While several blog posts talk about how to make digital signage a successful investment in terms of choosing the right hardware, software and keeping up with latest trends, it is also worthy to know what not do with a digital signage investment. Regardless of how clever your solution is, a few potholes are enough to waste the entire investment.
- A poor content strategy
Experienced individuals who are responsible for digital signage investments at their respective firms will emphasize on how easy it is to fall short when it comes to content, particularly in more complex campaigns. For example, a skin care company may decide to provide tips for better skin care based on real-time weather conditions. The company may select 15-20 various weather scenarios they wish to target based on their products. What they fail to realize is that there won’t be enough time to plan out so much content effectively. As a result, the digital outdoor screen will become crowded with too much text, thereby limiting the effectiveness of the campaign.
Hence it is best to have a firm strategy on how the digital team will design, manage and update the content in order to have a successful campaign.
- Incorrect signage placement
On popular streets and highways, digital billboards are often kept in plain view of eyesight, except for a few rarities. Sometimes, firms place their billboards high above entrance ramps or hidden behind bushes and trees in the outdoor arena. Indoors, the problem is when displays are placed in corners and are hidden by walls or products.
When it comes to digital signage, placement is everything! It would be perfect to have digital screens mounted on moving robots but of course this is not possible and therefore a clear strategy needs to be in place to determine the position of a digital signage, be it indoors or outdoors. Tools such as beacons are helpful in identifying how customers navigate through a store. This information helps in deciding where to place a digital signage in a way in which maximum audience will be reached.
- Considering digital signage as a static tool
While rolling out a digital signage campaign without enough planning is bad in itself, treating a digital display like just another traditional static board is worse. People don’t want to see the same image on a display to that of a printed banner standing right next to it! Digital signage often has this problem because many end users tend to recycle some old content and publish it onto their new digital display or just upload one image and let it remain on the screen for weeks and months.
Digital signage should not be stolen from its true purpose – helping the investor deliver better information and enhanced experiences to their customers.
