Digital signage is everywhere, to the point that you likely come across one or two every time you head out. Businesses have seen the advantages that cloud based digital signage can bring over traditional signage, but the question is if they’re using it right.
Leveraging a digital sign for marketing communications is not as simple as plugging it in and running a content playlist. Organizing your content into channels allows you to target different audiences or specific times more effectively. There needs to be a blueprint in place that optimizes all aspects involved, from content creation to delivering content efficiently to digital signage screens, as well as testing and improvements.
If your business utilizes or is planning to use a digital sign for marketing, here’s your ultimate guide to creating an effective strategy that will maximize your displays, generate conversions, and yield a solid return on your investment. A well-planned digital signage investment can help overcome implementation challenges and maximize returns, especially by driving impulse purchases and promoting special deals.
Introduction to Digital Signage
You know, digital signage is honestly one of those marketing tools that just works—it's like having a really good salesperson that never takes a break and always knows exactly what to say. The thing is, it's got this knack for grabbing people's attention with all that dynamic, eye-catching stuff that just pops out wherever you put it. It's kind of become a must-have in modern marketing because these screens let businesses create those "wow" moments that stick with people and keep the messaging feeling fresh instead of stale. When you place them right—and I mean really think about where your audience actually hangs out—you're basically putting your content in front of the perfect people at exactly the right moment, which honestly just makes sense for boosting sales. Here's the thing though: you can't just slap any old screen up there and call it a day—you need solid, reliable hardware that won't let you down when you're counting on it to support your marketing efforts. If you embrace digital signage the right way, you're not just throwing content at people; you're actually creating something compelling that makes customers feel good about their experience and keeps you ahead of everyone else who's still stuck doing things the old-school way.
Set Goals for Digital Signage
Intentional digital signage is effective digital signage. So the very first order of business is to define your goals. This means setting clear targets for your digital signage campaign, such as increasing brand awareness or driving customer interaction. Ask yourself why you’re investing in digital displays and what it is you want to accomplish.
Common goals businesses have with regard to their digital signage solutions include to:
- Raise brand awareness
- Gain more customers
- Sell more products or services
- Increase sales
- Improve customer experiences
- Increase website traffic
Knowing your intention behind deploying digital signs is important as it will define your content and guide your marketing efforts moving forward.
Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
You know what you want to achieve with your digital sign. Now the question is how you’ll know you’ve achieved it or if you’re progressing on the right path. The answer: key performance indicators.
KPIs will help you measure the success of your digital signage efforts and tell you whether or not you need to change them. You can set any KPI that aligns with your goals.
For example, if your goal is to raise brand awareness, you might use metrics like website traffic, social media engagements, etc. to measure your campaign. If your goal is to increase sales, you should be tracking the customer journey coming from your digital sign and how that translates to revenue. It's important to track conversions or audience engagement to monitor the effectiveness of your digital signage and optimize your strategies accordingly.
Define Your Audience
The average American sees 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day, but they’re not going to interact with every single one of them. They’re only going to take a second look at ads that they actually find relevant. That said, defining your audience is a crucial task before you proceed to create content for your digital signs. Your users—the end-users or target audience engaging with your digital signage—should be clearly identified to ensure your messaging resonates with them.
To really dive deep into who your audience is and how you can curate content that appeals to them, ask the following questions:
- What are your audience’s demographics?
- What does their typical day look like?
- What do they do on the weekends vs. the weekdays?
- What do they do/ are interested in at peak times of the day?
- What are their likes and dislikes?
- What are their pain points and objectives?
Getting specific about your audience persona will make creating relevant and engaging content so much easier — not to mention boost the effectiveness of your digital signage marketing campaign.
Create Targeted Content
Now that you’re well aware of your target audience, you can now dive into creating targeted and effective content. You’re free to get creative here, but remember that everything should align with your goals and buyer persona. In digital signage marketing, content is king—creating relevant and engaging content is essential to attract and retain your audience. Focus on capturing the interest of your audience through compelling visuals and messaging.
Overall, however, the point of a digital sign is to allow you to take your content to new heights. You’re no longer limited by traditional posters and flyers, so use dynamic content, vibrant colors, attention-grabbing videos, and playful animations! Highlighting product features and showcasing a key feature can drive engagement and help customers better understand your offerings.
Remember that your digital signage content doesn’t have to always be created from scratch. You can utilize software widgets to show the weather, stream YouTube videos, or display social media feeds, or update a menu in real-time to keep your content fresh and relevant.
Segment Content Times
When you display your content is just as important as what you display it. You want to show targeted content at the right time, i.e. when they’re most likely to be visible to your audience. Answering the following questions can help you nail your content time segmentation:
Creating playlists and schedules allows you to organize and time your digital signage content for maximum impact, ensuring the right messages reach the right audience at the most effective moments.
- What times will your target audience be passing by?
- Is your audience in the morning different from your audience in the afternoon?
- What type of content is most relevant to your target audience at different times of the day?
Scheduling your content to show up on your display at the right time and to the right people can go a long way in maximizing visibility.
Another thing to consider here is the duration of each piece of content in your playlist. Five to seven seconds of display time is the minimum, which gives the viewer enough time to read your content while still ensuring that your display is active.
But if your digital sign is located somewhere people linger for longer, such as, say, a bus stop or a restaurant, you might be able to get away with longer pieces of content.
Consider Screen Positioning
Because you’re aiming for your digital sign to be visible to your target audience, you of course have to consider where you’re positioning it.
The fundamentals are placing your sign where it’s most visible, ensuring there are no distractions that can take attention away from your sign, and avoiding anything that could interfere with its visibility, such as physical obstacles or technical issues. Also, mind glares from the sun or other light sources, and account for viewer distance from the screen to ensure readability. While all these are important, there’s more to screen positioning than just that.
A common practice is putting a digital sign where there’s high foot traffic, but if you’re targeting a specific group of audience over the general public, you’re going to need to find a more strategic location. When planning placement, keep in mind the behaviors and needs of your audience to maximize engagement.
The position of your digital sign should have a purpose. Think about what your audience is probably doing in a certain place and how you can use that to your advantage.
For example, a display showing a discount or promotion will be very effective in front of the register when your audience is waiting in line to make a purchase. Similarly, a brand awareness campaign will do much better in a waiting area where your audience has the time and leisure to engage with the display.
Hardware That Works With Your Strategy
Your marketing strategy needs reliable hardware to execute properly. Rise Vision works with what you already have, but if you're looking to upgrade or start fresh, there are a couple of options worth considering.
The Rise Vision Media Player handles the technical side without making you think about it too much. It's compact, connects to your existing displays, and manages everything through the cloud. Screen sharing, emergency alerts, digital signage—it does all of that. Setup is straightforward enough that you won't need to dedicate an entire afternoon to figuring it out. Currently available in the United States and Canada, which is something to keep in mind if you're managing locations elsewhere.
For locations where you're starting from scratch or need an all-in-one solution, Avocor displays bundle the media player right into the screen. These come in sizes ranging from 43" to 98", so there's flexibility depending on your space. 4K visuals, built-in capabilities for signage and screen sharing, cloud management included. They work particularly well in high-traffic areas where you need everything to look polished but don't have time to manage multiple components. These are available in the United States at the moment.
Both options come with flexible purchasing arrangements. Hardware as a Service means you're not dropping a huge amount upfront, which helps when you're trying to scale your signage network across multiple locations without waiting for next year's budget approval.
The real advantage here? You can focus on your content and strategy rather than troubleshooting hardware issues or dealing with compatibility problems. The systems stay updated, security is handled, and if something does go wrong, support actually responds quickly.
Budgeting and Resource Allocation
You know, budgeting and figuring out your resources really are the make-or-break steps when you're launching a digital signage campaign that actually works. If you want to unlock what your digital signage can really do, you've got to honestly assess what your audience needs and pick the right hardware, software, and content creation tools that'll do the job. This means you're investing in screens that won't let you down, content management systems that don't make you want to pull your hair out, and creative resources that actually line up with your marketing strategy. But here's the thing—don't forget to factor in those long-term costs that can sneak up on you, like maintenance, regular updates, and keeping your content creation going so your digital stuff stays fresh and doesn't get stale. When you take this kind of strategic approach to budgeting and resource allocation, you're setting yourself up so your digital signage campaign actually delivers value, supports what you're trying to achieve with your marketing, and keeps running without breaking the bank over time.
Personalization and Context-Aware Content
You know, personalization and context-aware content are honestly the secret sauce that can really make your digital signage campaign pop. When you dig into data and analytics, it's kind of like having a crystal ball that shows you who your audience actually is—their demographics, what they like, how they behave—so you can create content that actually connects with them instead of just throwing random stuff on screen. Think about it this way: adjusting your messaging based on time of day or where people are makes total sense, right? Like promoting those breakfast specials when people are rushing to work in the morning and switching to desserts when they're winding down in the evening. This targeted approach isn't just smart—it genuinely gets people more engaged and makes their whole experience feel better, more thoughtful. And honestly, with the right digital signage software, managing and updating all this content becomes pretty effortless, so your displays are always showing timely, appealing stuff that people actually want to see. When you focus on personalization and context like this, you're basically turning your digital signage into this powerful connection tool that doesn't just show ads but actually drives real results.
Social Media Integration
You know, bringing social media into your digital signage campaign? That's honestly a pretty smart move if you want to really amp up your marketing efforts and get people actually involved with what you're showing them. Think about it—when you're displaying live social media feeds, branded hashtags, or that user-generated content that feels real and authentic, you're basically inviting viewers to jump in and share their own experiences, right? It's kind of like turning your screens into a conversation starter rather than just another ad. And here's the thing: this doesn't just boost engagement, it actually stretches your reach way beyond wherever your digital signage happens to be sitting. Take a retail store, for instance—they can showcase customer testimonials or run social media contests right there on their screens, which honestly motivates other shoppers to get involved and join the fun. These interactive elements? Well, they help your content really stand out from all the noise and take your digital signage campaign to new heights, reinforcing your brand and honestly achieving way better marketing success than you'd get otherwise.
Loyalty and Reward Programs
You know, loyalty and reward programs are honestly one of those things that just work when it comes to keeping customers coming back, and if you've got digital screens around your business, they can really help push these programs in ways that feel natural and engaging. When you use those displays to highlight exclusive deals, show off reward milestones, or flash some limited-time offers, it kind of nudges people to visit more often and makes them feel like they're part of something special. Take a coffee shop, for example—they might put up a screen showing their loyalty program with something like "Get a free dessert after your next five purchases!" It's not pushy, but it catches your eye and makes you think, "Hey, that's worth coming back for." This whole approach doesn't just make customers feel good about their experience; it actually drives more sales and builds that kind of brand connection that keeps people loyal. When you're smart about weaving loyalty and reward programs into your digital signage strategy, you're basically unlocking this whole new level of customer retention that can give you lasting results without feeling forced or gimmicky.
Test Your Display
The best thing about digital signage is it gives you the ability to test your campaign. The same cannot be said about traditional signage, which would require you to tear down all your posters and bulletin boards in case you need to change them. With digital signage, there’s no need to conduct a complete overhaul should you find that your content is not working as intended.
That said, you should take advantage of the flexibility of your digital signage solution. You can display the same content with minor renditions to see which one works best in attracting your customers. Or you can try out different content formats for the same message. Adding new elements or promotional codes can help you test engagement and see what resonates most with your audience.
You can also ask fresh eyes to provide feedback, preferably someone who belongs or resonates with your target audience group. Gathering response from users will help you improve your content based on real feedback. They might be able to see small typos or otherwise make suggestions that will level up your content.
Digital signage allows you to update and make changes to your content anytime you want — and with just a couple of clicks, a simple button press can trigger real-time updates. It takes very little effort to make updates, so you can quickly implement changes based on your test results. Testing takes your content from average to effective, giving you the opportunity to find the most effective and converting content designs and formats.
Update and Improve
Use the results of your tests and the feedback that you gathered to update and improve your content as necessary. It’s important to update content regularly to keep your messaging relevant and engaging. Digital signage should never be stale — you want to keep innovating and changing things up to achieve the best results. At the same time, maintaining consistency in your branding and messaging across all displays reinforces brand recognition and trust.
In the same vein, keep your content fresh! Digital signage solutions are now more accessible for businesses of all sizes, making it easier than ever to implement and benefit from this technology. Continue finding new ways to attract and engage your audience and leverage your digital sign to its full potential, while also making it simple to manage ongoing content updates. Digital signage can be a key part of a larger marketing project, supporting product promotion and cross-promotions. By providing information automatically, digital signage can reduce the workload for employees and allow them to focus on higher-value interactions. Updating content not only keeps your displays relevant but also enhances the customer's experience by delivering timely and personalized information. The power of digital signage lies in its ability to drive engagement and measurable results. When planning ongoing improvements, always consider your budget to ensure sustainability and scalability. Selecting the right content is crucial to keeping your displays effective and engaging. Digital signage can also simplify your messaging, making it clear and concise for your audience.
What Users Are Saying
Real feedback from people actually running these systems matters more than feature lists. Here's what comes up consistently from organizations using the platform.
Brian Grigsby, a Robotics Teacher at Shasta High School, mentioned how "the options for different seasonal slides are lovely, and it allows me to customize any templates! I can post meaningful and time-sensitive information, vacation alerts, and club announcements." That customization piece shows up a lot in feedback—people appreciate being able to adapt the 600+ templates without starting from scratch every time.
Kent State University had something interesting to say about the maintenance side: "We're really happy with it! It's only taking up 1% of my time, not because it's less important, it's because there are no problems. The best thing about Rise Vision is ease of use for the end-user. I don't have time to assist everyone personally, so it has to be easy for the Non-IT person, which Rise Vision is."
Joseph Hunt from Central National Gottesman Inc. emphasized the safety communication aspect: "Rise Vision has been an intricate part of enhancing our safety program. It has enabled a constant visual reminder and an optimized platform to communicate safety information throughout the entire organization efficiently and effectively."
The common thread? People appreciate not having to become digital signage experts to use the platform effectively. Templates save hours of design work. Centralized management means one person can update dozens of screens across different buildings without driving anywhere. Support responds when you need help, which apparently isn't a given in this industry.When you're building a marketing strategy that depends on consistent, timely communication across multiple locations, these operational details make the difference between a strategy that actually gets executed and one that sounds good in meetings but falls apart in practice.
When you're building a marketing strategy that depends on consistent, timely communication across multiple locations, these operational details make the difference between a strategy that actually gets executed and one that sounds good in meetings but falls apart in practice.
Finally, with the right marketing strategy and a solid plan in place, you can maximize the capabilities of your digital sign and reap its benefits for your business. Book a free demo with us today!
What Users Are Saying
How much does it cost to implement a digital signage marketing strategy?
The cost really depends on what you're starting with and where you want to go. If you already have displays, you're mainly looking at software costs and maybe some media players—Rise Vision's pricing runs per display, and they offer Hardware as a Service options that spread costs out instead of requiring big upfront purchases. For new setups, you're budgeting for screens (sizes from 43" to 98" if you go with something like Avocor), media players or all-in-one displays, the software subscription, and then ongoing costs like content creation and maintenance. The thing is, digital signage typically pays for itself pretty quickly compared to traditional signage because you're not constantly printing and replacing materials. Most businesses find the flexibility worth it—you can update everything remotely with a few clicks instead of sending someone out to swap posters at every location.
What metrics should I track to measure digital signage ROI?
This ties directly back to whatever goals you set at the start. If you're focused on sales, track conversion rates and revenue changes in areas where your signage is running—maybe compare sales before and after installation or test different promotions. For brand awareness campaigns, you're looking at things like website traffic increases, social media engagement spikes, or foot traffic patterns. Customer dwell time matters too, especially in retail or waiting areas. Some businesses use QR codes or promotional codes on their displays to track exactly how many people are taking action based on what they see. The key is picking KPIs that actually align with what you're trying to accomplish rather than just tracking everything and hoping something sticks. Start with 3-5 solid metrics and refine from there based on what tells you the real story.
How often should I update content on my digital signage displays?
The general rule of thumb is updating your main content 2-3 times per day—think morning, midday, and evening rotations. This follows what's called the "three-exposure rule" where people need to see a message at least three times for it to really stick. High-traffic locations where the same people pass by multiple times daily definitely need this kind of rotation to stay relevant and avoid becoming background noise they just tune out.
Now, dynamic elements like social media feeds, news tickers, or weather widgets can update automatically throughout the day—those don't require manual work on your part. The beauty of free digital signage is you can schedule everything in advance, so you're not scrambling to change things manually three times a day. Set up your playlists once, schedule when different content goes live, and the system handles it from there.
The frequency really depends on your specific situation though. A restaurant showing menu items might need content cycling every few seconds during meal rushes. An office lobby showing company updates? Maybe those morning-midday-evening updates work fine. Retail stores promoting different products throughout the day fall somewhere in between. Test different rotation schedules and watch your engagement metrics—if people stop paying attention or you notice the same folks glazing over your screens, your content's sitting there too long. The goal is keeping it fresh enough that your audience notices without burning yourself out on constant updates, which proper scheduling tools handle pretty well these days.
