Digital signage and screen publishing are a great way of capturing the attention of your audience, engaging them with your brand, and driving them to action. However, there are a few key facts you need to know before setting out on your screen publishing journey.
Many screen publishing and digital signage investments fail due to a lack of understanding. Some businesses assume that once they have their new displays installed they'll instantly see a return on investment. In reality, creating an effective screen publishing strategy involves experimenting with different content types, dynamically adapting content based on context, and much, much more.
So, before you invest in screen publishing, you need a firm grasp on what screen publishing can do for your organisation and what you're hoping to achieve.
Our new e-book covers all the basics – it's definitely worth a read if you're considering utilising digital signage.
As with all marketing efforts, knowing your audience is key to success. If you’re familiar with your market, you'll already have some idea of what works for them and what doesn't.
You need to bear this in mind when creating content for your digital signage. All too often, companies use their screens to display digital versions of their old, static advertising and promotional material and expect to see an increase in customers and sales. This simply won't cut the mustard.
Before you go any further, make sure you have a solid plan for a content strategy. After all, content is king in the realm of screen publishing, and your digital displays are only as effective as what's shown on them.
Although screen publishing is a fairly new technology, the principles remain the same as static signage: captivate and inform audiences. Don’t be intimidated or think that buying into screen publishing requires your entire business model to change.
Granted, it does require some adaptation, but the results are worth the learning curve.
Before investing in screen publishing, understand that it’s merely a tool (albeit a very powerful one!) for enhancing your customer’s buyer journey.
If you’re going to invest in screen publishing, you need to know about each individual piece of the digital signage puzzle. Let's break it down.
Software: There are many different digital signage software solutions on the market. Naturally, we recommend DatabeatOMNI for its ease-of-use and suite of advanced capabilities. Software is often overlooked in screen publishing, but to do so is a mistake. Your choice of software will be the beating heart of your screen publishing efforts so it's important to make the right choice. Of course, you'll want to shop around, but why not sign up for a free demo of DatabeatOMNI and see what you think?
Hardware: Hardware, which includes screens, media players and cables, is often the first thing people think about when they hear the words digital signage. Although hardware isn't the most crucial aspect of screen publishing, it's still important to make the right choice for your company. We recommend Samsung's latest digital signage, as they come with media players, which connect to your screen publishing software, built in. (If you already have screens, check out our external media player, OMNIPlay3.)
Content: As mentioned previously, content is the star of your screen publishing setup. Content may be easy to produce for experienced professionals, but making the right content takes focus and a solid strategy. Establish the resources you will need for this. What should it look like? who will create and design it? For some inspiration, see our 8 best practices for creating captivating content.
Be sure to connect these three dots before starting out with screen publishing.
Your investment isn’t only going to focus on the physical aspects of screen publishing. Businesses sometimes think they are fully prepared for the costs simply because they’ve added up the numbers from equipment and software alone.
The glue that holds a screen publishing strategy together is operational management – keeping content fresh and hardware updated and functional. This process includes not just scheduling content but also making sure new systems work well together and ensuring the stability of the network.
Depending on the scale of the investment, you might think that managing your screen publishing requires employing more people into the business. This is not the case with top-of-its-class screen publishing software.
Before investing in digital signage, plan how it will be managed and by whom.
These five tips lay down the foundations of a great screen publishing campaign. The best thing to do now is get started! If you need more information, feel free to get in touch with us, or check out our new screen publishing e-book.