Ensuring the right people see your messaging is crucial for effective communication. There are many ways of doing this, but businesses are turning to digital signage software to bring attention to important information.
What is Digital Signage Software?
You likely have already experienced digital signage software in use without realizing it. Digital signage software is a tool that helps businesses create, manage, and display content on digital signs. In the workplace, these digital signs can be TVs and other public screens owned by the business. The easiest way to think of them is as digital billboards that can display different types of information depending on the business’s needs and how it uses them.
Digital signage software has several functions that can be combined into a signal package or used alone. The basic one is content creation and management. Businesses that use such software must be able to create and edit multimedia content, including videos, images, and text, so it can be displayed properly on the available screens.
Some digital signage software developers also provide templates and additional tools to speed up content creation and make it as easy as possible for businesses. Some also have scheduling features so the business has total control of what content is displayed when and for how long.
Another important function is device management and control. Businesses must be able to control different displays and decide which content shows on which displays. For example, they can use the software to display wait times in a banking hall or hospital waiting area and the CEO’s message internally. This function ensures the displays are always showing the right message to the right people.
Digital signage software also allows for global access and content delivery. With this function, businesses can deliver content to different displays over the network from anywhere in the world. They can also manage playlists easily to ensure continuous playback without interruption.
This software has several functions that can benefit your business in different ways, but what roles can it play?
Streamlining Internal Communication
A typical challenge in many businesses is ensuring effective internal communication. Traditional communication methods like emails and printed notices work to a certain degree, but they do not guarantee employees will see the messages leadership wants them to see in time.
Digital management software that ensures messages are displayed on any screens the business wants makes it easier to provide real-time updates and increases the probability of employees seeing the message quickly. It also increases the messages’ reach, making information dissemination much easier.
With in-built targeting options, digital signage software can also allow leaders to create targeted messages. They can show this in specific departments and locations depending on the desired outcomes.
Some of the important information and types of communication where this applies best include policy updates, company announcements, safety reminders, and employee recognition.
Boosting Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is crucial for businesses in several crucial ways. It can:
- Increase productivity and performance
- Reduce absenteeism and employee turnover
- Enhance creativity and innovation
- Improve customer satisfaction
- Foster a positive work culture
Used correctly, digital signage software can improve employee engagement by helping the business display dynamic and visually appealing content. This can transform the office from a bland box into an interesting space that encourages creativity and innovation.
Businesses can also use this type of signage to dynamically display the goals, achievements and success stories of the business and individual employees. Displaying information about how it is doing and what it is yet to achieve can give employees the extra motivation required to hit these goals.
Additionally, people love recognition. This is one of the reasons why it is a great way to boost employee engagement and productivity. Businesses can use digital signage software to highlight specific employees and provide other employees with something to aim for so they can be recognized next.
Businesses can also use the signage to promote a sense of belonging and community, collect employee feedback, or encourage interactions through polls and surveys.
Strategic Content Creation and Delivery
Digital signage software can also be an effective communication tool in other spaces not strictly meant for work. Businesses can use them to create content and strategically place it in areas where target audiences can see it.
For example, a business can create a slide for new products and services they are releasing or announce a corporate responsibility initiative through one of their displays. Doing so can be incredibly beneficial in the age where people want to know that businesses are being responsible citizens of the world.
While there are clear benefits to using digital displays in this way, a business must understand how to do so properly to get these benefits. First, all content on the platform should be clear and concise and use attention-grabbing visual elements.
When placed in public areas, people will have less than a minute to see the slides and understand what they say. Simplicity is key. Also, the displays may be competing with other elements that draw attention, so using visual elements that attract attention will work very well.
Targeted content is also crucial for ensuring digital signage has a high return on investment. Businesses should develop targeted content depending on specific criteria. They may create content for visitors and some for employees, or they may create content for specific internal departments.
Once they do all this, businesses should leverage the software’s data analytics capabilities to see how well their displays are performing. While it can be difficult to measure some metrics, others like inquiries about products shown on the displays are easier to measure. After judging the performance of different types of content, businesses can make the necessary adjustments to improve results and impact.
Digital signage software can play a significant transformative role in the workplace. It can help disseminate important information to relevant teams, departments or employees, improve engagement, provide an avenue for employee recognition, and provide opportunities for targeted messaging. With their capabilities improving all the time and more businesses realizing their benefits and usefulness, we can expect to see more of them deploy digital signage software and displays. We can also expect developers to include additional features as the technology behind them matures and evolves.
