With the right software, content, and hardware, you can boost your business with digital signage. The process is relatively simple. You use digital signage software to create content, then use a media player to push the content to a digital screen where it is displayed to your audience.
Do you want to hook people who visit your business space so they make a purchase, buy more, feel compelled to revisit, or tell others about you? Then, start utilising digital signage.
Because humans are naturally visual beings, the right combination of sound and visuals on digital screens in your business space creates an engaging atmosphere that hooks customers.
No wonder these signs are everywhere today! As businesses seek innovative ways to capture their target's audience attention, they have increasingly jumped on digital signage.
But how does digital signage work? This article will answer this question. At the end of the article, you’ll know how to get great visuals on your digital screens to enhance your customers' experience and boost your business.
Key components of digital signage
When we talk of digital signage, your mind may immediately go to the digital screens in and around business spaces that are used to show specific information about the business.
True, by definition, digital signage refers to any screen that shows specific information to a target group. However, those screens are just the audience-facing part of the digital signage system.
Digital signage involves more than the display screens as there’s a robust technology working in the background. Any digital signage implementation has three main components—hardware, software, and content.
Hardware
Hardware is the physical components and devices of the digital signage system. These include the following:
Display screen: The display screen is the digital screen where the content is shown. These are usually LCD or LED displays. Depending on the application and environment, digital displays can be wall-mounted, stand-alone, or contained within a kiosk.
Media player: The media player is the device that plays the content on the display screens. It pulls the content from a centralised location, decodes it, and renders it on digital screens as images, videos, etc. However, the media player is sometimes built into the display screen (like the Android TV).
Mounting hardware: This refers to any physical structure you use to install the display screens securely. They include wall brackets, ceiling mounts, and floor stands.
Connectivity hardware: This refers to the cables you use to connect the hardware components to each other.
Software
Digital signage software can be thought of as the brain of digital signage systems. It is the application or program used to create, schedule, and display content on digital signage screens.
The main component of digital signage software is a content management system (CMS). The CMS provides a user-friendly interface for creating, organising, and managing digital signage content. The CMS lets you:
Create digital signage content.
Organise content so specific ones show on certain screens.
Schedule the content to go live at specific times or days.
Know that there are different digital signage solutions out there, and the one you choose can make or break your digital signage efforts. For a digital signage solution that propels your business, look out for the following features:
Ease of use: Digital signage software shouldn’t stress you out. Rather, it should be very intuitive so even people with zero technical skills can easily use it to create and display marketing content.
Multimedia support: The software should be able to handle different types of content (images, videos, live streams, live news, etc.) without performance issues.
Zero to minimum downtime: The best software minimises downtime. This ensures that your display screens will not go off and be blank when they should be showing your message to your audience.
Luna Screens has all the above features. It is designed to help your business increase sales, improve throughput, promote events, and engage with your customers. Get started with Luna Screens today!
Content
Digital signage content is whatever you show on your display screens. These include:
Text
Static digital images and graphics
Videos and animations
Social media feeds
Live news
Interactive displays
How digital signage works
Implementing digital signage is a streamlined process that starts with picking the right digital signage solution and ends with your content showing on your display screens to your target audience.
In between, you’ll need to create engaging content and push it to your display screens.
A step-by-step guide for the process is as follows:
Login: Use your login details to access the content management system (CMS).
Pair: Connect the CMS to your display screens.
Content creation: Use the design tools and templates of the digital signage software to create the content you want to display to your audience.
Layout design: Arrange your content within a layout that fits the dimensions of your display screens.
Publish content: Select the screens you’ll want the content to be shown on in your digital signage network. Then, publish the content or schedule it to be published later.
After the digital signage system receives your instructions, the system's media player will retrieve the content from the server and play it on your digital display.
Also read: Unlocking the Power of Digital Signage: A Guide to Getting Started.
Types of digital signage
There are different types of digital signs based on application. They are as follows:
Digital standees
Digital standees are floor-standing digital signs. They are placed on some type of stand or pedestal, allowing them to stand alone.
This type of digital signage is common in spaces where walls are few and far and ceilings are non-existent or very high, such as outdoor spaces, airports, large stores, etc.
Video walls
A video wall is a type of digital signage consisting of multiple display screens arranged together to form a single, large screen. Your video wall can consist of a few screens or even dozens.
Are you considering a large-scale digital signage installation in areas with high foot traffic, such as transportation hubs and shopping malls? Think video walls!
The sheer size of video walls ensures they cannot be missed by your target audience.
Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising displays
As their name suggests, DOOH advertising displays are simply digital signage displays installed in outdoor spaces. They range from small digital standees on street corners to large digital billboards overlooking highways.
Digital out-of-home advertising displays are used to show messages to street traffic who do not intend to enter your business space, with the aim of piquing their interest and making them enter.
Electronic shelf labels
An electronic shelf label is everything the name says. It is a small electronic display on the front edge of shelves in retail stores that gives customers specific product information like pricing and discounts.
It enhances the shopping experience. When you can quickly see the prices of products on display shelf labels, your shopping experience is easier as you can quickly compare product prices without having to call on shop attendants.
Electronic shelf labels replace traditional paper labels that are pasted on shelves. These electronic alternatives enhance the visual presentation and make it easy to update product prices.
Retail window displays
A retail window display is a class of indoor digital signage that is designed to attract the attention of people outside the store (passersby). These signs are placed by open or glass windows so as to be visible from the outside.
You can use these digital signs to show your latest products and promotions to entice passersby.
Know that typical indoor digital signage displays are designed to engage people who enter your store.
But while retail window displays are technically indoor signage (as they are positioned inside the store), they are designed for people passing by your store. The goal is to direct them to your store and, of course, make a purchase.
Interactive displays
Interactive displays can be thought of as two-way digital signage. Unlike conventional digital signage, interactive digital signage does more than show your audience your message. They also allow viewers to physically interact with the display screens.
The advantage of instant interaction with the screens makes interactive displays the most engaging digital signage out there.
You can offer interactivity via:
Touch screens: This allows users to click or drag elements on a screen for a specific purpose. The best application of touch screen interactive displays is self-service kiosks, where users can click elements on the screen to customise and place an order. Another good application is introducing engaging games into your campaign.
QR codes: This element allows users to scan a QR code on the digital screens with their phones to access more information. You can use them in retail stores. Customers may scan the QR code to access more product features, special promotions, etc.
Digital menu boards
A digital menu board is a type of in-store digital signage specifically designed for displaying menus in restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes, etc.
It replaces traditional printed menu boards, allowing quick updates of menu items, like available menus, prices, and promotions.
Tips for creating effective digital signage content
An essential component of a successful digital signage implementation is content. After choosing the right digital signage software and hardware, you need content that can captivate your target audience and make them take the action you want them to take.
Some tips for creating impactful and engaging digital signage content are:
Tailor content to your audience
Your target audience will not care about your content if it does not resonate with them. Thus, one of the best tips for creating impactful digital signage content is tailoring it to the target audience.
Simply put, ensure your content resonates with the group you want to target.
Tailoring your content to your target audience starts with:
Understanding your audience.
Research your target audience to learn about their preferences and interests.
Create your content using language, imagery, and themes that align with those preferences. For example, when targeting children, instead of using text-heavy instructions, go with animations and memorable jingles.
Also read: Tailoring digital content for enhanced customer personalisation: A Guide.
Make it simple
We all know the saying; less is more, which suggests that a minimalistic approach is more effective when it comes to aesthetic matters.
It applies to digital signage content. Too many design elements can clutter your digital signage content and distract your audience from your key message.
Using only essential elements and making content simple ensures your message is clear and easy to understand. So, another tip for creating effective digital signage content is keeping it simple.
If three visual elements help you create an eye-catching message, don’t use four.
Also, avoid visuals that may confuse viewers. The guiding principle is keeping content simple so viewers can quickly grasp the information.
Consider dwell time
If your target audience spends only a few seconds in a location, they cannot fully grasp digital signage content that takes one minute to play out. Therefore, to ensure your digital signage content is impactful, you need to tailor it to dwell time—how long your audience typically spends in each location.
Determine how long your target audience spends in each location where you’ll place your displays. Then, ensure the content on each screen aligns with the viewers' dwell time.
So, don’t display long content in high-traffic locations with short dwell time. Your audience will have passed by before your content can unravel fully to capture their attention.
Rather, go with short content (like digital images) for high-traffic, short dwell-time locations (like entrances) and use longer-form content (like explanation videos) in areas with longer dwell time (like waiting areas).
Use eye-catching visuals
Humans are visual beings who are attracted to great visuals. So, another tip for creating effective digital signage is to create visually appealing content.
Make use of vibrant colours as well as high-resolution images and videos. Use huge and stylish fonts to enhance the visual appeal of headlines.
When your content features eye-catching visuals, it’ll compel people to pay attention.
Update content regularly
Needless to say, outdated content loses its relevance. And content that is not relevant will fail to engage viewers. Thus, one way to make digital signage impactful is to keep content fresh by updating it regularly.
Thankfully, digital signage advertising allows you to change content as often as possible without incurring printing costs.
Add interactivity
Interactive digital signage captures the attention of your target audience and encourages them to engage with your content.
Interestingly, the more customers engage with your content, the likelier they are to make a purchase. So, to boost customer engagement and obtain more sales, add interactivity to your digital signage campaigns.
You can do this by adding touchscreen capability for self-service or playing interactive games.
Consider user-generated content
Adding user-generated content can be the card that makes your digital signage strategy a success.
The reason is that people generally trust content from fellow users rather than content posted by a business. They feel that a business will not say anything bad about itself but that other real users (like themselves) will have no problem exposing the negatives of a product/ business.
Therefore, when you display positive user-generated content on your screens, this tells your viewers that other people are using your product/ service. And are loving it. This can act as social proof, convincing your viewers to give you a trial.
User-generated content for boosting your digital signage campaigns includes product or service reviews, video testimonials, and social media feeds.
However, when showing user-generated content, it’s important to moderate it before it goes live on your screens, as some content can include profanities.
Include Call to Action (CTA)
When using advertising and promotion digital signage, you’ll want viewers to take an action - usually to make a purchase. Don’t keep viewers guessing what you want them to do. Include it clearly in the digital signage content.
When your call to action is prominent, it acts as the focal point of your message. The eyes of anyone viewing your digital screens will immediately fall on it, ensuring viewers do not miss the important information.
CTAs encourage people to take the action you want them to take. When your CTA is prominent and compelling, more of your target audience will follow through.
Benefits of digital signage
Digital signage comes with many benefits over traditional static signs, such as:
Captures your audience’s attention
Digital signs are more effective than traditional posters in capturing people’s attention.
Think of it: what will capture your attention better—a static poster on a wall or a digital screen flashing stunning visuals accompanied by interesting audio?
With digital signs using great visuals and dynamic content that appeal more to our senses, they are better at forcing people to pay attention.
Enhances customers’ experience
Digital signage screens are not just for promotional content. You can also use them to provide useful information and entertainment. And this contributes to a positive experience for customers.
Increases brand awareness and visibility
Digital signage also lets you display your brand. You can include branding elements in messages displayed on your screens, increasing brand visibility among your target audience.
You can also use digital signage screens to tell your brand story to help build an emotional connection between you and your target audience.
Provides cost-effective updates
Even though the initial investment in digital signage is higher than that of traditional signs, it is cheaper in the long run.
With traditional signage, you’ll incur costs (printing, transportation, and installation) every time you need to update your signs. But digital signage does not come with these recurrent costs.
After the initial investment, you may even update your content every other hour without additional costs.
Boosts employee communication
Digital signage engages customers to improve business-customer interactions. While electronic signage technology is customer-facing, it is equally effective in engaging employees.
You may use display screens for employee training, sharing some internal communication, celebrating milestones, etc.
Takeaway: Supercharge your digital signage campaign with Luna Screens
If you’ve seen digital screens displaying content in retail stores, restaurants, or public spaces, then you’ve seen digital signage in action.
Given the many benefits of digital signage over traditional signs, more and more businesses are using the technology these days. To implement digital signage, you need a digital signage software solution to create and manage content and a media player to push the content to a digital screen where it is displayed to your target audience.
The whole process starts with choosing a digital signage tool. This is where Luna Screens comes in!
Luna Screens is a cloud-based digital signage system that ticks all the right boxes. With the intuitive interface of Luna Screens, you can turn any screen into visually appealing digital signs, even with zero technical skills. It also offers excellent uptime, scalability, and integration with other systems.
Ready to start using digital signage to boost your business? Get Started with Luna Screens today!