One of the most common mistakes made by those who have implemented digital signage is underutilizing this tremendous tool. As with any technology, we tend to learn a few of the basic features that are most immediately relevant to us and neglect the finer points and innovation as we move onto other things. The Mood Visuals team has created the following basic checklist to help ensure that you are making the most of your digital signage during the important holiday season.
1) Do you update content on a regular basis?
One of the most exciting features of digital signage is its ability to offer real-time updates at the click of a button. This is particularly valuable during the holidays when you may have many special offers and last-minute deals, often even reacting to current stock levels or emerging seasonal trends – or you may simply want to prepare an ever-changing playlist to attract and entertain customers or guests. However, a dynamic tool is only as good as the updates you provide, so make sure that you make time to update your signage. Typically, it should only take a matter of minutes for quick updates.
2) Are you familiar with all your available editable templates and feeds?
Depending on your digital signage provider, you probably have access to a content management system with many different template and content options. For instance, our MVision platform has a pre-built “countdown” template that allows you to customize a countdown campaign, whether you start at Black Friday, design your own “12 Days of Christmas,” or anticipate Santa’s midnight flight. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. You should have access to additional RSS feeds that can automatically populate your playlist with headline news, weather, sports or lifestyle content.
3) Have you considered point-of-purchase placement?
In a retail setting, one of the most powerful sales applications for digital signage is to use screens to support point-of-purchase sales. For instance, if you are planning a display of cookware, consider adding a screen that features cooking segments or related testimonials. Depending on the type of item and level of traffic, digital signage placed at the point-of-purchase can increase sales by as much as 30%!
4) Is there an opportunity to use digital signage in your window displays?
Another increasingly popular application for digital signage is the use of flat-screens in window displays. By adding a digital component, you expand your ability to feature a wider range of products and services. However, keep in mind that digital content featured in public-facing displays needs to be presented in shorter increments than what you might regularly use within your business. Each content element in a window display should last no longer than 10-seconds and be highly visual, featuring lots of images and video. Should you decide to use digital signage in your window displays, you will also want to assess your security needs and determine whether you remove the screens during off-hours to prevent theft.
5) Have you considered using your digital signage to promote social media?
Digital signage can also offer the valuable opportunity to engage customers and guests with your social media. Depending on your platform, you may be able to pull directly from your Facebook or Twitter page and spotlight recent activity and posts. To actively encourage customer or guest participation, consider running a contest where people can submit images online (perhaps pictures of friends and family in your restaurant or store, or using your products in their daily lives), and then feature these images in your location to further engage customers or patrons.
6) Would you be interested in music video content?
During the holiday season, another popular category of video content is holiday music videos. Holiday music videos are entertaining, and have the added benefit of adding to the holiday atmosphere. If you think you might be interested in featuring holiday music videos in a particular area, you’ll need to be sure that you’re not competing with your overhead music. It is possible to broadcast the sound from the video through your speakers – an additional wire may be needed to connect your digital signage player to your sound system amplifier. Of course, this assumes that your video subscription includes all rights to use full audio (fairly typical with music video subscriptions).
We’d love to see your digital signage installations during the holiday season! Join the conversation on our Facebook or tweet #mood_matters to @moodmedia.
– Submitted by Matt Mahoney, Marketing