Create your first digital signage content

From marketing online to smartphones, digital communication formats have multiplied in recent years at the expense of static formats and print. The advent of these new formats is completely changing the game, because of the incredible content that can be broadcast and modified in real time. Digital signage is one of the tools that can support this multitude of formats, which is why it's important to go back over the basics of creating suitable content.

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If you're not yet equipped with a digital signage solution, here are a few resources to help you get to grips with this technology:
→ What is a digital signage solution?
→ How do you carry out a successful digital signage project?
→ What criteria should be used when choosing a solution?
→ What strategy for my content?

Digital signage content ideas

"Content is king", and while you may be the next Spielberg or Tarantino with a great project and the most creative ideas, it's always best to keep things simple, at least to begin with. You'll probably have a good idea of who your target audience is, but bear in mind that you may only have a few seconds to grab their attention, and a few more to pique their interest. You should always stick to the motto "simple and effective". To achieve this:

• Start with a well-contrasting color scheme with dark text on a light background or, conversely, light/white text on a dark background.
• When deciding which colors to use in your display, think about the hues of your company logo or the color combinations that represent your brand.
• Finally, colors are known for conveying emotions, so try to choose colors that convey those you want, red (anger, passion, urgency), blue (confidence, calm, stability, professionalism), green (growth, natural, organic, ecological), yellow (energy, optimism, warmth) etc. 

• For the text itself, it's best to stick to sans serif fonts. It's not for nothing that Helvetica is the world's most widely used and appreciated font for design and display: it has a classic look, is easy to read and appeals to a wide audience. Script and serif fonts simply don't work as well with this type of display.

Once you've decided on the colors and fonts, it's important to test the messages on site to make sure they're easy to read from both near and far.

→ Our tips for positioning your screen correctly.

Use key figures for impactful content

Numbers can be more effective in attracting attention and getting messages across. Our brains love numbers, they're quick to integrate and they group information into neat little packages. They also create credibility for your campaigns while taking up less space than words.

Tips for using numbers in your digital signage content :

• Always use Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, 4...) rather than their written equivalent.
• When sharing statistics, use exact data whenever possible and avoid rounding to the nearest ten. Odd numbers are more credible than even numbers. For example, "sales up 47%" sounds more accurate and credible than "sales up 50%".
• Use numbers for social validation if your company is comfortable with online channels. For example, if you're asking people to like your page on Instagram, include the number of people who already follow your page.

Graphic elements for captivating content

Although it's still a bit of a cliché, an image (as well as all graphic elements) really can be worth a thousand words. By its very nature, digital signage involves substantiating messages and reducing the number of words by using graphic elements and images whenever possible. 

Once you've defined the header/slogan and content of your messages, look for ways to highlight and draw attention to the key message(s). Specifically, you can enhance your messages with video or animation, which is a great idea if you're offering a product or service that's more sophisticated.

→ Our tips for designing and monetizing your digital signage videos.

Your target's calls to action

You've captured your prospects' attention with sublime graphics and piqued their interest with perfect messaging, and they're ready to make a quick decision, so launch a call to action!

It can be as simple as telling them what they need to do next, and how you can best help them. These days, there are so many existing channels for communicating with businesses that you need to make it easy for yourself and your targets by telling them how to reach you about a particular message or advert. Make sure the call to action starts with an action verb, to really amplify the urgency for your prospect and the need to act as soon as possible.

Find content templates to customize

Powerpoint or Google Slides

PowerPoint is the ideal tool for presentations and one of the most popular in the Office suite. You can easily use your company's mask to create any static dynamic display content, from restaurant menus to directories, or for a variety of everyday presentations. Looking for a free equivalent? If you don't use PowerPoint, try Google Slides.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is now a cloud-based solution in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. It's much more sophisticated than Powerpoint, but not as easy to learn. Since Illustrator is a vector-based program, it's ideal for creating graphic elements designed to be displayed in different sizes without losing quality. This is a top priority for digital signage content, which may need to be displayed on different screens with different dimensions.

Your digital signage solution has its own resources

Digital signage software often includes a content creation module. Whether they are free or not, and the variety of templates on offer, depends on the supplier.

→ Other free tools for creating content suitable for digital signage yourself.

Using dynamic feeds

Digital signage has an obvious advantage over traditional displays, namely the ability to display dynamic content. If you only display static content on your screens, why use digital signage?

Your audience will be more likely to continue paying attention to your screens if you make the effort to regularly create and share fresh content, rather than using the same content over and over again. Social media or weather feeds are examples of dynamic feeds. These require very little maintenance. And if you display your professional social network account, don't forget to check that it's up to date!

Cenareo offers an intuitive, scalable Saas solution and perfectly adapted to the needs of communications professionals in all sectors: Point of sale, Internal communications, Hotels and Restaurants but also DOOH. Part of our solution is to provide our customers with a wide choice of editable digital signage templates, with static images or video. These templates are free of charge.

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