How to Create a Digital Signage Content Strategy (ask these 5 questions)

Across almost every industry, more and more organizations are turning to digital signage as part of their communications channels.

There’s compelling evidence that it’s a worthy investment: audiences are a staggering 400% more likely to notice digital signage than traditional displays. 

An impressive 83% will recall what they’ve seen. It can boost customer satisfaction by 43%, improve brand awareness by 47.7%, and reduce perceived wait times by 35%.

Impressive stuff.

But results like these don’t happen simply by installing a digital sign and pumping out random content. Great, engaging, audience-focused content is the foundation for successful digital signage. 

And like any other communication channel, success starts with strategy.

In this case, a digital signage content strategy.  

If you’re like half of most businesses who haven’t sorted out their content strategy, we’ve pulled together 5 key questions you need to ask to create a successful digital signage content strategy.

1. Why are you doing this?

Asking yourself what you’re trying to achieve is good practice in any business strategy, and it certainly applies when developing a strategy for digital signage content.

The goal of digital signage should be linked to the organization’s communication goals, whether that’s about customer satisfaction, increased profits, or helping audiences understand and follow processes.

A clear and precise vision of what you’re trying to achieve gives your digital signage purpose – and will help your organization meet its objectives.

2. Who are you talking to?

Like any communication strategy, a good digital signage content strategy is built around an in-depth understanding of your audience. That begins with knowing WHO your audience is.

Many content strategies fail to deliver because they don’t pin down who they’re talking to.

How can you develop relevant, relatable content if your audience is ‘everybody’? You can’t.

So when it comes to audience segments, get specific. It’s fine if you have multiple audience segments, but remember that you’re likely to need different approaches to content for each segment.

Once you’ve identified your audience (or audiences), you need to get to know them.

•       What matters to them and motivates them?
•       Do you understand their values?
•       What is their lifestyle like and who influences them?
•       What are their problems? (And especially, what problems can you solve for them?)

The aim is to try and walk in your audiences’ shoes and view the world from their perspective. If you can see the world through their eyes, you’ve got a good chance of creating content that resonates with them.

3. What do you want them to do?

Alongside an overarching vision of what you want to achieve, each piece of digital signage content needs a clear purpose. 

What is the call to action (CTA) for your audience?

Today, we are bombarded with messaging throughout the day. There’s only so much they can take in. 

Consumers are experts at spotting and switching off to content which isn’t going anywhere – often without even realizing they’ve done it.

Time spent on content without a purpose is time wasted.

Constantly asking what action you want the audience to take will help keep your content on track. If you can’t succinctly answer that question, then chances are your content won’t stand up.

4. Have you timed it right?

A worthy digital signage content strategy will look at timing in several ways.

First, it needs to take into account the time of day that viewers will see your content. How does that affect your messaging?

For example, when you run a grocery store, your customers are more likely to buy certain products on Friday afternoon as opposed to Monday morning. Your content timing should reflect that.

Timing also covers the length of content. When you know your audience, you can tailor the average length of time viewers see the screen.

Content on a 60-second loop might work in a queue at the drugstore, but the same loop in a waiting room with a typical 30-minute wait is quickly going to annoy your audience.

Finally, how frequently do you need to change your digital signage content? Again this depends on your organization, the purpose of your content, and how often your audience sees your screens.

Employee-targeted signage in an office location might need changing daily to keep it engaging. If it’s in a bank and designed to help customers help themselves, it might only need updating when a process changes.

5. How will you measure success?

What gets measured gets managed, as the old saying goes.

How can you manage, improve, or refine your digital signage content if you aren’t measuring the impact it’s having?

(Or not having.)

Measuring the impact of content helps you understand what is working and, just as importantly, what isn’t. It should be a fundamental part of any digital signage content strategy.

What’s more, when you establish guiding metrics from the outset you have a better chance of achieving success. 

When you keep an eye on the prize, things stop getting side-tracked.

Most digital signage strategies will measure achievements against a range of short, medium, and long-term objectives, and include both quantitative and qualitative metrics.

However you approach measurement, remember that it’s the only objective way to demonstrate the success of your strategy – and could be the difference between ongoing buy-in and funding for your work.

We hope the 5 questions helped you figure out how to start a digital signage content strategy. If you have any feedback or questions, send us an email at info@mvixdigitalsignage.com or call 866.310.4923