Digital signage is everywhere, to the point that you likely come across one or two every time you head out. Businesses have seen the advantages that cloud based digital signage can bring over traditional signage, but the question is if they’re using it right.
Leveraging a digital sign for marketing communications is not as simple as plugging it in and running a content playlist. There needs to be a blueprint in place that optimizes all aspects involved, from content creation to testing and improvements.
If your business utilizes or is planning to use a digital sign for marketing, here’s your ultimate guide to creating an effective strategy that will maximize your displays, generate conversions, and yield a solid return on your investment.
Set Goals for Digital Signage
Intentional digital signage is effective digital signage. So the very first order of business is to define your goals. Ask yourself why you’re investing in digital displays and what it is you want to accomplish.
Common goals businesses have with regard to their digital signage solutions include to:
- Raise brand awareness
- Gain more customers
- Sell more products or services
- Increase sales
- Improve customer experiences
- Increase website traffic
Knowing your intention behind deploying digital signs is important as it will define your content and guide your marketing efforts moving forward.
Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
You know what you want to achieve with your digital sign. Now the question is how you’ll know you’ve achieved it or if you’re progressing on the right path. The answer: key performance indicators.
KPIs will help you measure the success of your digital signage efforts and tell you whether or not you need to change them. You can set any KPI that aligns with your goals.
For example, if your goal is to raise brand awareness, you might use metrics like website traffic, social media engagements, etc. to measure your campaign. If your goal is to increase sales, you should be tracking the customer journey coming from your digital sign and how that translates to revenue.
Define Your Audience
The average American sees 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day, but they’re not going to interact with every single one of them. They’re only going to take a second look at ads that they actually find relevant. That said, defining your audience is a crucial task before you proceed to create content for your digital signs.
To really dive deep into who your audience is and how you can curate content that appeals to them, ask the following questions:
- What are your audience’s demographics?
- What does their typical day look like?
- What do they do on the weekends vs. the weekdays?
- What do they do/ are interested in at peak times of the day?
- What are their likes and dislikes?
- What are their pain points and objectives?
Getting specific about your audience persona will make creating relevant and engaging content so much easier — not to mention boost the effectiveness of your digital signage marketing campaign.
Create Targeted Content
Now that you’re well aware of your target audience, you can now dive into creating targeted and effective content. You’re free to get creative here, but remember that everything should align with your goals and buyer persona.
Overall, however, the point of a digital sign is to allow you to take your content to new heights. You’re no longer limited by traditional posters and flyers, so use dynamic content, vibrant colors, attention-grabbing videos, and playful animations!
Remember that your digital signage content doesn’t have to always be created from scratch. You can utilize software widgets to show the weather, stream YouTube videos, or display social media feeds.
Segment Content Times
When you display your content is just as important as what you display it. You want to show targeted content at the right time, i.e. when they’re most likely to be visible to your audience. Answering the following questions can help you nail your content time segmentation:
- What times will your target audience be passing by?
- Is your audience in the morning different from your audience in the afternoon?
- What type of content is most relevant to your target audience at different times of the day?
Scheduling your content to show up on your display at the right time and to the right people can go a long way in maximizing visibility.
Another thing to consider here is the duration of each piece of content in your playlist. Five to seven seconds of display time is the minimum, which gives the viewer enough time to read your content while still ensuring that your display is active.
But if your digital sign is located somewhere people linger for longer, such as, say, a bus stop or a restaurant, you might be able to get away with longer pieces of content.
Consider Screen Positioning
Because you’re aiming for your digital sign to be visible to your target audience, you of course have to consider where you’re positioning it.
The fundamentals are placing your sign where it’s most visible, ensuring there are no distractions that can take attention away from your sign, minding glares from the sun or other light sources, and accounting for viewer distance from the screen to ensure readability. While all these are important, there’s more to screen positioning than just that.
A common practice is putting a digital sign where there’s high foot traffic, but if you’re targeting a specific group of audience over the general public, you’re going to need to find a more strategic location.
The position of your digital sign should have a purpose. Think about what your audience is probably doing in a certain place and how you can use that to your advantage.
For example, a display showing a discount or promotion will be very effective in front of the register when your audience is waiting in line to make a purchase. Similarly, a brand awareness campaign will do much better in a waiting area where your audience has the time and leisure to engage with the display.
Test Your Display
The best thing about digital signage is it gives you the ability to test your campaign. The same cannot be said about traditional signage, which would require you to tear down all your posters and bulletin boards in case you need to change them. With digital signage, there’s no need to conduct a complete overhaul should you find that your content is not working as intended.
That said, you should take advantage of the flexibility of your digital signage solution. You can display the same content with minor renditions to see which one works best in attracting your customers. Or you can try out different content formats for the same message.
You can also ask fresh eyes to provide feedback, preferably someone who belongs or resonates with your target audience group. They might be able to see small typos or otherwise make suggestions that will level up your content.
Digital signage allows you to update and make changes to your content anytime you want — and with just a couple of clicks. There’s so much opportunity for you to test the waters and find the most effective and converting content designs and formats.
Update and Improve
Use the results of your tests and the feedback that you gathered to update and improve your content as necessary. Digital signage should never be stale — you want to keep innovating and changing things up to achieve the best results.
In the same vein, keep your content fresh! Continue finding new ways to attract and engage your audience and leverage your digital sign to its full potential. With the right marketing strategy and a solid plan in place, you can maximize the capabilities of your digital sign and reap its benefits for your business. Book a free demo with us today!
