How to Perfect Your Outdoor Digital Signage Display Strategy
The days of traditional billboards, lamp post banners, and retail posters are slowly beginning to fade away. In its place, outdoor digital signage displays are seemingly popping up everywhere, and with good reason too.
Recent studies show that digital signage displays draw 400% more views and attention than static advertisement, with 80% of businesses that utilize digital signage exhibits reporting a significant increase in sales of upwards of 33 percent. With numbers like that, how could you not take advantage of the marketing potential and opportunities accompanied with outdoor digital signage?
But like every attempt at advertising, there’s a right and a wrong way to go about it. You can’t just install an outdoor digital billboard anywhere and expect immediate results! From exterior wayfinding designs to interactive kiosk placement, take a look at all the ways you can perfect your outdoor digital signage display strategy.
Location vs. Intention
While the design and content management of your outdoor digital signage display are crucial elements to its success, the first thing you need to factor into your outdoor signage strategy is both location and user intention. Location and intention go hand-in-hand, because depending on where you place your outdoor digital signage display, it will have a profound impact on its accessibility.
It’s obvious you want to put your outdoor digital signage in a high-traffic area that will maximize its noticeability. However, if your intention of the signage is to be interactive, then placing it in a high foot-traffic area might hinder its potential in terms of usability. When assessing the best spot for your outdoor digital signage display, consider the following possibilities in regards to the display’s intention:
● Digital Signage Advertisement: You should place your signage in the highest foot-traffic area possible that’s also not hindered by obstruction (trees, lamp posts, trash cans, etc.), such as the middle of a walkway, busy pedestrian intersection, etc. Whatever you’re advertising should also correlate with its surroundings, such as advertising shoes near a shoe store, toys near a children’s park, etc.
● Interactive Digital Signage: A location that’s within close proximity to high foot-traffic, but not quite smack dab in the middle. For example, a digital wayfinding station that’s located near a bus stop or taxi pick-up station will not only help them get to where they need to go, but also encourage them to spend more time utilizing the digital signage while they wait for a ride.
● Real-Time Digital Signage: Any outdoor digital signage display that’s providing constant updates or real-time information should be placed in a location that’s viewable to the masses. This is where elevated outdoor digital signage comes in handy, especially for restaurants keeping patrons notified of wait times, or museums informing incoming guests at the entrance of any exhibit updates or cancellations.
Assess Physical Conditions
In addition to evaluating which location(s) are best for your outdoor digital signage display, you’ll want to assess a variety of physical conditions that could also impact its traffic and performance. For example, if you place your digital signage in a high foot-traffic area that’s constantly exposed to significant sunlight, users might not be able to physically see the screen that well, and therefore become dissuaded.
If you’re in a geographic location that rains a lot, having an outdoor digital signage display that’s not properly covered or sheltered will mean no one can use it when it starts to sprinkle. Finally, it’s also important to take security measures into account, as the more accessible your digital signage display is, the more susceptible it is to damage or vandalism.
Envision Your CMS Needs
Once you’ve determined the best location for your outdoor digital signage display, the next step is assessing what your exact content management software (CMS) needs are. For digital signage, there are three primary types of CMS: dynamic, integrated and passive.
Dynamic is recommended for constantly creating, editing, and updating content, so unless you’re looking to keep your digital signage content simple, that’s most likely your preferred CMS. Integrated CMS is intended to help users connect and interact with your content, which can range from providing promotional QR codes for users to scan and utilize to mobile application synchronization. Passive CMS is essentially the bare minimum for managing and uploading content, as it’s mostly intended for displays showcasing the same content for longer periods of time.
Assessing what kind of CMS will best benefit your outdoor digital signage display is essential in determining what sort of custom content is both relevant to your brand as well as beneficial to your clients, customers, and passerby.
Accessible Maintenance
Whether your outdoor digital signage display needs a screen replacement or a software update, you need to ensure that it’s located in an accessible enough environment that allows for easy maintenance or support. If your outdoor signage requires a ladder or reach out of a window to access, then you’re only going to make things harder on you or your professional software support team.
Outdoor Digital Signage Solutions From Oppna Digital
With so many factors contributing to the success of any digital signage strategy, it’s important to work with a team that’s experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to assessing your company’s needs. At Oppna Digital, we work directly with clients of all industries to ensure they receive custom solutions that will maximize the potential of their outdoor digital signage display. Contact us today to get started on upgrading your digital signage branding strategy!