Written By: Mitch Albers

1. What is digital signage, and how does it work?

Digital signage refers to digital displays that present information in many forms, including text, videos, imagery, and other interactive elements. Whether displaying campus events at a university or meeting times in a conference room, these digital displays are typically located in public spaces like corporate and retail environments, transportation hubs, and school gathering spaces to keep audiences up to date with the latest information.

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Components needed to run a smooth-sailing signage machine:

1. Content Management System (CMS): A CMS is software that allows users to create, manage, and publish digital content easily.‍
2. Media Player: A media player is the hardware device responsible for sending your content to your display.‍
3. Display: Electronic flat-screens used for displaying an important message, playing a video and capturing the attention of passersby.‍
4. Content: Digital signage content refers to the multimedia content displayed on digital signage displays. Depending on your goal and target audience, content should be designed to be visually appealing and engaging, and should be specific to what that audience is looking for.

The Basic Components of a Digital Signage System

2. What are the benefits of using digital signage?

Individuals and businesses are often curious about the advantages of adopting digital signage, inquiring about its impact on customer engagement, brand promotion, cost-effectiveness, and overall user experience.

Here are just a few of the benefits of using digital signage:

1. Consistent Messaging: Communicate as one facility, with consistent messaging (from the office to home) improving communications and building stronger connections.
2. Safety: Display real-time information and other important content in a moment's notice, bringing fast, effective communication to people no matter where they’re located.
3. Build Stronger Communities: Connect your municipality with city-wide communication in your parks, police and fire stations, libraries and city halls.
4. Recruit and Retain Employees: Recruit the right employees by sharing your core values and bringing in like-minded team members. Retain employees by sharing information that helps them feel recognized and supported with clear communication.
5. Boost Morale: Put success and innovation on display for all to see.
6. Create a Sense of Belonging: Share content that helps bring people together.
7. Increase Engagement: When you share content that boosts morale you increase engagement. Share information that gets people excited about company goals and benchmarks.
8. Flexibility: Being able to tailor content to specific times of day, locations or events make it easy to get the right information to the right audiences.
9. Interactivity: Signage such as touchscreen kiosks provide hands-on experience, allowing viewers to explore and engage with your content.
10. Cost-Effectiveness: Digital signage can help save money in the long run by eliminating the need to print traditional signs and also can reduce labor costs by being updated remotely.

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3. How can I create and manage content for digital signage?

Content creation and management can be a common concern for those interested in implementing digital signage. People inquire about tools, best practices, and strategies to design and update content effectively.

Content Creation: There are many things to consider when you start to create content for your audience. Signage systems today allow you or multiple users to login, create a bulletin and publish seamlessly. Knowing the right type of content to display, where it should be displayed, the ideal amount of content, and how to work with other content creators, are all factors one should consider when managing and creating content.

Know Your Audience

Reusing and Sharing Content

Collaboration

Management: Many content management systems will allow you to set roles and permissions for each user. This is important because the more contributors you have, the more control you will most likely want / need. For example one role would be an administrator role where the user can access all functions. Another would be a role that only allows a user to create content that needs to be approved before going live. This kind of role-based permissions allows for extremely refined control and access to your CMS.

Another important aspect of management within your CMS is having remote management capabilities. Being able to update and manage content from anywhere can be critical.

4. What are the ideal locations for digital signage installations?

Prospective users often want guidance on the best places to set up digital signage for maximum visibility and impact. Signage installations can be strategically placed in locations that maximize your ability to reach an intended audience, with the ideal locations being specific to your target audience, the nature of your content and the overall goals of your signage.

Determining the Location

Below we’ll share just a few common examples of where signage can be installed by industry:

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School Environments:

• Classrooms
• Common Areas and Cafeterias
• Athletics Facilities
• Admission and Financial Aid Offices
• Study Rooms and Libraries

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Government Environments:

• Meeting rooms
• Lobbies
• Waiting rooms and waiting queues
• Break rooms
• City Hall to the DMV

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Corporate Environments:

• Lobbies
• Welcome and reception areas
• Meeting rooms
• Offices
• Lunch and break rooms

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Retail Spaces:

• Storefront
• Employee break rooms
• Corporate headquarters
• Checkout counters
• Aisles and endcaps

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5. What are the costs associated with digital signage?

Budget considerations are crucial when contemplating the adoption of digital signage. People commonly inquire about the costs of hardware, software, content creation, maintenance, and potential return on investment (ROI). The scale of your signage project, the quality of hardware you select, installation fees and the ongoing maintenance are all factors that will affect the overall cost of your project.

Create a comprehensive budget that takes all factors into account. Cost will vary significantly depending on how many displays you need and where they will be located. Strategic placement of displays in high traffic areas is crucial. The placement of your display may also dictate the size of the displays you’re able to use.

Another consideration when weighing your signage options is deciding what type of media player you will choose. Not all player hardware can do “all things signage”, which means finding the right player for your needs is critical. Looking at the type of content you wish to display will also dictate which media player you choose.

Be sure to consider who will be responsible for designing and managing your content. Will you be able to use your existing team or will you need to hire someone to keep your digital signage running smoothly and looking fresh?

Grow over time. You don’t need signage everywhere to get started. Choose a system that allows you to easily deploy, adopt and scale over time.

Final Thoughts

Individuals and businesses should look at these questions and get an understanding of the concepts, implementations, benefits, and costs related to digital signage; and while these questions don’t cover all the considerations when choosing a signage system, they are a baseline to follow and will help you get your digital signage project off the ground. With so many options, it’s worth doing your homework! As you move through your signage journey and as the technology continues to evolve, more specific and tailored questions may arise based on your unique needs and objectives.

If you have any questions about any of the above feel free to reach out.

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