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A Guide to Telecommunications Reference Databases

Customers looking for information on cable programming, radio networks, or any other kind of recorded media have to be able to find what they’re looking for if they’re to make maximum use of the service offered.  That’s why it’s essential that the databases they consult be easily available and often updated.  Let’s consider how their proper use and consolidation can improve your business model, and what you should watch out for if you’re looking to update your content management system.

Benefits

If your clients depend on your media stream, they’ll need to know what’s available to them at any given time.  The more obvious and user-friendly that database is, the more likely those users are to gravitate towards your content.  A good general rule of thumb for the information age is that it’s not enough for something to be there: you need to be able to find it.  First-rate reference databases should do just that.

From a planning perspective, it’ll also be useful to you to have a solid interface with your programming.  Changes, edits, or updates will be easy to do and to foresee – which will ultimately improve the novelty and overall quality of you content.

Pitfalls

You’ll want to include as much information as possible for viewers or listeners to get a strong idea of what’s available to them.  However, always keep in mind that the approachability of your database is the number one factor that will genuinely improve your marketability.  A strongly indexed, frequently updated roster of quality programming will go to waste if you’re not able to display it all clearly and cogently.

Try limiting the number of options available to your database users, so that no one will be intimidated unduly.   You can offer an advanced search preference if your clients need that kind of specificity, but allow your general audience to access it as easily as possible.

Conclusion

It’s always useful to you as a content manager to know what you’ve got and where – a proper database is the foundation for the strategies you’ll want to implement.  Even more importantly, your audience has to feel comfortable enough with your service to be able to look through its options quickly and easily.  This will mean your viewership can plan and grow with your programming, and if you maintain the database with the kind of frequency and detail that they crave, you’ll be building client relationships that will only deepen over time.