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We now live in a world dominated by information, and we're constantly surrounded by it either through our mobile devices or just our environment in general. This is done through digital signage: a type of electronic signage where you use electronic screens and boards to display messages. These messages can be static or dynamic, and they display whatever kind of message or information you need.
Digital signage allows you to spread valuable information without requiring too much time or resources, so people have started to use them more and more, and their designs have progressively become more user-friendly and nuanced. They can be found in many public places, and because digital signage is so powerful and versatile, many different industries have started to adopt them.
This article is going to give you various digital signage uses for different types of industries.
General
This section will discuss some ideas that can apply to almost any company that works in any industry. This section will have the most ideas of any other section because of its generality, and some of the digital signage ideas can be applied more specifically in other industries. These ideas will still highlight the majority of what kind of messages can be shared using digital signage.
Cable News
A common idea that many places use for digital signage is to display cable news in waiting rooms and other common areas.
Operating Hours
Operating hours are a useful idea for digital signage because they obviously give the customers a sense of when you open and close, and they can plan accordingly.
Promotions
Companies will often use digital signage to display special promotions or deals that will let their customers know, and sometimes they even include coupon codes.
Digital Directory
One very practical idea is to display your building's layout in a useful way so that people can get a quick idea of where certain rooms and things are located. It helps to include pictures of your locations.
Calendar
Another basic yet practical idea is to display your company calendar that highlights certain events and announcements customers should be aware of while also displaying national and common holidays.
Donors
This idea may seem a bit obscure, but using digital signage to display and highlight donors who have helped contribute to your success can come off as authentic and gratuitous.
Company Info
Using digital signage to display information about your actual company may seem basic, but you'd be surprised at how few companies actually do this. It's a nice quick way to give your customers and employees certain information like history, performance, and job openings.
Customer Reviews/Testimonials
A good way to show your company's quality is by using authentic customer reviews and/or testimonials. They not only highlight what your company does but, more importantly, they also paint a positive image (as long as you use the good reviews of course).
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs are great to use on digital signage because they can proactively address many customer concerns without customers needing to ask anything. It can also be a practical way to make people aware of what you do in general.
Employee Photos
Showing employee photos with digital signage can be a great way to humanize your company and make a genuine connection between the employees and the customers. You can take this a step further by adding small bios for the individual employees.
Industry News
Another informative idea that can be used in any type of company is to display news that's relevant to your industry. This can apply to your own company's employees, but it's meant to be informative for the customers, so they know what's happening in the field.
Emergency Exits
A small idea that often gets overlooked for digital signage is to display emergency exits so that customers are aware of them. This is obviously meant for safety purposes, and even if it's not necessarily needed, it never hurts for customers to know where they're located.
Sports Scores
Even if your company is in no way related to sports or athletics, it can be a good idea to display recent sports scores. It's the same principle as showing cable news. You just want to create a nice, genuine atmosphere for your customers that visit.
Traffic Updates
Providing traffic updates on your digital signage is a great idea because this information will apply to almost everybody who visits. This kind of information can help them plan the rest of their day.
Trivia and Facts
A fun idea to make your digital signage interesting and thought-provoking is to post fun trivia and facts that change regularly. You can also include life hacks, but the key idea is to make them fun and update them, so they don't get old.
Countdown to Special Events
Another way to create a connection with your customers is to display a countdown for certain events. Whatever special events you decide to display is up to you, but using digital signage can get customers more interested and excited about the events.
Weather Forecasts
Another small bit of information that can be very useful for a lot of people is to display weather forecasts. Showing this on digital signage can display this info very quickly.
Live Event Stream
If there's a special event happening live, you can also use digital signage to stream this event. Even if it's nothing related to your company, it may be interesting for your customers.
Seasonal Photos
Another way digital signage can help create a nice atmosphere for your customers is to display seasonal photos. These photos have a nice touch since they're reflecting the current time.
Interactive Games
Digital signage has a lot of capabilities, and one of the most fun ones is using them to allow your customers to play games. This can be great in waiting rooms because it gives people a way to pass the time.
Company Social Media
Social media is a perfect thing to show on digital signage, and it gives your customers a way to get more connected with your company in a quick fashion.
Parking Information
Showing parking information may seem useless to display on digital signage, especially if you show it inside after they've parked, but it never hurts to show this info to help people plan their trip for next time.
Inspirational Quotes
A pretty basic idea that would also work really well on digital signage is displaying inspirational quotes. You can also update them, so a new one shows periodically.
Building Rules
Another basic yet useful idea for digital signage is to display the building rules to be aware and don't get into trouble. One common rule to show is the maximum occupancy.
Local Places and Landmarks
One nice way to help your customers connect to the local area and create a nice sense of community is to display local landmarks and things to do in the area.
Fundraising News
If your company is participating or hosting a fundraising event, you can use digital signage to help spread the word and possibly recruit your customers to help or participate.
Ads from Local Services
One great idea that can help your company and the local companies is to show ads for them on your digital signage. This benefits all parties because your customers become aware of the other local companies.
Appointment Schedules
Showing the schedule of appointments on digital signage can be very useful because it will let customers keep track of who's up and when their turn will be.
Company Missions and Values
A great way to give people a quick overview of your company and what you stand for is to display your company's missions and values on digital signage for people to take a quick read.
Welcome Sign
One very simple idea that some people forget to use on digital signage is a basic welcome sign whenever people enter the building. It's small, but it can be very effective.
Attendance Recording
This is more for the company's benefit, but digital signage would allow tracking attendance by asking customers to fill out an electronic form once they enter.
Lost Items Notice
Another very useful idea to use on digital signage is displaying a lost items list so that people can see if their lost item has been found or get notified that they have lost an item.
Loyalty Programs
A useful business strategy companies could use is displaying their loyalty programs on their digital signage. That way, they can let their customers know about it without needing to reach out to them.
Useful Lists
One idea that you can consider using is displaying different types of useful lists on digital signage. This can range from certain tips for the customers or new information of which they should be informed.
Interview Snippets
This last general idea is similar to customer testimonials, but instead of using customer testimony, you pull quotes from an interview that's relevant to your company or your industry.
Information for Employees
These kinds of ideas are meant for those that are working for the company. In this situation, the company would use digital signage internally to inform and keep their employees updated. This also shows how valuable digital signage can be because it can be used for the public and for helping in private matters.
Meeting Schedules
A great idea to is displaying the meeting schedules on digital signage so that the employees are constantly updated and reminded about their meetings. This will also let them plan out any future meetings they need to do.
Reminders
This idea is very similar to the meeting schedules because you display information to remind the employees of important news they should remember and update them with reminders.
Work/Promotion Opportunities
A very useful thing to display on digital signage for employees is information about promotion opportunities or situations that could allow you to work more or switch to a new role. This is important for employee growth, and it's very easy to display with digital signage.
Company Events
This is the calendar equivalent for a company where they display the dates and times for special company events so that the employees are up to date and informed about them.
Employee Recognition
One of the most positive ways you can use digital signage within a company is to use it to recognize individual employee achievement. It's very easy to do, it makes that employee feel good, and the other employees are aware of that person's good performance.
Work/Vacation Schedule
Like the meeting schedule display, this would be very useful for the employees to be aware of everyone else's schedule. This would make it easier for people to schedule future schedules.
Birthday Wishes
Just like how you can use digital signage to recognize individual employee achievement, you can also use digital signage to wish individuals a happy birthday. This will also inform the other employees about that person's birthday.
Tips for Improving Work
A general idea to display on digital signage for company employees is to use tips and motivations to help employees improve their work and work attitude. This can be general advice or company-specific advice.
Company News
Just like how you'd want to inform your customers regarding news about your company, you'd also want to inform your employees about relevant company news that affects them or of something they should be aware.
Medical/Gym
The first industry-specific ideas we're going to discuss now are those that can be used in the medical field and gyms. These are essentially ideas for any type of industry that works to help people with their physical health. Most of these ideas can be used in a variety of medical situations.
Safety Tips
One great idea to consider using is displaying a list of safety tips to help patients or people in general. These safety tips can be broad or specific to a certain type of activity.
Medical News
It's important to keep patients and people up-to-date on current medical news so that they are best informed to make decisions for their health. This can easily be done with digital signage, and you can display news for different medical situations.
Workout Videos
A great digital signage idea that you can do in a gym is to display workout videos for different types of workout routines. This can introduce exercises to certain people, but more importantly, it can clarify to people how to do the workouts properly for efficiency and safety.
Lifestyle Advice
A general idea that you can put on digital signage is general tips for living a healthy lifestyle, whether focused on diet, exercise, or both. These tips can again be based on different situations.
Procedure Explanations
This idea is meant for those who are about to get surgery, thinking of getting surgery, or just anyone who's curious in a hospital. Digital signage could allow you to give a brief explanation of a certain procedure, and this could help out the patient and others.
Injury Reaction
Another possible useful idea for digital signage would be to explain what to do in the event of certain types of injuries or medical situations. This could seem pointless to some people, but you never know when it could help.
Fitness Tips
For a company working specifically in the fitness industry, you might want to consider displaying fitness tips on digital signage to help their clients.
Before and After Photos
If you want to showcase the difference, a certain procedure or surgery could do for a patient. You might want to show before and after pictures on digital signage.
Wait Times
The last idea that could be used in the medical field is showing the waiting times for patients while they're in the waiting room. It won't change the actual timing, but patients would feel a lot better knowing their approximate wait time.
Finance and Economics
This section will discuss ideas based on industries helping people manage their money. Companies that use these ideas will typically be banks and money managers, but many other types of companies can also use these digital signage ideas. As long as their business is in some way connected to the economy, which almost all companies are, they can use these ideas for their digital signage.
Stock Market Info
One basic idea that companies in this industry should always consider displaying on digital signage is the stock market's performance.
Financial and Economic News
This shouldn't come as a surprise, but on top of stock market performance, companies in this industry should also display general financial news so that their customers are up to date on important information.
Finance Tips
Companies can also help their customer through digital signage to display financial tips and tricks, and these can change based on the company.
Currency Exchange Rates
Another piece of financial information that can be displayed on digital signage is the currency exchange rates for different currencies. This could be pointless for many people, but it could also be very valuable to some.
Ads for Financial Products and Services
Because many financial companies offer a wide variety of services and advice, it may be beneficial for them to display all of their benefits to their customers through digital signage.
Restaurant
These digital signage ideas are meant for restaurants, but most of them can be applied to any industry that deals with working with food in any way. Some may disregard the impact of digital signage on restaurants because they believe people should be focused on eating. Still, digital signage can have a significant impact on the atmosphere created, which, in turn, can affect the experience of their meal.
Periodic Recipes
One fun idea is to display different recipes that change periodically.
Menu
One common use of digital signage in restaurants is to display the menu so people can get a quick glance at it without needing a physical menu in hand. Most of the time, the menu is paired with pictures of the food, and it should also include nutrition and allergy information.
Cooking Videos
One great idea to help bolster the restaurant's atmosphere is to show cooking videos on your digital signage, which could help customers become more eager for their food.
Chef Spotlights
Another way to richen your restaurant's experience could be highlighting the actual chefs that prepare and cook your food. It makes a connection between the customers and the workers.
Other Restaurant Locations
Lastly, if your restaurant is part of a chain, you can also consider displaying other restaurants' locations through digital signage to let customers know about them.
Retail
The retail industry may be one where digital signage can have the biggest impact because customers will wander throughout the stores, looking for what they want to buy. This serves as a perfect opportunity for the company to use digital signage for whatever purpose they need. In most cases, the company will promote its products, but there are other reasons to use digital signage.
Product Details
Many retailers will have info describing certain products and brands for their customers.
Upcoming Sales
It would be very beneficial for you to alert your customers about a sale through digital signage, and it might entice some to buy more products.
Trends
To make your customers feel like they're up to date, you can use digital signage to highlight current trends.
Style Tips
In addition to keeping your customers up to date, you can also help make them feel good by providing style tips.
Fashion Shows
To provide a good example of how stylish certain products can be, you can use digital signage to show fashion shows that use some of your products.
Designer/Product Spotlights
Lastly, you can provide deeper insight into certain products by highlighting them on digital signage.
Personal Care and Grooming
There's a wide variety of personal care services, but most of them can use digital signage in a way that will help their customers know what kind of services they offer and how they will help them.
Product Demos
A good way to start using digital signage in this industry is to showcase certain products that are being demonstrated and explain their benefits.
Product Effect
To help convince customers of a product's effects, you can also use digital signage to show its actual effect on real people.
Stylist Recognition
This kind of industry is heavily based on the quality of work from the employees, so you can help build confidence in the customer by recognizing and highlighting the stylists that are going to be providing care.
Product Recommendations
Stylists can only do so much during an appointment, and a big part of this industry is recommending the right products for different customers to use.
Personal Care Tips
Lastly, you can use digital signage to provide personal care tips for the customers on top of providing product recommendations.
Hotels
The hospitality industry is one of the world's biggest industries, so it would make sense that many hotel companies will do their best to use digital signage to keep their guests engaged. In many ways, hotels will just use digital signage to inform their guests of what services they provide, but smart companies will find ways to use digital signage on another level.
Hotel Services and Amenities
Because many hotels provide different services, it would be beneficial to highlight what they offer on digital signage.
Restaurant and Bar Information
If applicable, you can also use digital signage to display information for your bar and restaurant.
Pool Information
Similar to before, if your hotel has a pool, you can consider displaying its information on digital signage to inform your customers.
Nearby Attractions
A big part of travel is the actual place you're going to visit outside of your hotel, and hotels can help highlight the places you can go to with digital signage.
Check-In/Out Information
Digital signage would be a great space to display information on how to check-in and out for customers, and in some cases, you can use digital signage as an interactive check-in and check-out tracker.
General Rules
It would be a good idea to display your general hotel rules so you can be sure your guests have a good idea of what they can and cannot do.
Hotel Events and Information
Like before, you would also want to highlight the special events that will be happening at your hotel and general information that guests should know.
Transportation Information
Lastly, you want to give an overview of the local area's transportation situation to help your guests plan accordingly, which should include a shuttle schedule if applicable.
Real Estate
This industry is probably one where not many people could see how or why they would use digital signage, and it's a valid belief because this industry is based on physical property. Still, there are ways a real estate company can use digital signage to help with their customers.
Property Listings
Intuitively you'd want to start by displaying the different property listings that are available to the customer.
Agent Spotlights
You also want to give the customers an idea of the agents they can contact and who they are.
Promoting Firm's Services
People have a general idea of what a typical real estate firm can do, so you may want to highlight some of the services you offer that separate you from other firms.
Open House Information
You can use digital signage to let your customers become aware of local open houses and offers that might interest them.
Housing Market News
Another general idea that you could use is to display general housing market news so that your customers know everything that they should know about the industry.
Virtual Property Tours
Lastly, you can use digital signage to provide virtual tours of a certain property. This could be very practical because the customers wouldn't need to schedule an entire appointment.
Education
One last industry that can benefit from using digital signage is the education industry, mainly upper education. This is a great field to use digital signage because there are many types of people that deal with this field, and digital signage can help display messages and information that can help these various people. The main benefactors would be the students and teachers, but digital signage can provide much more.
Safety and Emergency Information
Digital signage is a great resource to share important safety information to students and the staff, and visitors.
Faculty and Admin Spotlights
To help create a sense of community on campus, digital signage could be used to highlight faculty and staff.
Student Recognition
In addition to highlighting staff, you should highlight individual students for their achievements, whether that be academic or in other areas.
Calendar
Digital signage would be a great place to display the academic calendar and highlight special upcoming events and holidays.
Student Groups and Clubs
Due to the abundance of clubs and student groups, digital signage could be really useful in providing the necessary information for many people.
School Services
Digital signage would also be a great space to discuss the kinds of services and amenities the school offers.
School News
School news could also be displayed periodically on digital signage, so the students have a consistent information source.
Important Deadlines
Digital signage could also be used to remind students of important upcoming deadlines.
Promotional Material
If the school has a special promotion going on, they could spread the information to the students through digital signage.
Alumni Recognition
In addition to highlighting current students and staff, digital signage could also be used to highlight school alumni.
Athletic Recognition
School is more than just academics, and digital signage would be a great way to recognize the school's athletic achievements.
School Trivia
This is a way to help promote school spirit and atmosphere, and digital signage would be a great place to share some cool school trivia.
Campus Job Openings
Not only can digital signage help students academically, but it can also let them know of other opportunities, such as on-campus jobs that are available.
Scholarships and Internships
Lastly, digital signage would be a great place to let students know about available scholarships and internships.
Summarizing the Benefits of Digital Signage Use
As you can see, digital signage can be used in many different types of situations and industries. When you put effort into it, digital signage can become much more than just a display board of information. You should see it as a way to connect with your customers or those involved in your field and then find a way to make that connection meaningful, whether that be with messages or something more significant.
That's not to say that the small ideas and information don't mean anything. In fact, the little details that some people may forget even to think about can end up meaning a lot. It's just important that you realize you need to personalize your digital signage to whatever situation you're promoting. That should be easy, considering all of the different ways that digital signage can be used.
