Refreshing Your Digital Signage Content for the New Year 

According to a study, 63% of respondents who have seen digital signage say it attracted their attention. The dynamic content of digital signs makes these signs inherently attention-grabbing than their static counterparts. With this telling statistic, ensure your digital signage displays stand out by choosing the right content, especially for the new year to yield progressive ROI. Indeed, the right content will not only attract attention but will also promote better retention of the message.

Best Practices for a Winning Digital Signage Content Strategy

There are a few things to keep in mind while refreshing the content on your digital signs. How do you optimize your digital signage content’s attention and retention rates? How can you ensure your digital signage stands out from the competitors’ signage and improves conversions?

Find the answers to these pertinent questions as you explore the following pointers:

1. Keep Your Target Audience in Mind

Choose words and imagery that resonate with your target audience. This will ensure the audience connects with what you are putting out there on your digital signage screens. Whether in real estate, healthcare, hospitality, or education, tailor your content, so it is industry-specific.

For instance, a great strategy that works quite well is using user-generated content. You can get such content from your social media posts and testimonials. Also, include links to your web page, RSS feeds, and trending hashtags on your social media feed that your customers and other guests may like.

For internal communications, put thought into connecting better with team members. Be clear with the message for corporate communication and the latest news that directly relates to daily tasks and responsibilities. Some digital signage content ideas will help boost your staff’s productivity and morale. Such includes motivational quotes, inspirational quotes, and messages around employee recognition.

2. Stay on Brand

At the core of your company’s identity is your brand. From the logo to the font and brand colors, factor in your brand identity during content creation. Even using the many available templates, ensure your brand comes through in all your digital signage content.

Any changes to your brand, however small they may seem, should inform updating your digital signage content. In the end, if you want your clientele and stakeholders to get used to your new brand, your digital signage network is easily the most effective tool. The more they see the new branding alongside messaging on your video walls, noticeboards, and other digital signs, the faster everyone will acclimatize to the changes.

3. Optimize Content Design and Layout

Here are some easy-to-follow and straightforward tips to keep in mind when choosing the layout and design of your digital signage content.

• Maintain font consistency throughout. A maximum of two font sizes is best, with one font size for the header and the other for the details. Additionally, go for Sans-serif typefaces as these are more legible than serif typefaces.
• Organize digital signage content by hierarchy. Important text such as headline text should be up on the hierarchy. For example, for the use case of manufacturing facilities, you will want to highlight the metrics and KPIs.
• Choose contrasting color palettes for your displays. In other words, darker texts should have a light background and vice versa to promote readability.
• Maximize available on-screen space by using multiple zones to display multiple digital signage content.
• Less is more, so communicate with as minimal words as possible. Keep the message succinct and avoid causing reader fatigue. Remember that no one will be patient enough to read through paragraphs of text.
• Have enough white space around the text and other elements on your display. Cluttering and overcrowding will only render your digital signage solution an eyesore.

4. Optimize for Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising matters more than ever and is definitely the way to go for retail stores. Do it right, and this timeless art will do so much to intrigue and intrigue shoppers. After all, science has it that the brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than images.

Visibility is everything with visual merchandising, so you must carefully select your digital signage content. As such, if you are looking to push specific products, tailor your messaging across the outdoor and in-store digital signs to showcase these products and the value-add buyers can expect.

Additionally, you can do product bundling and promote these bundles on your digital signs. This way, you will be making shopping easier for your customers while at the same time reaping big from seamless up-selling and cross-selling. Work on creating a fluid narrative with your offerings at the center of it. However, be sure not to exercise restraint and avoid cluttering your signs.

5. Get the Timing Right

Schedule the presentation of your digital signage content accordingly for the greatest impact. Consider the average viewing or dwell time when scheduling a presentation based on the message, your target audience, and your environment.

For instance, transitions on digital menu boards should be more frequent for a fast-paced setting, such as a restaurant. You need to present information, that is, the various menu offerings quickly, lessening the dwell time. The same goes for travel information on Flight Information Displays (FIDS.) That said, don’t set the transitions to too frequently such that the viewer doesn’t have enough time to catch what is on the screen.

On the other hand, longer viewing times would be a great addition to the content management strategy for, for instance, the digital screens in waiting areas. Streaming live events would work for such a slow-paced environment.

6. Design for Interactivity

Adding interactivity functionality is an excellent way to make your digital signage content more engaging. Additionally, 81% of respondents from a study said that interactive content captures attention better than static digital signage content.

So, everyone would appreciate your digital signs even more if they didn’t have to view through all the information but could interact with the signs to access specific information that’s relevant to their needs.

Interactive digital signs are great for wayfinding. Guests simply need to say where they are going, and they’ll get custom directions to that point. For example, in an educational institution, it can help students who have just joined the school, as well as their parents and other visitors, to find their way around campus.

7. Keep It Fresh

As you refresh your digital signage content for the new year, remember that you will no doubt need to do this again. Those who regularly see your digital signs will quickly lose interest if they look at the same thing repeatedly. While the content itself, such as the items on offer and pricing, will undoubtedly change.

What’s more, you need to pay attention to changing the layout and mixing things up. Refresh your signage playlist often to avoid boring the viewers. You can employ analytics and get feedback from viewers to inform the frequency with which you should change things.

Consider a Digital Signage Management Service for Content

Content remains king, be it for your internal communication or marketing strategy. These pointers are great for refreshing your digital signage content for the new year. You can also look forward to excellent and professional results when you hire experts for the job. Your digital signage software provider may also provide content design services. In this case, the design team will work closely with your in-house team to ensure the content is highly optimized to be engaging, informative, and on brand.