10 ways for technology startups to use digital signage

For most technology startups, being lean is the aim of the game. They often need to ditch the idea of a concrete business plan and adapt on the fly, rapidly find that product-market fit and soar towards profitability. That’s why tools with a free or cheap tier – Slack, Trello, and Gmail – often get bought in during those early weeks. The team tests them, sees what works, and adopts them as needed.

This same lean philosophy is why startups have the potential to get so much done with digital signage. The initial low price point – around $20 per screen per month – is a great way to quickly improve communication, engage employees, and help everyone keep track of the important details. All without committing a large investment to a solution that might not work long-term. 

When you have people wearing multiple hats in the often hectic startup environment, you need to cut out the noise and help employees drill down on important details. What’s more, this needs to be done as effectively and seamlessly as possible. And that’s where digital signage really shines. 

In this guide, we’re going to share ten cool ways for your technology startup to use digital signage. 

Top tip: Check here if you need help setting up your digital signage.

1. Focus on the key metrics

Ticking over any milestone is a great way to encourage investment and gain press, which is one of the reasons why startups are often adept at managing their data. However, having tons of data could pose a couple of problems, including data overload; there’s too much to focus on and everyone can’t be up to date on every single metric.

But because keeping track of these data points can help inform, equip, and motivate employees, you need to find a way to bring the most important metrics to the limelight. 

Enter your digital signage screen.

A big screen over your bank of desks is a good way to get your key metrics seen by all of the team. For example, you could use Geckoboard to create a dashboard for your office digital signage which just shows these three key metrics:

• MRR
• Conversion rate
• Churn rate

These metrics could be played on your company’s digital signage channel, as often as you need it to. This means that all of the team has the chance to manually look up the KPIs, see them on digital signage, as well as access them through other communication channels like Slack. 

When everyone is focused on the key metrics, it makes it much easier to move the needle in the right direction. Plus, seeing the impact of your team’s contribution in real time is great for employee motivation and engagement. So whether this is decreasing churn or improving your MRR ensuring the key metrics get seen, is what matters most.

2. Manage office logistics

With pretty much any business, startups included, there are often multiple meetings and goings-on that people can quickly get caught out. Timely reminders and even clearly sharing things like schedules and personal availability can be a huge time saver. And this is one very strong area for digital signage to shine

From upcoming video calls or booked out meeting rooms, to who is out of office, or impending deadlines. Sometimes a little reminder goes a long way. 

Some simple uses for digital signage within a startup setting can include:

• Meeting room availability: Keep everyone informed about which rooms are available with the Meeting Rooms app.
• Diary reminders: Big video call coming up? Or need everyone to be on time for the town hall meeting? Display dates and schedules easily from the Google Calendar app.
• Important info: Some things are too essential to leave to chance. Share important reminders about security protocol, deadlines or other key announcements. Apps such as Teams or Noticeboard make it easy to share key info.  

3. Meet other startups

Synonymous with tech startups are the words “coworking space”. Pitching up alongside other technology startups is a good way to save on rental costs and keep things clean in the early years. And according to TeamStage, 4 out of 10 startups in 2024 share this philosophy.

Besides cost savings, one of the best things about working in coworking spaces is the freedom to meet other companies with ease.

Smart coworking spaces use digital signage as a way of introducing members to other companies, no awkward “networking” sessions required. This is free advertising for the startups that work there, whether they need an intro, a skill swap, a beta list, or anything else that another coworking startup might be able to help with.

Top tip: Check out coworking space Desklodge for an example of the magic in action

Some other amazing reasons to install digital signage in your coworking space include:

• Improving communication with coworking members, and ensuring that everyone knows about events, community news, and upcoming changes
• Interactive maps, directional signs, and other wayfinding and navigation symbols for large coworking spaces
• Some digital signage solutions allow you to track metrics like dwell time and popular content so you can finetune your content in the future.

4. Visualize product road mapping

If your startup uses Trello, or a similar tool, to stay on top of your product roadmap or individual sprints, then getting a project management dashboard onto your digital signage is a quick win for greater visibility.

It can quickly become an active member of your morning stand-up meetings and also give at-a-glance information on what everyone should be focusing on. This means no more excuses for product tangents and people working on their projects with no accountability.

5. Share the company vision

Although sharing metrics is really important, you’ll agree that there’s plenty more to your company DNA than just the numbers. You can use your digital signage in the office to reinforce key messages and themes that get brought regularly. That could be current and upcoming team projects, recent pivots the company had to make, or anything else. 

Sharing the vision could also mean displaying the vision and mission statements to reinforce the company’s overarching purpose. It’s pretty direct, but nothing beats reminding everyone exactly what your company stands for.

6. Broadcast reminders and announcements

Announcements and reminders are an excellent use for the extra monitor in your office. You may have noticed that sending out email reminders doesn't always work. Some emails get buried, some get snoozed to oblivion, and some are instantly forgotten the second we open them!

But having all this key info on repeat on a monitor in the office makes sure everyone sees it at least several times a day. 

We’re talking upcoming meetings, project deadlines, company-wide events; if people need to hear about it, it’s time to add it to the digital signage playlist.

7. Live stream relevant data

Our ScreenCloud app store is full of helpful apps that can help keep the whole team up to date on important data whether it's global updates like currency exchange rates, or company-centric information like website traffic, sales figures, or customer satisfaction ratings.

Being quick to adapt is one of the key survival features of a startup (FasterCapital) helping the entire team stay up to date with all this information can keep motivation up.

8. Simplify webinars and meetings

If you’re trying to promote knowledge sharing, collaboration, and continuous learning, there are few effective ways to do it like webinars. You can invite external experts or have team members talk about an area they understand, helping everyone else get up to speed.

There’s just one problem: they can be logistically challenging, especially if a huge chunk of your workforce is remote. Digital signage offers a seamless solution here by allowing webinars and meetings to be displayed on large screens throughout the office. 

This immediately eliminates the need for employees to gather in one specific location, plus, it ensures that no one misses out on important presentations or training sessions. 

Display on the spare monitor or create designated times for training through digital signage. But whatever it is, use digital signage to close the gap and keep your meetings simple.

9. Celebrate birthdays and seasonal events

Celebrations are a fun and easy win for building relationships and a strong team spirit in the office. You can use the Meet the Team app to make this happen by celebrating employee birthdays and anniversaries.

But that’s just the beginning because there are also seasonal events like Christmas and Easter, or other celebrations that everyone can get in on. 

While things might remain chaotic at your startup, digital signage can help provide constant reminders for everyone to slow down and celebrate once in a while.

10. Share individual and team successes

We have a whole guide on digital signage and employee recognition because of how important it is to recognize employees and teams for their contributions. Whether it’s showcasing achievements, highlighting top performers, project milestones, or successful client engagements, digital signage is a quick and easy way to share some well-deserved pats on the back.

Here are some great ideas on achievements you can celebrate with digital signage:

• Sales milestones
• Project success
• Customer feedback and testimonials
• Employee of the month
• Team collaboration and synergy
• Peer and leadership recognition

Why use digital signage in the office?

Regardless of your industry or company age, digital signage can help your business. Businesses in retail can use it to update walk-in customers on current sales and promos; healthcare organizations can use it to reduce perceived waiting time and improve visitor experience in the waiting room.

But what about tech startups? Here are 4 reasons why it’s a good idea to use digital signage in the office

1. Enhanced communication

As we’ve mentioned, digital signage gives you a dynamic platform for distributing information, announcements, updates, and reminders to employees in real time. It ensures that everyone stays informed and aligned with company goals, policies, and events.

2. Improved employee engagement

Engaging content displayed on digital signage will almost always capture employees' attention more effectively than traditional communication methods. Once you mix in some interactive displays, graphics, videos, and multimedia content, you can pull people in and keep them engaged.

3. Increased productivity

Digital signage can also help your startup streamline communication and slash the time people spend searching for information or updates. By delivering relevant content directly to employees' attention, it minimizes distractions and helps them stay focused on their tasks, ultimately boosting productivity.

4. Promotion of company culture

You can use your spare monitors as a platform for showcasing company values, culture, and achievements. By highlighting employee successes, promoting team-building activities, and reinforcing shared goals and vision, digital signage helps you cultivate a positive work environment and strengthens organizational culture.

Things you can display on an extra monitor: 7 tips

Suppose you’ve taken our advice and are now optimizing your digital signage for your startup’s needs, but you still have that extra monitor in the office. Don’t leave that extra monitor blank - there are still tons of ways it can benefit the team. 

Here are seven ideas to get you started.

1. Social media feeds: You can showcase your startup's online presence by displaying live feeds of your social media accounts, encouraging employees to engage with and promote your brand.
2. Company news and updates: Keep everyone in the loop by displaying the latest news and updates about your startup, such as new product launches, awards, or recent media coverage.
3. Industry news and trends: Help your employees stay up to date with the latest industry news and trends by displaying relevant articles and insights from trusted sources.
4. Health and wellness tips: Promote a healthy work-life balance by sharing wellness tips, exercise routines, or mindfulness techniques to support your employees' well-being.
5. Employee recognition: Celebrate individual accomplishments and milestones by highlighting employee achievements, work anniversaries, or personal milestones.
6. Employee-generated content: Encourage employee engagement and creativity by displaying their content, such as photos, videos, or blog posts, on the extra monitor.
7. Inspirational quotes: Motivate your team by displaying inspirational quotes or success stories from industry leaders, helping to foster a positive mindset and drive for success.

Supercharge your startup with ScreenCloud

There’s tons of potential with digital signage, especially in a startup environment where communication and agility are key. It can be an inexpensive way to keep everyone connected, maintain team focus, and keep productivity high, among a list of other benefits

You can get a 14-day free trial of ScreenCloud digital signage software and see the value that digital signage can bring to your startup.