the videos are spread across 40+ categories – allowing you to customize your waiting room TVs in ways that just aren’t possible with basic cable. One might expect a system as innovative as IRTV to be complicated, or run the risk of being too confusing to operate – but it’s easy!

You’re Always in Control

One of It’s Relevant’s most handy features, is Competetive Ad Block®. Competetive Ad Block® does what it says, it blocks competitive ads from showing up on your TV. With it in place, you never run the risk of people in your business seeing an ad for a “better” or more enticing deal across the street. Businesses that settle for basic cable have no control over outside messaging.

The most valued feature of It’s Relevant TV is the free ad space which allows you to expose visitors to your brand and promotions. Between, and during videos, you have the option to showcase your brand on the side of the screen and inform visitors of any services or specials you want them to see. New products and services, catering, limited-time offers, members rewards, or even staff highlights, are just a few of the things you can promote.

It’s Relevant TV is found in restaurants, medical offices, malls, retailers, sports arenas, car dealerships, pharmacies, salons, spas, and more.

Are Your Employees Watching TV At Work? A Better TV For Your Business

Employees watching TV at work is frustrating if you’re a business owner, or you’re in charge of managing a business. If you have TVs in your business, you probably put them there for the benefit of your customers. But have your employees become the primary audience instead? If you fear that this is the case, follow this link and check out the solution we recommend.

Today, TVs are a utility that fewer and fewer businesses are without. A growing number of locations with sit-downs or long expected waits have a TV somewhere within sight. With all of the TVs in businesses, an important question comes to mind; who chooses what’s on?

It shouldn’t be your employees!

Where’s the Remote, and Who is in Control?

This varies from business to business. Example: in a setting like a bar or restaurant, the remote might not be available to customers- whereas in a waiting room, the remote might be there for any visitors to control. However in some cases, an employee is the one in charge of the remote. When an employee decides what to put on the TV, he or she might very well put something on the that they want to watch, instead of something that the customers, or visitors, would rather have on.

The TV is a wonderful distraction for visitors. Unfortunately, it can be just as distracting for employees.

One thing is true; the fact that people want to change the channel at all illustrates that even with thousands of channels out there, it is nearly impossible to pick one that everyone will enjoy.

What’s the Perfect Channel?

People and personality types are as diverse as a bag of M&Ms; you won’t be able to please everyone by putting on a channel that only caters to one or two colors. In order to appeal to the interests of all of your visitors, you need an all-inclusive channel that changes between content types. The greater the diversity in content, the more eyes you can attract to your TV.

What Brings it all Together?

A custom TV channel from It’s Relevant TV. IRTV runs diverse short-form programming designed with businesses in mind. In addition to its vast library of licensed content, the platform features space for businesses to promote additional services or specials that otherwise might go unnoticed.

It’s Relevant is focused on customer retention. The service prioritizes the people who are in your business with the intention of getting them to come back more, and spend more. Unlike cable bills that are flat expenses and give nothing back, IRTV is designed to generate revenue through its engaging features and put money into your pockets.

Are your employees watching TV when they should be working? If they’re in control of the television and you’re not around, there’s a good chance that they are. Allowing it to continue is doing a disservice to your business, and your visitors who want to watch the TV. It’s Relevant TV can help you put meaningful programming on the TV to keep customers engaged, and make you more money.