Digital signage is one of the fastest growing forms of advertising. Many indoor locations with high footfalls, such as shopping malls, concourses and airports have LCD screens providing advertising and promotional content. And even around high streets and city centres, outdoor digital signage is becoming a popular feature.
Digital signage content should be simple, clear and to the point.
Having been around for several years now, you’d have thought many users and integrators would have mastered digital signage, however, digital signage is often not being used effectively.
One of the most common errors made with digital signage is the content being made too complicated. Using LCD screens out of the home is a completely different medium than the TV that sits in people’s front rooms, and is therefore, viewed differently.
People view most digital signage screens only very briefly, and for outdoor digital signage even more so. Because of this limited time to get a message across, the key to effective digital signage content is simplicity.
The content should be uncluttered, bold and simple enough a viewer can instantly grasp the message that is being displayed; whether that’s a promotion, a new product or a brand, and the message should be clear and to the point. For outdoor digital signage, this message needs to be on the screen continuously as outdoor advertising screens are viewed for just fleeting moments.
Another common problem with a lot of digital signage content is the over use of moving imagery. As mentioned earlier, digital signage are not TVs and are therefore, not viewed the same. While movement is effective at catching a viewers attention, too much will lead to the message getting lost amongst all the action.
Perhaps one of the best methods to discover if digital signage content is working is to test it. Split testing different adverts and asking people to conduct surveys on what they recalled about the content can reveal startling information that can be used to improve content and help establish what types of digital signage content works and what doesn’t.
