7 Common Digital Signage Content Mistakes on Corporate Signage

Digital signage is an excellent addition to in-store marketing efforts. Markedly, its use is rising in popularity in various sectors, including hospitality, leisure, retail, education, and corporate. Research shows that this market will grow to about $27.8 billion by 2026, with the growth propelled by:

• Advances in technology, especially in digital displays
• The growing adoption of digital signage solutions in various industries and sectors
• Increasing developments in infrastructure
• Growing demand for 4K and 8K resolution displays

As it is, many businesses have adopted digital signage to improve communications and grow their customer base. According to the Small Business Administration, LED displays are the least costly way of advertising while increasing business by up to 150%. However, knowing how to utilize the technology is critical for business success.

Mistakes in Digital Signage Content

Sadly, it’s easy for digital signage mistakes to sneak in when creating digital signage content. For example, a message that appears correct to you may confuse your audience because it’s not as easy to grasp as you thought. An ad may appear stunning and highly engaging but fails to meet the customers’ expectations. The situation will undoubtedly confuse you about why your efforts don’t pay off.

If you’re only getting started with digital signage for your business, avoid getting caught up in the excitement of adopting this technology. Doing so can derail you from implementing your digital signage the right way. Here are some common digital signage mistakes to avoid for your corporate business for better results.

1. A Small Digital Screen

One of the most common mistakes involves using a screen with the wrong dimensions. When you use a screen that is too small, the size of your content will be too tiny and, therefore, hard to read. Also, when you use a too large screen, the content may be visible, but the viewer might find it hard to keep up with it.

Therefore, consider viewing distance and information density to ensure you get the screen dimensions right. The viewing distance is the distance between your audience and the screen. On the other hand, the information density is the amount of information you display on one screen.

2. Poor Content Quality

A digital signage solution may fail to serve its purpose because of poor content quality. One of the reasons the content quality may miss the mark is if you display low-resolution videos and images. Your digital signage messaging should display eye-catching content.

Another issue with digital signage content quality involves perception and comprehension. For example, digital signs with mixed messages or messages that fail to bring the message home aren’t effective. To fix this issue, ask your target audience for feedback. This would entail your employees, donors and visitors. Alternatively, you could review the message by putting yourself in the shoes of your target audience.

3. Inappropriate Content-Length

Interestingly, 57% of communications professionals employ digital signage, which leads to 21% higher productivity. To develop a productive digital menu board, you should determine the ideal length of your content. This includes the size of a video, the animations, images, infographics, or the app. If your content strategy is wrong, you ruin your chance of engaging employees.

Consider how much time a prospective viewer will take to look at your screen. That will help you to determine the length of your content. For example, if your target is a passerby walking by your storefront, create a message they will understand in less than 5 seconds. If the display goes to a lunchroom seating area, you can develop a longer message since employees will spend more time there.

4. Not Guiding Customers in Their Journey with Your Business

Digital signage content management should boost customer experience by improving their understanding of a product or service. However, you jeopardize your digital signage campaign if you fail to instruct your employees on what steps to take after viewing your content. They will leave your digital signage displays without knowing what you are communicating.

To avoid employees leaving your digital signage screens clueless, ensure your on-screen has a call to action (CTA). A CTA tells your viewers what to do next. Improve your CTA with personalization. In fact, according to one study, personalized CTAs convert 42% more viewers than generic CTAs. It is possible to achieve this by using imperative verb forms like “you.” For example, “Book your webinar in our new state-of-the-art conference room.”

Another great way to personalize CTA is by displaying a scannable QR code with the CTA “scan me to get more information” to transfer information from your signage to the customer’s touch screens.

5. Not Updating Content

One of the benefits of digital signage is the ability for real-time updates with digital signage software. The updated content appears on the digital screen immediately. Regular customers visiting your business find previous posts uninspiring and monotonous. As a result, you experience stagnant sales. 

To avoid this mistake, train your staff members to use digital signage management software to update content on media players. Moreover, your employees should learn how to schedule new content. Scheduling content allows you to create a calendar of content aligned with your business strategy. Also, don’t forget to include fresh content, promotions, and new products and services in your signage to keep customers returning for more.

6. Failing to Automate Your Content

One of the essential digital signage strategies is to make your content engaging through automation. Once you retrieve the displayed information from an internal or external source, you can show it on your kiosks or other spots immediately. That cuts down on time wastage that happens when you update content manually.

So, avoid the mistake of displaying insufficient automated content on your signage. Examples of content that you can easily update include:

• Weather forecast
• Social media feeds like Twitter or Instagram
• Current traffic information
• Latest news
• Internal or external data sources
• Internal performance dashboards
• Calendar events

7. Content Overload  

Digital signage provides a platform to display your branding and marketing message. Whether you want to promote a new product or educate your audience about your services, digital signage effectively enables you to meet your goals.

However, viewers can only take in so much information at once. Crowding your screens with too many graphics and blocks of text will only create “visual clutter.” The impact is that your customers will decide it’s not worth trying to decipher what’s important from the clutter.

So, you must scale back the message and use a “less is more” approach in your content marketing strategy. If possible, use larger displays or multiple smaller screens to display large chunks of information to your customers. Also, remember that clarity, brevity, and succinct wording are potent tools in digital display projects.

Avoid These Mistakes When Creating Content for Digital Signage

Digital signage is a central part of any marketing strategy. Unlike newspapers, posters, and other static messages, digital signage has proven effective in increasing sales, reducing perceived wait times, and reducing costs. However, you may not realize these benefits if your digital signage project is full of mistakes.

Most pitfalls occur around content creation and display. The above are a few digital signage content mistakes that marketers make, knowingly or otherwise. If you’re not well-versed in digital signage content creation, consider consulting an expert in the field. They’ll guide you on the do’s and don’ts to avoid messing up your digital signage project.