From online marketing to smartphones, digital communication formats have multiplied in recent years at the expense of static formats and prints. Their advent is a complete game changer because of the incredible content that can be streamed and edited in real time. Digital signage is one of the tools that can support these multitudes of formats, which is why it is important to go back to the basics of creating adapted content.
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If you are not yet equipped with a digital signage solution, here are some resources to better understand this technology:
→ What is a digital signage solution?
→ How do you successfully complete a display project?
→ What are the criteria for choosing a solution?
→ What strategy for my content?
Digital signage content ideas
“Content is king,” and while you might be the next Spielberg or Tarantino with a great project and the most creative ideas, it's always best to Focus on simplicity, at least to begin with. You'll probably have a good idea of your target audience, but keep in mind that you may only have a few seconds to get their attention, and a few more to get their attention. You should always stick to the motto “simple and effective.” For this:
- Start with a color model well contrasted with dark text on a light background or, conversely, light/white text on a dark background.
- When deciding what colors to use in your display, think about the hues in your company logo or color combinations that represent your brand.
- Finally, colors are known to convey emotions, so try to choose colors that convey the ones you want, red (anger, passion, urgency), blue (trust, calm, stability, professionalism), green (growth, natural, organic, ecological), yellow (energy, optimism, ecological), yellow (energy, optimism, warmth) etc.
- For the text strictly speaking, it is best to stick to Sans serif fonts (without wheelbase). It is not for nothing that the font Helvetica is the most used and most popular in the world for design and display: it has a classic look, it is easy to read and appeals to a wide audience. Script or serif fonts just don't work as well with this delivery mode.
Once you've decided on colors and fonts, it's important to test the messages on site to make sure they're easy to read from near and far.
→ Our advice for good position your screen.
Use key figures for impactful content
Numbers can be more effective in drawing attention and getting messages across. Our brains love numbers, they're quick to integrate, and they combine information into small, orderly batches. They also create credibility for your campaigns while taking up less space than words.
Tips for using numbers in your digital signage content:
- Always use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4...) rather than their written equivalent.
- When sharing statistics, use Exact data when you can and avoid rounding to the nearest ten. Odd numbers are more believable than even numbers. For example, “sales up 47%” seems more accurate and credible than “sales up 50%.”
- Use numbers for social validation if your business is comfortable using online channels For example, if you're asking people to like your page on Instagram, indicate how many people are already following your page.
Graphic elements for captivating content
Although it's still a bit cliché, an image (as well as all the graphic elements) can really be worth a thousand words. By its very nature, digital signage involves supporting messages and reducing the number of words using graphics and images where possible.
Once you've defined the header/slogan and content of your messages, look for ways to highlight and To attract attention on the key message (s). More specifically, you can enrich your messages with video Or of The animation, which is a great idea if you offer a more sophisticated product or service.
→ Our advice for design and make your digital signage videos profitable.
The calls to action or call to action of your target
You have captured the attention of your prospects with sublime graphic elements and aroused their interest with perfect messages, they are ready to make a quick decision, so launch a call to action!
It can simply be a matter of outlining what they should do next and how you can best help them. Today, there are so many channels for communicating with businesses that you need to make it easy for you and your targets by telling them how to reach you about a particular message or announcement. Make sure that the call to action starts with an action verb, to really amplify the urgency for your prospect and the need to act as soon as possible.
Find content templates to personalize
Powerpoint or Google Slides
PowerPoint is the ideal tool for presentations and one of the most popular in Office suite. You can easily use your company mask to create any static digital signage content, from restaurant menus to directories or for various daily presentations. Are you looking for a free equivalent? If you're not using PowerPoint, try Google Slides.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is now a cloud-based solution in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. It is a much more sophisticated tool than Powerpoint, but less easy to understand. Because Illustrator is vector software, it is ideal for creating graphic elements that can be displayed in various sizes without losing quality. This is a top priority for digital signage content, which may need to be displayed on different screens with different dimensions.
Your digital signage solution has its own resources
Very often, digital signage software includes a content creation module. Their free nature and the variety of models offered depend on the suppliers.
→ Others free tools to create content adapted to digital signage by itself.
The use of dynamic flows
Digital signage has an obvious advantage over traditional signage, namely the ability to broadcast content vibrant. If you only show static content on your screens, why use digital signage?
Your audience will be more likely to continue to pay attention to your screens if you make the effort to regularly create and share new content, rather than using the same content over and over again. Social media or weather feeds are examples of dynamic feeds. Moreover, these only require very low maintenance. And if you're posting your professional social media account, don't forget to check that it's up to date!
Cenareo offers an intuitive, scalable Saas solution and perfectly adapted to the needs of communication professionals in all sectors of activity: Points of sale, Internal communication, Hotels and restaurants but also DOOH. Part of our solution is to provide our customers with a wide range of editable digital signage templates, with static images or video. These templates are free.
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