By now you’ve likely already got on board with digital  marketing; from email, to social media and a slick looking site.  Marketing has shifted and no longer are our marketing disciplines split  between ‘online’ and ‘offline’ marketing - the two have converged. Take a look at these three scenarios:

You have a great desktop website but it also looks excellent on  mobile. You know visitors aren’t always going to be sitting behind a  computer screen to shop or browse. In fact, mobile viewing overtook desktop for the first time last year. 

87% of consumers use a second screen device while watching TV, studies show.  But what about the rest of the time? How many times do we use a second,  or even third screen, while at work, while shopping or eating out with  friends? We’re surrounded by screens more than ever. It’s just a shame  that some of them aren’t being utilized (more on this later). 

What would happen if someone gave you an additional marketing tool,  through which, you could get a more engaged audience? Truth is, that’s  how many see digital signage - the art of creating content on a screen  located in a physical space. You only have to look at the stats to see  that digital signage is a fast-growing area. 

Yet digital signage is still one of the biggest verticals missing from most current marketing strategies. 

It’s time we changed that. Here, we run you through how (and why)  digital signage needs to be part of your current marketing strategy and  just how easy it is to do it. 

If you’re on a mission to improve customer service, create great  in-store experiences, drive more traffic to your website or social media  channels, then digital signage can do all of those things. As a  marketing tool, it’s pretty stellar. 

It uses a medium we’re already familiar with - the screen. It  delivers content that can be changed regularly (unlike static signs),  that you can edit in real time, or to suit real time campaigns or  occasions (much more easily than on your website even). You can use it  to create a better atmosphere, improve sales targets and tell brand stories. 

Finally, it can be used to market towards an internal or external  audience. If you have a physical shopfront that’s aimed at customers  like in a hotel, store or real estate office then great, you’re  perfectly positioned to use digital signage.

If you have an office, a lobby or anywhere that people go employee or  otherwise, you can use it too. Digital signage can be used to improve  company culture, impress potential new staff members and share  information with visiting stakeholders - like your latest figures or  site traffic. 

Overall, digital signage is a pretty versatile marketing strategy and it can be used in almost any scenario. 

As we mentioned previously, digital signage takes what we love about mobile, information at our fingertips, and places it on a larger scale.  Think of your digital screens like extensions of the user's smartphone.  They have the same versatility!

Digital signage can be updated live, either using real time apps such as social media feeds,  or from a CMS that can be edited from any internet-connected device  anywhere. It can also be personalized and interactive. As we see trends  towards interactivity and the use of sophisticated technology such as interactions led by voice and mobile-driven OOH marketing grow, this will become even more of a connected experience. 

One where the screen content can be changed with a nod of your head, or the click of your smartphone button. 

Digital signage and social media are a perfect match. We’ve spoken about the power of the large social media wall  many a time. Because yes, social media is essentially ‘free’ to run but  it’s also time-consuming, difficult to master without budget and  competitive.

All digital signage does is takes the social media you’ve worked so  hard to curate and place it up on a big screen where everyone can see  it. When potential customers are viewing social media in the social  media landscape they can easily be distracted by updates from their  friends, family or other brands. When viewing it on your digital signage  screen it has more sticking power.

That’s right, digital signage can also collide with your email  marketing efforts as a great canvas to encourage email sign-ups. Perhaps  you’re running a free promotion code in exchange for an email address?  Your digital screen is the perfect place to advertise this! Throw up a  bit.ly link or similar and your audience can easily see what they need  to do. 

When we first think of digital signage we often think from an  advertising perspective. Of course, digital signage is a great and  natural medium to show your latest digital content. You’ll see this from  many retail brands that prioritize digital media in their physical  stores using screens and videowalls. 

But there’s also a little more to it. As we know, great PR isn’t  always about blowing your own trumpet loud enough for everyone to hear.  It’s also about crafting stories, sharing the words of your customers  through customer testimonials and even allowing your staff (or students)  to create the digital content as one of our customers North Valley Baptist Schools has done. Digital signage allows for all of those things. 

Grabbing a visitor’s interest starts as soon as they walk through  your event door. Again, there are a lot of distractions. From the  visitor’s own smartphone, to issues back at the office, the coffee bar  and the Wi-Fi zone where they could just plot up with a laptop. So what  will get them focused on your event or your tradeshow booth? 

Digital signage can both enhance and detract attention from the rest  of the experience. It adds media to an otherwise static booth space, it  gives you a canvas for an interactive floor plan - that can change the  moment an exhibitor doesn’t turn up! It can provide live information on  the speakers of that day, wayfinding towards the cafe areas and live  social media walls to help the conversation swell. All in all, it’s  filled with benefits. 

Digital signage is a huge marketing vertical and one that we know  isn’t being utilized enough. When our customers talk about implementing  digital signage in their store, restaurant, school or office they’re  surprised at how much weight it gives to campaigns. How impressed and  delighted their audiences are and just how easy it is to setup, run and  manage. 

If you’re looking to give it a try, our super-easy digital signage  CMS is a great place to start. Head over and begin your 14-day free  trial here. 

Put simply, many businesses aren’t realizing digital signage as a huge marketing channel that helps connect all of your marketing disciplines and audiences.

We think digital signage is the new (and better) social media in terms of its unrealized potential for growing audiences and joining up the marketing dots!

The Biggest Vertical Missing from your Current Marketing Strategy

The Biggest Vertical Missing from your Current Marketing Strategy

The Biggest Vertical Missing from your Current Marketing Strategy

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