What is digital signage?… “Isn’t it just a fancy name for a Powerpoint presentation running on a TV screen?”. Well, kind of, but not really. It is so much more. Let us explain…
It’s fairly common now to see digital monitors as we go about our days. In a lobby, retail shop, exhibition stand and even as digital menu’s at restaurants. What if you could show different content to different demographics? Or change promotions based on the weather (ice-creams or hot chocolates anyone?!) The possibilities are tremendous!
This technology is transforming customer engagement and many don’t even realise it is happening. There are however, some key differences that either make or break a digital signage campaign.
The truth is, no-one can afford to waste an opportunity to get their message across. The beauty of digital signage these days is that you can trick it up with all the tech to collect data on your customers.
Collecting data using digital signage
Wouldn’t it be advantageous to know what caught their eye? How long for? Their demographics, etc. This is the valuable data that marketers lap up like Taittinger! – It’s the gold found in these insights that separates digital signage from a regular old TV running a presentation.
That said, not all digital signage has that kind of tech in the back end, but it is the future and actually not that that big a deal to do now. If you want your digital signage to be a raging success rather than a complete waste of time and money you need to have customer engagement strategies at the forefront of your mind. No one likes to sit through a whole presentation or TV advert (snore….zzzz).
That viewer is unlikely to stand still and watch your digital signage screens for all that long. Don’t be upset. Our attention spans are shrinking by the minute. This is exactly why you need to make your content count. Don’t waste an opportunity to get your message across. This is the secret to ultimately creating digital signage content that impacts the bottom line, but also gets your audience to stop and connect with your brand.
Digital signage content creation
If you want everyone walking by to actually watch what is on your screen you better make sure you have something worth sharing. A good place to start is brainstorming what your end goal is. Above all else you should be thinking people first, technology second.
As mentioned above, it is fairly straight forward to alter content based on who is looking at your screen, but you can take it one step further. You can actually store a customers interests and re-market similar things to them. This is like retargeting ads on steroids, but makes for an extremely authentic viewing experience that the customer actually enjoys.
Rather than thinking of digital signage as a video clip on loop, think of how the content is lapped up. Usually this means someone walking past and seeing movement. As they glimpse in the direction of the movement on wall, what is it at that exact moment that will hold their attention? Is it something that makes them pause? If you know your target market well, you will be using something that speaks directly to them. What we have seen work best is content that touches on a pain point or highlights a key benefit that solves an issue they are having. Our sister company, The Exhibit Company, posted a great article about creative effective content.
If you have oodles of money and want to create a jaw-dropping digital masterpiece that people can feast their eyes on, bigger is always better and you may not care about the ROI you get from your indulgent branding exercise. But, for the majority of people, coughing up some money to create an interactive digital experience should be aimed at achieving brand awareness, educating customers or some at least have some measurable outcomes (that’s where we can help).
Be sure to work with an experienced team who can help you curate your existing content so your digital signage has cut through. You may have quality video content but it’s pretty rare (as in never) that client’s we work with use what they have without editing it for this purpose. There is a big difference between a looping video and content that sells (an idea, concept, message) or collects data.
If you’re looking to learn more about digital signage, reach out for a quick chat – Happy to share more of its capabilities with you.
Best,
Chris Lamb
