How to Create Content for Digital Signage

Digital signage has elevated communication between retailers and shoppers, with professional displays now becoming an essential part of the retail customer experience. This article from TechBullion offers tips on optimizing digital signage in your store.

If you are new to digital signage, the easiest way to picture it is to recall a fast-food outlet that has a large screen behind the counter.This is used to display their menu and prices, along with some enticing photos of a few meal items. As specials, packages, and prices change, they can simply update this remotely. Customers can read the menu and make their selections while waiting to be served. Here we look at how you can make the most of this technology for your business.

The Advantages of Digital Signage

Digital signage drives impulse buying. It is visible to foot traffic while customers are browsing or waiting in line and entices them to purchase items on display. This has a positive impact on profitability and increases your return on investment (ROI) so that it practically pays for itself – and keeps paying.

Content is always relevant and up to date. It is a simple matter to change content, and this can even be programmed in advance. Content can even be sourced from existing ads on your website.

Research shows that customers prefer self-shopping. Conversely, they tend to get annoyed when a salesperson approaches them. Digital signage increases the likelihood of the customer buying the displayed products. It can also be used outside a store to attract passers-by. It also soothed 84% of customers waiting in queues, according to one study.

Digital signage increases recall more than static ads. A month after seeing a digital sign, 83% of shoppers could recall one ad, 65% remembered two ads, and 47% recollected three ads. Another 20% discussed an ad with at least one other person.

Why Digital Signage Content Is Important

If you use digital signage to purely repeat what your tv ads and magazine posters say, you are missing the point. Digital signage should engage customers in an immersive experience. They offerbrick-and-mortar businesses a rare opportunity to provide an absorptive involvement of customers with their products.

Next, we look at how to create the right content that will lead to customers purchasing your goods or services.

Keep It Relevant to Customers In-store

Content needs to relate to the customers' immediate needs and actions. For food stores, this should show people enjoying a meal, while clothing retailers can illustrate customers looking at clothing or even paying for it.

Set content to change as customer segments vary. Change menus from breakfast to lunch meals at the appropriate times. Remember to design content for your ideal customer profile.

Choosing Content Parameters

Video content results in greater engagement than still images. It has been shown that when customers feel connected, it reduces their price sensitivity and inclines them to more hedonistic choices. Viewers become buyers when the ads provide information as opposed to uninformative messages. For example, a customer wants to see the price of an item they are leaning toward buying. Content must not be too fast-paced or blinking as this can disorient customers and lose their attention. The quality of content should be high, colorful, and match the brand. Videos should not exceed 15 seconds to keep the customer engaged. Your message should carry its punch within this time.

Location

Avoid placing your digital signage in areas where there is other signage. This overloads the customers' attention, causing them not to take in the information. Three locations can be used effectively to place digital signage: point of transit (POT), point of wait (POW), and point of sale (POS).

POT such as when entering stairs or escalators captures significant attention as many customers move around this point. It can make them change direction to seek out the product. POW includes areas visible to customers waiting in queues or a waiting room, such as at a hospital. This can reduce the perceived wait by as much as 35% and result in a more positive customer experience. POS may overlap with POT and/or POW. Here the signage is placed at till points. This is a good place for upselling initiatives.

Cloud-Based Digital Signage Software

There are many advantages to cloud-based digital signage software. Online materials can easily be repurposed from a website, Facebook, or a previous marketing campaign. Simply edit, such as changing graphics or text, if you need to show a new product or the price has changed. You can send ads to multiple screens.

One marketing campaign can contain any number of ads for digital signage and elsewhere. These can be sent to a digital sign in any location and set to change at certain times of the day or week. You can plan your messages for a month or longer and simply set them to run on schedule. Unlike printed posters, you need only design or copy your logo once to have it endlessly available to be used, resized, or repositioned. Once the campaign is over, it is easily removed and/or replaced.

Digital signage is proving itself well worth the initial costs.

This article was written by Anna Duke from TechBullion and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.