In my opinion, digital signage is 10% hardware and 90% content. While you certainly do need the right hardware to make sure everything runs smoothly, without the right content, the entire solution will be a useless investment.

However, when it comes to content, the actual manner in which you deliver the content is just as important as the type of content itself. For example, if you have a fantastic animation, but the only way you can put it on a display is to send someone with a USB drive to every display, that can get unwieldy quickly.

The best way to deliver content is to make use of a content management system. While there are lots of options out there, there are two main features you need to look for to ensure this CMS will work well for your business.

A simple UI

You might think you need a complicated system so you can deliver all different types of content and analytics and other features. However, when it comes to the user interface, the simpler the better.

There are a few reasons why this is important. First of all, you need to be able to figure out how to utilize the CMS quickly, so you can get to pushing out content. Second, you need a system that's going to be easy to teach others how to use. Employees come and go and responsibilities change. You don't want to put someone new in charge and find out it'll take at least two weeks to train them how to use it.

Now of course a simple UI does not mean that the CMS itself is simple. It can have complex features, users just need to be able to figure out how to use those features … easily.

One CMS for your network

The second thing you need to look for is a CMS that can handle your entire network of displays. For example, you might have a variety of displays, ranging from simple LCD advertising displays to LED video walls, and your CMS needs to be able to handle all of those.

Beyond the hardware itself, you will need a CMS to handle all of your individual content needs. For example, if some of your displays simply deliver weekly sales messages and others change content based on audience analytics, you want a CMS that is flexible enough to handle both of those. If you to purchase multiple content management software solutions, that's going to have a major drain on your wallet.

Of course, there are other things to look for with a good CMS, such as a cloud-option, support for various resolutions and more. This is just a good starting point for when you are searching for the right solution for your digital signage.

This article was written by Bradley Cooper from Digital Signage Today. News Features and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.