Resellers and systems integrators know the importance of providing total hardware solutions for their clients. Let’s say you just completed a large install and your client’s displays are all up and running perfectly. Great job!
But have you spoken with them about content? Specifically, who’s going to do the art and copy to ensure customers are attracted to the displays and hopefully take action based on the message? And who will do the programming and manage the content from day to day?
In the world of digital signage, content (with strategy) is king.
Consider this. When digital signage first came on the scene years ago, customers saw those large format displays and were wowed by the big pictures. Many at that time wished that one day they could have a TV that big.
Fast forward to now. Many people do have TVs that big. They’ve become accustomed to seeing big, beautiful pictures, right at home. And they can change the channel anytime they want.
It’s something to think about. An effective digital signage deployment shouldn’t get stale. The content should be refreshed periodically. Elements changed. Messaging tweaked. This way, the digital signage maintains its attraction. The last thing a business owner needs is to have their digital signage ignored due to familiarity. If customers walk past a video wall and are looking only at their smartphones, something is wrong.
Content creation and management aren’t things to simply hand off to a staff member unless it’s a dedicated digital creative staff member. For maximum effectiveness, there’s a lot to the job.
Are you partnered with an ad agency or marketing company that offers digital media creation and management services for digital signage deployments? This is a major value-add to offer your clients with every sale. And the bigger the business, the greater the need can be for such a service. Content as a service can also bring in a nice chunk of change for an ad agency or marketing company looking to expand their offerings. It’s an exciting new frontier to launch into as the demand for digital signage just keeps growing.
Taking a consultative approach, a content partner can work with your client to develop top-quality digital media content to impress their customers/visitors, enhance the look and feel of the business and increase revenue. A content partner can work closely with them to ensure an accurate and consistent brand image. And a content partner will use best practices in design and layout, taking into consideration the types of displays, the location of displays and the viewing distance from the displays.
Digital signage content creation teams know how to make the most of:
- Attention-grabbing layouts
- Dynamic motion graphics, unique videos, images and live data feeds
- Interactive elements
- Personalization content (via NFC, smartphone apps, beacons, IoT)
- Ongoing campaigns and more
- Customizable templates for plug-and-play content creation
As we look into 2018 and think about ways to offer more and better solutions to our clients, let’s always keep an eye on what’s in the big picture.