5 steps to visual storytelling in digital signage

Understanding visual storytelling: definitions and challenges

The concept of visual storytelling is based on the use of visual elements to tell a story : videos, images, illustrations, photographs, infographics, graphics...

The objectives? To attract attention and convey emotion and a message at first glance, through a story that can be easily understood by everyone.

For a brand specializing in dairy products, the visual narrative can be based, for example, simply on the image or video of a producer milking a cow by hand in a verdant meadow. The message is clear for all to see: this brand offers quality products, respecting tradition and a direct link with nature, and is sensitive to animal welfare.

Also known as visual storytelling, visual narration can be disseminated across a wide range of communication media: online, print and TV advertising, traditional and digital signage, and so on.

Step 1: Choose your targets and objectives

Every narrative has a purpose. Before you start thinking about your visuals, you need to identify your target audience and set clear objectives.

For example, content distributed via digital signage in a network of stores is aimed at potential customers and can : 

• Attract attention and make people want to enter the store, to increase footfall;
• Generate sales at your points of sale;
• Inform your customers about new products and sales campaigns;
• Attracting attention and arousing desire to increase footfall at a point of sale;
• Communicating a engagement to society and the environment;
• Enhancing product quality;
• Informing consumers about production processes;
• Etc.

For internal communications, the content is aimed at your employees, and is obviously different: 

• Reinforce team cohesion or disseminate corporate culture;
• Remind people of prevention and safety measures in the workplace;
• Explain organizational processes and issues ;
• Promote a company success story (certification, meeting targets, opening a subsidiary, etc.);
• Highlight the diversity of skills and professions within the company;
• Etc.

You can create personas to refine your understanding of your targets. A visual narrative aimed at a child is different from one aimed at a senior citizen!

Step 2: Think in terms of impact and emotion

Leading author Steve Denning has identified three successive stages that contribute to successful storytelling: 

• Capturing attention;

• Stimulating the desire for change ;

• Convincing.

These three elements can also serve as support fora visual narrative in digital signage: 

1. The screen attracts the attention of your audience, who spend time looking at it to discover the image or video in greater detail;
2. The emotion aroused by the visual elements on the screen stimulates the desire for change;
3. Objective arguments convince the audience that the message resonates with them, inviting them to take direct action.

A ready-to-wear brand that adopts visual storytelling on its digital signage can leverage visual storytelling to promote a more eco-friendly range of clothing and accessories: 

1. A striking visual draws attention to the water consumption required to manufacture a single pair of jeans;
2. A strong message stimulates the desire for change, emphasizing that everyone can act at their own level;
3. The water savings and selling price of the eco-responsible jeans offered by the brand encourage customers to take action.

Step 3: create unity in your visual narrative

Unity in your visual narrative helps build a more impactful storytelling. You need to define a central theme that will guide your visual narrative. This can be a concept, an idea, a metaphor or even a main character. This theme will serve as a common thread throughout your story, and can run through several narratives.

Use visual elements such as color, typography, graphic style and layout consistently to create visual unity. Ensure that the graphic elements used respect your brand identity, are in harmony with each other, and flow from one narrative unit to the next.

Recurring elements throughout your narrative reinforce this sense of unity. This can include visual motifs, symbols, colors or recurring characters.

Your visual narrative needs to progress smoothly and logically. Sudden jumps or incoherent transitions are to be avoided.

Step 4: measure your visual narrative performance

Your visual narrative evolves according to what you learn from the analysis of your metrics. You'll be able to discard certain narrative structures, and evolve your core themes and recurring visual elements.

Digital signage offers you highly accurate performance analysis solutions. You can obtain precise correlations between the distribution of your content and the evolution of certain indicators, such as store traffic or sales. Other indicators can be used to measure objectives that are more complex to evaluate, such as building brand awareness or communicating strong values. The most advanced digital signage solutions use sensors and cameras to track the number of people in the display area who pay particular attention to the content shown on the screens. Interactive kiosks that allow customers to rate their in-store experience can help you measure the benefits of visual storytelling as part of a strategy to improve the shopping experience (advice, reduced perception of waiting time, etc.).

Other metrics can be used to measure the performance of visual storytelling as part of internal communication: reduction in workplace accidents, absenteeism, employee satisfaction barometer...

Step 5: Rely on the best digital signage tools

Digital signage is a powerful tool for disseminating all types of content, and can be placed at service in line with your visual narrative to reach a targeted audience.

Cenareo offers youa high-performance digital signage solution adapted to all types of visual narratives: images, videos, infographics, presentation slides, you can multiply the formats to shake up the codes of storytelling and broadcast ever more powerful messages!

You can boost the effectiveness of your campaigns by automatically triggering broadcasts according to the audience present in front of a screen , thanks to facial detection, or by relying on weather data. You can also connect our solution to your CRM to adjust content according to your inventory. You gain in relevance... and in performance !

Our digital signage solution also enables fine-tuned management of your screen inventory and user rights, for both global and local communication. Templates can be used to standardize visual elements, to create brand consistency and facilitate identification by your audience. Cenareo adapts to all formats, and offers a high availability rate with off-line diffusion to avoid black screens!

Looking for a digital signage solution for visual storytelling? Talk to one of our consultants!

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