Digital signage is one of the most creative ways of leveraging on visual content to grow your business as well as build a team culture. However, thanks to the availability of numerous resources both online and in print, executing your content strategy is no longer a daunting endeavor. All in all, you have to focus more on creating great content.
A lot of considerations go into creating top-quality content that is also eye-catching. But how exactly do you get started with the process of creating content for your digital signage? Below are some of the key considerations you need to make.
1. Understand your audience
Different audiences will react differently to content. Age is a very important factor to consider when creating your content. For example, if your target audience is persons over the age of 60, your digital signage shouldn’t focus on social media interaction. This is because only about 18% of people aged 50 to 64 access social media on their mobile devices.
Again, your business ideals will come into play. For example, if you are a no-nonsense business, you will need sleek designs that have simple color schemes. Your target demographics will also inform your choice of design.
2. Location counts
Where will your digital signage be located? Is it at the Point of Wait, Point of Sale or Point of Transit? Your answer will help determine the placing as well as the amount of information that you convey in your content. For example, if your location will be at the Point of Transit, you should understand that you have limited time to communicate your message to the audience. You need to be concise and bold.
3. Refresh it frequently
To keep your audience from getting bored, you need to refresh your content as frequently as possible. Repeat visitors will be bored if you present them with the same old message they saw the last time. All in all, you don’t need to start from scratch. You can swap stock images into the existing content or change the layout of your message. You can also add bits of motion or alter the color scheme.
4. Pay attention to the design principles
The goal in digital signage is maximizing visual appeal as well as ease of reading. You can hire a graphic designer to help with the design part or simply focus on the key areas. The best thing is that there are also several design tools you can use to refine your design.
5. Call to action
Another very important thing you need to consider is the call-to-action. This has to be included in your digital signage content. Once you grab the attention of your audience, you want them to take the appropriate action. Make use of strong verbs when compelling your audience to take action. Let them know how they can get the product or service and inform them of the advantages.
A lot goes into content creation. The good news is that you can always turn to professional services such as https://www.dopublicity.com. Below are also a couple of great tools you can use in content creation.
Tools for Static Content Creation
- Canva
This is a web-based tool for beginners. You benefit from templates that will help you create your ads, social media posts, and flyers. Depending on the size of your digital signage screen, you can adjust the aspect ratios accordingly. The great thing is that the tool enables you to create full HD content.
The best thing is that anyone can use this tool. It is designed for beginners. There is also a design school that you can subscribe to.
- PowerPoint & Google Slides
These are great tools you can use to create your digital signage content. With either of these tools, you will be able to create a digital menu board, graphics that announce your promotions as well as celebrate your team members. You can then export the slides as PNGs, JPEGs or even as video files. You can then upload this content to your digital signage.
- Prezi
This is a tool that gives you more creative options. You work on a large canvas that enables you to pan as well as zoom and focus in on the details you wish to add emphasis on. You can then share the Prezi content through the link that you upload to the digital signage.
- Photoshop
This is a tool you cannot afford to ignore when creating content for digital signage. This is an advanced tool. However, to do it right, you need to rely on expert help. Mastering the Photoshop tool takes time but it is the best tool you can use to create your content.
Other great tools you can use for static content include:
- VSCO for Android and iPhone
- Stock Images
- Place It
- Padlet
- iMovie or Windows Movie Maker
- Magisto
- Google Drawings
Tools for Dynamic Content Creation
- Social Media Aggregators
You can use such tools as Enplug’s Social Media Walls or Tint to show the latest social media posts on your digital signage. This tool offers a great way to connect your brand with your employees.
- Webpages
Most of the digital signage solutions on the market are able to display web pages. You can use your web pages as a replacement of the traditional digital signage graphics. You can even animate the pages or bring them to life using plugins that present such things as news, stock tickers, waitlists, and weather. The best tools you can use for this include SquareSpace and Weebly.
- Live Streaming
Another option you can use for your digital signage content is live streaming. This enables you to show videos on your digital signage screen. This is ideal for displaying share announcements, events, and news feeds.
Other options you can use for dynamic content creation include:
- Analytics/dashboards: Geckoboard and Google Sheets are great options.
- RSS-to-HTML tools to show the latest news on your stream and web pages.
- Weather
So long as you know how to create great content for your digital signage, there are so many tools you can use to achieve your goals. Make sure you know how to use the tool before you get started.
Isabella Rossellini is a writer and writes her own blogs. She wrote many articles on fashion, beauty, food, technology, education etc.