Outdoor digital signage is one of the best ways to maximize the visibility of your business, increase sales, draw attention to your brand and make your visual presentation stand out. In this article, we’re going to walk through the main benefits of this technology.
Signs are everywhere nowadays. In the middle of the street, on the buildings, inside the windows, on the roads. All of them create a diverse network of outdoor signage across the world. And some of it is digital and that’s great. Because outdoor digital signage displays have magnificent potential in the open and it’s the businesses that utilize them that will lead the marketing in the future. When you have so many great features in one product, it’s a sin not to benefit from that. The moment you establish an outdoor digital signage network is a new phase for your company.
A little bit of stats. It is a huge market. By huge, I mean really really big. According to Statista, it is going to reach a 32.84 billion market mark in 2023. What it basically means is that many businesses out there are using it for their benefit and you certainly don’t want to miss out on that.
Static vs digital outdoor signage
Ah, the everlasting fight between the static and digital. While you can look at it as an old versus new kind of battle, it’s more complicated than that. If you ask me, digital wins big time when it comes to flexibility and the ways you can use it for maximizing profits. But static has firmly placed itself in advertising and it is just refusing to let go. Companies are still spending tons of money for the prime banner locations competing in creativity. But the days of static are slowly but steadily coming to an end.
Take Times Square in New York, for instance. It is a great reflection of the shift of times. Stand in the center and look around. You will see that an absolute majority of advertising spaces are digital. Sparkling, amazing, getting attention, delivering great content. But still digital. And that’s a great indicator of where the tide is going. And where you should be going too.
Anyway, what is outdoor digital signage exactly?
Outdoor digital signage is a technology that allows you to show content using displays in outdoor spaces.
Let’s take an example of a neighborhood restaurant. It is located on a busy street where thousands are walking past its windows daily. It has two options: static or digital.
If the restaurant opts for static signage then it will only showing one thing (like a special promotion, a menu item, a social media handle, etc.). The money will be spent on printing and on maintenance. There will be no way to track how many people actually saw the sign. And, most importantly, in order to change it the restaurant will have to spend money. Again.
On the other hand, if the restaurant chooses digital signage, the outdoors changes completely. Now, it is possible to adapt content shown to a specific audience, time of the day, and weather. The business will be able to experiment with showing different types of content in order to see what works and what doesn’t. Also, there will be a way to track the engagement and see how people react by gathering feedback. And no money will be wasted on printing and changing. So, basically, it’s the ultimate marketing win-win for a restaurant.
OK, this sounds great but how do I actually get into outdoor digital signage?
It is much easier than most businesses imagine. A typical picture when someone from a marketing department imagines digital signage is that of complicated tech, the labyrinth of cables, and heavy servers. While there are solutions like this on the market (this segment is called on-site digital signage), newer, cloud-based technology has changed the game and allowed businesses of all sizes to enter the exciting display marketing world without having to worry about the IT stuff.
If you’re choosing cloud-based signage, all you will have to do is buy a digital media player (like Apple TV, Android TV or Chromebox), install digital signage software from the application store and connect your screens. 2021 is a great year for technology and there are many solutions that give you the chance to establish an outdoor digital signage network without putting much effort into knowing all the hard tech requirements.
The main advice here is the following. Choose your digital signage software carefully! Don’t rush the process, know what features you’re looking for, and don’t settle for less. The majority of apps have relatively similar price tags to use so you have a lot of maneuvers to go with the software that is reliable, secure, easy-to-use, and quick.
I’ve installed digital signage, so what should I do now?
That’s great of you to ask but here’s one of the mistakes many businesses make before going into digital signage. They establish the network of screens without thoroughly planning how it will be used marketing-wise. The content is everything when it comes to signage technology, both indoor and outdoor. Because displays can’t just magically grow your business. Content is their fuel to keep the money-making engine running. And you are going to give them the best fuel or otherwise risk having meh results. And you certainly don’t want that, do you?
So responding to your question, now it’s time to show some awesome content!
The awesome thing about digital signage is that it’s super flexible. You can show videos, images, and interactive bits. It is perfect for advertising, call-to-actions, promotions, announcements, and corporate communication. That’s why this technology is used literally everywhere. Airports, restaurants, corporate offices, shops, malls, retail spaces, parking lots, stadiums, and venues. Such a diversity of applications creates the challenge of producing the right content that works specifically for your case.
For example, digital signage content for a stadium and a brick-and-mortar store is completely different. The screens are just a perfect way to communicate with your audience. How you do it and what content you’re using to do it is entirely up to your marketing.
The greatest benefit of outdoor digital signage is that your hands are basically untied. You can create whatever content you want, and the technology will help you broadcast it. So what are you waiting for, start using the amazing capabilities of screens now!