10 tips for choosing, installing and using your digital signage system

3 July 2023

It’s one thing to use dynamic displays to communicate with audiences; it’s quite another to do so while maximising the impact of the messages broadcast.

What questions should you ask? What reflexes should you adopt? How do you go about it? If you manage an establishment open to the public or are responsible for brand communications, this article is for you!

Discover our 10 tips for choosing, installing and using digital signage.

Step 1: start with the strategy

In the beginning… comes the strategy. Although display screens can be used to broadcast static or video content, this communication is not an end in itself. It serves the company’s growth, and for that to happen, it must be based on a strategy.

It’s about getting to know your customers better, personalising your relationship with the public who visit your establishment, creating a brand identity… Or digitising your establishment to build an omnichannel experience and promote your products, services and promotions. By clearly identifying the guidelines underpinning the company’s action plans, it becomes easier to choose and use dynamic displays.

Step 2 of 10 tips: define your objectives

Once the overall direction of the company’s growth (i.e. the strategy) has been clarified, it is important to characterise the goals to be achieved. For example, signing up customers to a loyalty scheme or increasing the number of visits to a store. But also increasing sales or the average shopping basket, reducing waiting times… By formalising the company’s objectives, it becomes easier to create or select content and choose where to distribute it.

This raises the question of the expected effects of transmitting content to audiences. This comes down to defining the objectives of communication, which can be of three types:

  • To inform: this is communication that informs. The aim is to deliver a message (for example, to find out about airport opening times).
  • Make people like you: this is communication that develops relationships. The aim is to touch people’s emotions by using an emotional register (for example, to create a brand universe).
  • Make people act: this is communication that directly influences people’s behaviour. The aim is to encourage people to take action (for example, to encourage them to make a purchase).

Step 3: create and select content

The content to be integrated into a digital signage system faces two major challenges: the nature of the content and the frequency with which it is distributed:

  • Choosing the type of content: this involves deciding whether the company prefers static, animated or video content. Because they have different effects on audiences, they are not all suited to the same needs. For example, dynamic content captures the public’s attention more effectively. The human eye is naturally attracted to movement and long videos offer the possibility of better “scripting” the messages to be conveyed. Static posters take longer to read in high-traffic areas, where people take less time to read the information.

     

  • Choose the frequency of display: thanks to its digital nature, a digital signage system makes it easy to vary the content displayed. You can also programme the rotation of visuals. The choice of frequency is the result of a balance to be struck between the objectives of an establishment and the context of public interaction with the screens. A company can create content loops by defining the length of time each piece of content is shown and the rhythm of the loop. In the best of cases, individuals are captured by this renewal of information. The result: their attention is maintained and a greater number of messages are transmitted.

Step 4 of 10 tips: choosing your equipment

LED billboards, digital totems, kiosks… Dynamic display solutions now take many forms. And just because their communication process is the same doesn’t mean that they are equally suited to all contexts of interaction with the public.

In fact, each type of digital signage has its own advantages and special features. A company can rely on the advice of a manufacturer to identify those that best meet its objectives.

The choice of equipment is also important, depending on the reading distance of the audience. The perceived quality of the image depends on it. A giant screen installed high up in a station does not need the same pixel density as an LED screen in a shop window or an advertising hoarding in the aisles of a shop. So the choice of equipment also depends on the screen’s pitch, i.e. the distance between the centre of each pixel.

Step 5: define the location

Each digital signage location places it in a context of interaction conducive to a particular action.

Let’s take the example of a retailer. He can install :

  • In the window to attract the attention of passers-by and encourage them to come in
  • At the entrance to inform customers of a special promotion that will make them more attentive to the offers available
  • On the shelves, to promote products and special offers… to increase sales volume and turnover.
  • Elsewhere in the shop, to interact with customers if the screens are interactive: discover additional information, register customers with the shop’s loyalty system, pre-order an item, etc.
  • In a waiting area, such as an after-sales reception, to reduce waiting time and take advantage of the opportunity to provide information.
  • In front of checkouts to encourage last-minute purchases

What’s more, the configuration of each establishment determines how the screens can be installed.

Here, too, the expertise of digital signage manufacturers can help a company to fit out its spaces with digital equipment that enables it to :

  • Create an attractive customer experience
  • Set up an effective customer journey to meet growth objectives

Step 6 of 10 tips: make the most of dynamic displays (think about the software)

Dynamic displays are broadcast media that logically need to be fed with content. And the easier this task is, the more time and performance the teams involved save. And the greater the number of screens managed, the greater the challenge.

It’s a good idea for companies to take into account the software integrated by manufacturers when choosing their dynamic displays. The reliability and ergonomics of the software are guarantees of simplified screen management.

Software can also have other value-added functions. For example, a dynamic content creation module gives companies the opportunity to create visuals. Even if they have no graphic design skills, they can be adapted to all media in just a few clicks.

Step 7: after-sales service

There’s nothing more frustrating and irritating than investing in a solution that can’t be used… Even rare incidents can lead to the communication system (or even the whole establishment when digital tools are used as part of an omnichannel approach) coming to a standstill.

When a company buys a digital signage solution, it pays for an associated service that guarantees its proper operation and use. It is therefore worth taking an interest in :

  • The manufacturer’s support in installing solutions: the installation of a digital signage system can sometimes represent a technical challenge, depending on the information system in place.
  • The manufacturer’s maintenance services: a company may be interested in the location of a digital signage supplier. This is to check how close they are, and to ensure that they are able to intervene quickly in the event of a problem.
  • Training in the new tools: the best solution can be installed. If its users don’t know how to work with it, it won’t be very effective. The training courses offered by manufacturers help users to familiarise themselves with the system. But they also help them to get to grips with the new tools so that they can exploit their full potential.

Step 8 of 10 tips: measure the performance of actions using digital displays

As digital tools, digital signage offers a number of advantages that differentiate it from traditional poster displays. Being aware of these particularities means you can make even better choices when managing your communication campaigns.

Generally speaking, digital technology has the advantage of making it easier to measure the performance of communication initiatives. But it also makes them simpler to implement. When a company monitors its activities and keeps a close eye on its performance indicators, it maximises its growth through :

  • Customised content: across a region, an establishment, or a single tool…
  • Organisational agility: our teams are highly flexible and responsive. They can adjust the content they distribute, the frequency with which it is published, etc.
  • The implementation of an ROI-based approach: thanks to their agility, the teams can test different actions with a low level of risk… until they find the ones that work best.

Step 9: From digital to digital, how can we make points of sale interactive?

In many cases, companies can follow their strategic directions more easily. And so achieve their objectives more easily by opting to digitise their establishment. Dynamic displays then take on a role that goes beyond content distribution. They become levers for interaction. The recent peaks in activity at medical analysis laboratories during the health crisis provide examples of situations where digital technology is becoming a factor in organisational performance, helping to deliver a better service (in this case, patient care).

Interactive screens in a reception or sales area have a number of advantages:

  • Both for the company, whose organisation is more efficient thanks to the public’s autonomy (in taking orders, pre-registering, paying, etc.).
  • But also for the public, who save time and reduce their sense of waiting.
  • And for the interaction between the company and its customers, through an omnichannel approach that streamlines the customer journey and improves the experience.

Step 10 of 10 tips: keep up with innovation

Technological advances are not just improving the performance of digital signage solutions. They have the potential to open up new possibilities, create new needs, transform uses… In other words, revolutionise markets.

By keeping up with innovation in the outdoor advertising sector, a company can stay one step ahead of its competitors and differentiate itself through its communications!

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