The world is moving digital and you can find those vibrant, flashy digital signage almost everywhere now.
But let’s be honest, even the most advanced digital signage system won’t do much for your business if the content doesn’t hit the mark.
Whether it’s missing the audience’s interest or not making full use of the medium, many marketers stumble when it comes to creating effective digital signage content.
Let’s understand some of the common mistakes, and more importantly, how you can avoid them to maximize your digital signage impact.
Digital signage is a powerful tool in the marketer’s arsenal, offering dynamic and engaging ways to communicate with audiences. However, despite its potential, many marketers fall into common traps that undermine their efforts.
From missing out on personalization opportunities to overlooking the value of user-generated content, these mistakes can limit the positive impact even after you having invested in the best digital signage software.
The Power of Personalization
Digital signage is all about grabbing attention and if your message falls flat then you’ve already lost the battle.
Today’s consumers like you and I expect businesses to deliver content that speaks to us directly, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
This might seem tricky but you know what’s the good news? You’ve got data at your fingertips that can help make this happen.
Data isn’t just numbers and charts but a goldmine for creating personalized experiences. When used correctly, data helps marketers understand who their audience is, what they like, and how they behave.
Effective personalization strategies (or Personalization in Action)
To turn the tide from generic to personalized, start by prioritizing data-driven strategies. Here’s how:
- Consider AI Suggestions: Imagine someone walking past your digital display in a retail store, and based on their past interactions with your app or website, the screen flashes a special discount on an item they’ve been browsing.
L Squared’s digital signage software integrates with your existing data systems (like CRM or e-commerce platforms) to pull customer-specific data and serve personalized content in real time. This means your signage isn’t just a static billboard, but a dynamic tool that adapts to each viewer. - Keep Your Content Fresh With Real-Time Data: No-one would like to see content which they saw a month back. Think of a hospital waiting room where screens show real-time updates on appointment wait times or a supermarket where digital signage highlights current promotions based on stock availability.
- Segment Your Audience For More Targeted Messaging: Not all customers are the same, and your signage content shouldn’t be either. For example, in a gym, morning visitors might see content about energizing workouts, while the evening crowd sees promotions for recovery classes or supplements.
L Squared’s CMS allows you to create content playlists based on audience segments such as location, time of day, or customer preferences. - Test and Refine For More Personalization: Personalization is an on-going process which requires you to continuously test and optimize your content. Maybe a discount works better in one location, while an engaging quiz generates more engagement in another.
Skipping Concept Testing
How would you expect a product to work if you launched it without a prototype? This is exactly what happens when you launch your digital without concept testing it first.
Concept testing is a research method used to evaluate the potential success of a new idea, product, or marketing campaign before it’s fully developed or launched. By gathering feedback from a target audience, businesses can assess whether the concept resonates, identify potential issues, and refine the idea to better meet customer needs.
This process helps ensure that the final product or campaign is more likely to succeed in the market.
Many marketers skip concept testing due to various reasons such as tight deadlines and more. Without it, you risk creating content that doesn’t align with audience preferences or achieve the desired results. This oversight can lead to wasted efforts and missed opportunities.
Best practices for concept testing
Here’s how you can ensure your digital signage content is hitting the mark.
- Experiment with A/B Testing: Try out different versions of your content to see which one performs better. For example, you can test different promotional offers in a store or different calls to action on a corporate screen.
With L Squared Hub, you can easily run A/B tests on your digital displays to compare variations in messaging or visuals. Once you know what resonates, you can push the winning content to all screens. - Gather Audience Feedback: Get input from real people. This can be through surveys, focus groups, or feedback forms. Understanding how your target audience perceives your content can provide valuable insights for refinement.
- Refine Based on Insights: Use the data and feedback from your tests to make informed adjustments. This iterative process helps ensure that your final content is well-tuned to audience expectations and preferences.
Repurpose content for maximum efficiency
Once you’ve tested and refined your content, don’t let it go to waste. Repurposing successful content across different platforms, such as social media, email, and digital signage, can save time and ensure consistency in your messaging.
For example, a high-performing social media post can be adapted for digital signage by reformatting it for larger screens or integrating it into dynamic displays.
Effective Repurposing Strategies
Repurposing digital signage content involves creatively adapting it for platforms such as social media, websites, email campaigns, and more. This approach extends the lifespan of the content and ensures consistent messaging across various channels.
To make the most of your content for digital signage software, consider these strategies:
- Adapt for Multiple Platforms: Transform your digital signage content for use on social media, websites, email campaigns, and more. This extends the content’s lifespan and ensures consistent messaging.
- Maintain Consistency: Keep your core message the same across all channels, but tailor the format and presentation to suit each platform’s unique characteristics.
- Use Tools and Techniques: Employ tools that streamline content adaptation and ensure high quality across various formats. Tools like Canva or Adobe Creative Cloud can help in resizing and reformatting content efficiently.
- Practical Examples: Repurpose a promotional video from digital signage into shorter clips for social media or turn key visuals into infographics for your website.
Ignoring User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) is a goldmine for marketers, yet it is often underutilized in digital signage strategies. People are far more likely to trust content created by other consumers than slick, brand-generated messaging.
Ignoring UGC simply means missing out on an opportunity to connect with the audience on a deeper level.
But, why UGC for digital signage?
Incorporating UGC into digital signage can significantly enhance the effectiveness of campaigns by fostering a sense of community and engagement.
- Increase Credibility: UGC adds a layer of authenticity and relatability that can enhance your brand’s credibility. For instance, displaying customer reviews or social media posts in a retail store via digital signage can give shoppers the confidence they need to make a purchase.
- Foster Engagement: Engaging with content created by your audience can create a sense of community and increase interaction. Using L Squared’s social media integration tools, you can connect your signage to platforms like Instagram or Twitter, curating user posts with specific hashtags. This keeps your content fresh and encourages more people to contribute.
Strategies for incorporating UGC into digital signage
- Source and Curate UGC: Encourage your customers to share their experiences through social media, reviews, or photo submissions.
Once you’ve gathered content, repurpose successful UGC from other platforms for your digital displays. For instance, you can take top-performing Instagram posts, customer reviews, or video testimonials and showcase them in a more dynamic format on your digital signage. - Legal Considerations: Ensure you have permission to use UGC. Obtain necessary rights and give proper credit to the original creators.
- Learn from Successful UGC Campaigns: Look at brands that have excelled with UGC, like Starbucks with its #RedCupContest, to inspire your own strategy.
L Squared’s content scheduling feature allows you to run campaigns over specific time periods, ensuring that UGC is featured during peak engagement windows.
- Optimizing Digital Signage for the Future: As digital signage continues to evolve, keeping up doesn’t need to be overwhelming for marketers. Emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and advanced data analytics are all set to let you keep your content fresh and relevant as per your audiences’ needs.
The kicker here is to be flexible and consistent. By embracing these technologies, marketers can optimize their digital signage strategies, ensuring content is not only relevant and engaging but also future-proof. To stay relevant in this ever-evolving field, marketers must remain agile, continuously learning and adapting their strategies.
Embracing these emerging technologies and trends will not only help you avoid the common mistakes discussed but also position your brand at the forefront of digital signage innovation.
FAQs:
1. Why is personalization important in digital signage content?
Personalization makes your digital signage more engaging by delivering tailored messages that resonate with your audience. This approach enhances viewer connection and improves campaign effectiveness, leading to better results.
2. What are the risks of skipping concept testing for digital signage campaigns?
Skipping concept testing risks launching content that doesn’t resonate with your audience, leading to wasted resources and ineffective campaigns. Testing helps refine your ideas, ensuring your content hits the mark.
3. How can user-generated content (UGC) enhance digital signage?
UGC adds authenticity and boosts engagement by featuring content created by real customers. Incorporating UGC makes your signage more relatable and helps build trust with your audience.
4. What are some effective strategies for repurposing digital signage content across different channels?
Repurpose digital signage by adapting content for social media, websites, and emails. This approach maximizes reach, extends content lifespan, and maintains consistent messaging across platforms.
5. What common mistakes do marketers make when using digital signage, and how can they be avoided?
Common mistakes include lack of personalization, skipping concept testing, ignoring UGC, and not repurposing content. Avoid these by using data-driven strategies, testing thoroughly, incorporating UGC, and adapting content for multiple channels.