What Is Digital Signage?

Digital signage systems are becoming a huge trend in business. According to PR News Wire, the digital signage market is expected to rise from $20.8 billion in 2019 to $29.6 billion in 2024.

But what is digital signage? And how can it be beneficial to my business?

All these questions and more will be answered in this article. So if you’re a smart business owner who’s looking for a way to improve the revenue of their business, you’re in the right place!

How Do You Define Digital Signage?

Before diving into the juicy stuff. We need to make sure that you understand the definition of digital signage.

Even if you have no idea what digital signage is, it’s all around you. Whether you’re driving around, having a walk in a mall, or even a college student, digital signage can be everywhere around you.

Although digital signage is almost found everywhere today, there’s still some debate about the meaning of the word. The fact that it’s everywhere is a reason for the confusion in itself.

True Definition

If any curious person types ‘digital signage’ on google, the first thing that’ll pop up is Wikipedia’s definition of the term.

It defines digital signage as a sub-segment of signage. So what is signage in the first place?

Signage is the use of signs and designs to communicate or deliver a message to a specific group. This message can be for advertising, marketing purposes, or even as a kind of advocacy.

That takes us back to digital signage. This means that digital signage is when you apply digital technologies for these purposes. This includes using devices like laser projectors in addition to LCD or LED screens to display your content.

Where Can You Find it?

This content can be simple media like photos or videos. It can also be informative like in digital signs and interactive screens. These items are usually found in all sorts of public spaces, such as:

• Stadiums
• Malls
• Hotels
• Museums
• Corporate buildings
• Public transportations like train stations
• Restaurants
• Schools

As you can see, there are tons of ways to implement digital signage technology. The screens can be as small as a school’s digital notice board or as big as a Time Square digital boards.

If you have a business and you want to implement digital signage in it, it’s fairly easy to get confused with all these varieties. To help you build a clear image of what you need, let’s break down the components of any digital signage system.

What Are the Components of a Digital Signage System?

You now have a clearer image of what a digital signage system is. It’s easy to tell that the components of the system vary according to the size and type of the system.

While you’d be correct if you guessed that, most of these components can still be grouped under larger categories. Let’s have a quick look at these categories to connect more pieces in that puzzle. After that, we can dive into each one of them.

Hardware

Hardware is the physical, tangible components of the system. This includes devices like the screens, the mounts, the network, and other links you need to make.

These items usually vary significantly according to the size of the project. As a result, the bigger the items, the greater their share in the overall costs.

Software

Software is where you store all the instructions and directions to run the hardware. This includes the content system, the devices management, and programs you use to coordinate and run the screens. 

Apart from periodic maintenance, software components usually cost less than the hardware. 

However, the more sophisticated and complicated your system is, the more you’re going to pay in this section. For example, if you want to display different videos on various tv screens in your business.

Connectivity

These the coordinators between the software and the hardware. You can make these connections in many different ways. For example, you can use a hard-line or wireless setting.

You can also set it to connect to a laptop or even to your phone. While wireless settings are cleaner and easier to work with, they usually cost a bit more. On the other hand, hard-line connections are more affordable and reliable.

Content

The content is the type of media you want to display on the digital signage. Sometimes, the content you want to display can control the other components. But more on that later.

How Can a Digital Signage System Benefit You?

As you can see, digital signage is a broad term that includes a lot of various systems that might be extremely different.

Depending on the type of system you’re going to use, the benefits of digital signage also vary. Here’s a list of the different ways you can benefit from a digital signage system.

Excellent Way to Communicate with Both Customers and Employees

Visual communication is always superior to any other form of communication. According to WyzOwl, a study shows that people tend to remember only 10% of what they hear and 20% of what they read.

However, they tend to recall 80% of the information presented to them visually. Whether they’re customers or your employees, people just absorb any information provided to them visually. 

So if you have an important announcement to make, it’s much more efficient and quicker to use digital signage to help them remember it for longer.

Digital Signage Can Improve your Revenue

This is one of the ways digital signage can benefit you if you’re in the retail business. You can use it to share special sales and promotions. You can also use it to highlight certain services or products you offer.

Additionally, you can use your signage to show ads for any other non-competing businesses. This can be a great source of income. 

Moreover, by having interesting offers and promotions, customers might wait to learn about them. This can indirectly increase the profitability of your business. 

This was confirmed in a study done by The Wall Street Journal. Retailers and businesses, such as Origins, had a sale increase by 40% by getting their customers to stay longer in the store.

Decreasing the Perceived Waiting Time of the Clients

Unlike retail stores; some waiting time might be annoying to customers, especially if you have a dedicated waiting area for it.

If you help the customers stay entertained, they might lose track of time. This decreases the perceived waiting time. You can also show announcements about your promotions and special offers.

Digital Signage Systems Make Your Business Look More Professional

The business world is evolving day and night. If you want to stay in the race, you have to outshine your competitors.

Digital signage systems started in big corporations, malls, and chain stores. That’s why a lot of customers get the impression of professionalism when they find a business that uses them.

If you want to set foot in the professional business club, you have to deploy a digital signage network. It also shows your customers of any kind that you care about your business. 

It also helps you to keep up with the latest technologies and tools to serve your customers, and they appreciate that. This can help you build a loyal client base as well!

Digital Signage Saves you a Lot of Money and Resources in the Long Run

In the case of unstable economies, prices change dramatically within months. In the past, this meant continuous updating of your offering prices on menus or item lists. This can cause unnecessary losses and waste of resources.

If your business is subjected to regular changes in the prices of their services, this problem can be a thing from the past!

With the help of a digital signage system, you can make sure that your information is updated regularly. In the long run, this will save you the cost of new menus and signs orders.

This can be extremely beneficial if you run a restaurant or service-based business like a car wash or a hair salon.

Identify Your Goals Before Deploying the Digital Signage System

Applying digital signage in your business doesn’t come cheap, so you have to identify your need for a digital signage system.

Where to Start?

A good starting point is to ask yourself about the final and ideal result you expect once you deploy the system. You might think that it’s an easy question. However, a lot of business owners have a hard time finding the right answers.

In fact, the reason why some struggle to answer this question is that they skip a lot of important questions that they need to answer first. For example, they should settle on whether they have a budget for the project or not. And if they have a budget, how much is it?

Additionally, they need to identify the type of content they’re about to display. The answer to these questions should have an impact on the final decision. For example, it can give you a better idea about the number of screens you need to deploy.

You should ask yourself all these questions and think about them carefully. If you didn’t find a clear answer to them, it’d be better if you give yourself more time to think about it all again.

Better Safe Than Sorry!

That’d be a far safer measure than sailing the high wave of risk and going for something you still don’t fully understand. In fact, this scene is common among many business owners. 

They rush through the decisions and buy screens only to hang in there collecting dust. You can see those businesses with screens everywhere but they’re always turned off.

But, if you do know what you need, and found good answers to all the previous questions, it’s time to jump to the next step.

How to Figure out the Costs of the Project?

Now that you’ve successfully figured out your plan and goals, it’s time for procurement and installation.

In the past, digital signage networks were costly. That's why there were only found in chain stores and big corporates.

In recent years, digital signage technologies advanced at a quick pace. As a result, the costs for acquiring and installing the networks have gone down considerably. 

The soft costs remain a bit more difficult to determine. The reason behind that is the large variation in the services offered in the market.

However, It became fairly easy to figure out the hard costs, which you can use to compare with your budget. 

If you want a rough estimate of how much a system should cost you, you should look at the biggest factors in the cost of the network. These two factors are network management and content creation.

The costs of content creation vary according to many factors such as:

• The needed quality of the content 
• The purpose of the network
• How often you change them

Of course, the simplest form that you can use is a single screen with automated content. This can be useful in small businesses, such as offices and small retail stores.

If you run a food business, you can deploy a more complicated digital signage system like menu boards. This can be more than one screen.

In the case of a larger business, you can a more complex network, such as the wayfinding screens in malls and major retailers. It goes without saying that the more complex and interconnected the system, the more it’s going to cost you.

What Are the Ideal Spots to Place Your Digital Signage TV Screen?

As long as you’re placing the signage TV in a good touchpoint in the business, you’re good to go. However, these touchpoints vary according to the business you’re running.

Here are some of the most common places for your digital signage screen:

• Facing the customers in a waiting room
• At the entrance of your establishment
• Scattered between product displays
• Near Check-outs ( but not too close, you want the customers to stay as well)
• If you have a restaurant, choose a space that’s visible to all dining tables
• Outside of the business to showcase your highlights and best offers

Wrap Up

There you have it, a complete starter guide to help you with everything you need to know about digital signage.

As you can see, there are tons of benefits you can make from having a digital signage network in your business. No matter how small or big your business is, digital signage systems are a valuable addition and a great investment.

Before choosing a place to use digital signage, you have to do your homework by studying our guide and applying it in real life!