Digital signage can offer unique benefits to your organization. It’s not only for retail.

Creating a ‘wow-factor’ when a customer, business partner, or future employee walks through the front door can be done through powerful visuals and inspirational messaging. Digital signage could even be used to encourage creativity and encouragement for employees as they pass through the halls every day.

The problem is that digital signage can come with it’s own unique issues, so having an integrator who understands the precise needs of your organization is key. It’s not just about the ability to install signage solutions in a space, it’s about understanding the challenges and obstacles to make sure you get the most out of your investment in AV technology.

How Do Organizations Use Digital Signage?

To paint a better picture on how some organizations incorporate digital signage in their spaces, we wanted to include a list of common uses.

Promotional Displays: In retail settings, digital signage is used to enhance the shopping experience (commonly found in malls). A curator can easily update promotional materials, enhance them with eye-catching visuals and other graphics. Who’s to say this type of digital signage is only for retail? Any business can, and should promote and showcase their work in a creative manner using the same concept. For example, a Bank can display videos promoting special interest rates for Student Loans and Mortgages. A Law firm can showcase the expertise of their team and display powerful marketing messages to make clients feel that they are in good hands. The only limitation is your own creativity.

Employee Inspiration: Larger organizations tend to understand how complex it is to manage human capital on a large scale, and in today’s world, maintaining that connection with them is key. Installing signage in your organization’s headquarters, or large office spaces with large displays to show quotes, and company information can help solidify that connection between the employee and the company. This can be achieved by building large video walls in entry ways, large displays throughout halls and heavily trafficked pathways. Even using a spectacular partial column wrap for a high-tech and futuristic look. Employees aren’t going to find inspiration in a building that feels outdated and archaic.

Interactive Signage: Another type of signage has to do with interactivity. This type of signage is commonly associated with exhibits and museums. For example, Barco provided the signage for the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit thats on tour.

What are some of the Challenges Associated with Digital Signage?

Poor integration is a risk that you don’t want to absorb. Step one of avoiding this is to find a qualified integrator with an APEx certification like VisionPoint. Never cheapen out on your AV when you’re trying to present that WOW-Factor. Other considerations may deal with software solutions when curating content for digital signage. You may want to live feed data to your displays, or connect the digital signage with inventory systems for retail to make sure that you are not promoting a product that is sold out. That would be awkward, and difficult for Customer Reps to deal with. Integration may also deal with Marketing efforts at your organization. You can ask an AV integrator to suggest some software solutions for managing digital signage to help you figure out the best way to manage displayed content.

Insufficient bandwidth can pose problems when you are streaming content from the internet, or a local VPN. Your internet service provider may have a limit on the amount of bandwidth you can use, so you may want to check on that before streaming content from the internet. This can be solved by figuring out the required bandwidth and contacting your service provider to see if your setup will be able to handle it, otherwise your organization will need to make changes. If you are using a localized solution to stream content, you shouldn’t run into as many issues regarding bandwidth.

With digital signage, there are so many options to choose from when selecting hardware. And the quality of these solutions may differ. Selecting the best option for your organization is dependent on your specific needs. Some basic considerations are things like size. If the sign is too small and you have a massive entryway, it will be difficult for people entering your space to read the content. If you go with a consumer-grade display, you may see some deterioration in quality on certain parts of the screen which may be detrimental depending on the utility of the digital signage. Another consideration is the mounting of the signage.

Is it going on the floor? On the Wall? From the ceiling? You’ll need an experienced AV integrator to guide you in the right direction to select the best hardware for your space.

We mentioned content management software (CMS) before, but what are some considerations for selecting a good CMS? The first one may be ease-of-use. You want to select a software that allows your organization to easily adjust and swap out content without having to navigate through countless menus. That may take some research on your part.

When selecting a CMS, here are a few questions you can ask yourself to try to determine whether they are a good fit for your organization:

Who is your target audience that you are trying to communicate to with your digital signage?

What are you trying to communicate to them? (Advertising, inspiration, data, etc.)

Who is responsible for creating, and curating the content?

Where is the content coming from?

Hopefully, we have given a few pointers on overcoming some of the challenges when adding digital signage to your space. Even before you contact an integrator, there is a lot to consider, but it is well worth it in the end. Digital signage can turn mundane spaces, into a work of art, or into a highly-engaging environment both for employees and customers.

You can contact VisionPoint at anytime with any questions, or ideas about implementing digital signage in your space. Remember to always select a trusted integrator like VisionPoint who always suggests right-fit solutions.

Additional Reading:

10 Big Digital Signage Challenges | Skykit Digital Signage Guide