Somewhere in your building there’s a paper sign that’s wrong. The hours changed, a special ended, or the schedule moved last week, and nobody reprinted it. If you own the place and also handle 5 other jobs, that sign is probably yours to fix, and it’s probably why you’re reading this.
Beth Gillespie handles membership at Saco Sport & Fitness in Saco, Maine. She described her club’s starting goal like this: “The objective when we first started was to do away with all paper signs so all of our signage is done on the televisions.” You can read the rest of the Saco Sport & Fitness story on the SmartSign2Go site. It’s a good model for a first project, because the goal fits in one sentence.
Digital signage is a TV or display that shows content you can change without printing anything. AVIXA, the audiovisual industry association, says that unlike static printed signs, digital signage allows content to be updated quickly, scheduled at specific times, and tailored to particular audiences or environments.
Updating quickly means you fix a wrong sign in minutes. Scheduling means a slide can show up on the day you want and disappear on the day you don’t.
People do look at these displays. Indiana University’s signage guide cites a 2010 Arbitron study that found 70 percent of Americans had seen a digital video display in the previous month. That study is old, and it covers displays in general, so treat it as a sign that screens get noticed and not as a promise about your own results.
Put the things you already tape to the wall, because you already know people need them. Your hours, this week’s events, your specials, a few photos of your work, and a welcome line are enough to start. Each of those has a real reason to be there, and each one changes often enough that paper keeps going stale.
Look at which of your paper signs you reprint most. Those are your first slides.
| What to show | Why it earns a spot | How often it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Hours and holiday closures | Visitors check them first, and a wrong hour costs you a visit | A few times a year |
| Events and classes | Old dates make the whole display look neglected | Weekly |
| Specials or featured services | Gives people a reason to ask about something they didn’t know you offered | Weekly or monthly |
| Staff, tenant or directory names | Helps people find who or what they came for | When people come and go |
| Weather, calendar or other live information | Gives people a reason to glance up again | Updates on its own once set up |
2 or 3 of those rows are plenty for a first week. A display that shows 5 things well beats one that shows 12 things in a hurry.
Keep each slide to one message. Someone glancing up while they wait will read a short line and a photo. They won’t read a paragraph.
Give one person responsibility for keeping your signage current, and write down what that means. If that person is you, put 10 minutes on your calendar each week. If it’s your front desk, say so out loud and name the person.
This matters more than which software you pick. Harvard’s university security office lists content management as a risk category and notes that if not managed carefully, signage may display wrong, outdated, or misleading information, causing confusion. That’s the paper-sign problem again, now on a nicer screen.
A large organization can split the work. Georgia Tech’s brand guide says its campus screens are divided into 4 content zones. You don’t need zones for one TV. You do need to decide who has the final say on what goes up.
A simple weekly routine looks like this:
Pick software that your least technical staff member can use. Ask to see them make a change during the demo, from start to finish, before you decide.
You need a TV with an HDMI port, a small player that connects to it, software to build and schedule your slides, and a Wi-Fi connection. That’s the whole list for one screen. Wikipedia’s overview describes the two pieces that do the work: playback devices manage the storage, processing, and transmission of multimedia content to digital signage displays and projectors, and digital signage software is responsible for content creation, scheduling, and management. The player needs a software plan to run, so budget for both.
The player gets overlooked. Some owners plug a streaming stick into the TV because it’s already in a drawer. That can work for a while, but a stick is built for entertainment and not for running one message all day. If you want the longer version, read a guide to digital signage players for small teams and a separate piece on why hardware made for signage matters.
On the TV itself, any TV with an HDMI port will do for a first screen. You don’t need to buy a special commercial display to begin. If you’re unsure about sizing, hold off on spec sheets and check your content on the TV you already have, from where your visitors will stand.
Start with the smallest version that replaces a real paper sign. These steps get you there in order.
The routine is what you’re really testing in the first month. If the weekly update slips, adding screens will multiply the problem.
Put it where people already stand still. A hallway looks like a good use of a wall, but people who are walking past won’t stop to read it. A front desk, a waiting area, a line or a break room gives them a reason to look up.
The spot also decides what you put on it. A lobby TV greets and directs. A break room TV informs staff. Harvard’s guidance also warns that sensitive or private information could be accidentally displayed to the public, so choose content you’d be comfortable showing to anyone who walks in. A clinic waiting room has its own privacy questions, and waiting room digital signage without the privacy risk covers them.
Before you mount anything, check three things: the TV shouldn’t sit in window glare, it shouldn’t block a walkway, and a power outlet and a Wi-Fi signal need to be close enough that it stays lit.
A first screen often grows from a single use. Some owners start with a directory and later add events, and library hours and closures and promoting your own services in your own building show two directions that can take.
Stale content is an easy trap, and it does the quiet damage. A promotion that ended last month, or an event that already happened, tells visitors nobody is paying attention. Putting an end date on every slide when you create it prevents most of that.
Crowding is the next trap. Eight services in small type get read by nobody, while one service, one photo and one short line works on someone who only glances up.
Both problems get worse when nobody owns the screen, which is why the weekly routine above matters more than any feature.
Hardware and networks fail too. Harvard’s guidance notes that power failures, network issues, or software glitches can render signage useless. Before you buy anything, ask how the player behaves when the internet drops and when the power comes back on, and ask who you call.
Finally, don’t buy for the biggest version of your plan. If you have one TV and a paper problem, you don’t need a plan for 20 screens. Start with one, and move up when the routine holds.
Plug a player into a TV, connect it to Wi-Fi, and build slides in signage software, which handles design, scheduling and management. Begin with the two or three paper signs you reprint most. Preview each slide on the actual TV before you publish it.
You need a display, a player, software and a connection, plus one person who owns the content. The first four are things you buy or already have. The last one decides whether your signs stay useful after the first month.
Start with who will update it. Ask to watch your least technical staff member publish a change during a trial or demo. Then ask what happens when the internet drops, whether there’s a contract, and who answers the phone when something breaks.
Not if the TV you have has an HDMI port, because the player plugs into that port. Check the back or side of the TV before you shop. If it has an HDMI port, you can try signage on it today.
SmartSign2Go sells a player that ships already set up, plus a per-screen software subscription with no contracts. Plans start at $19 per screen per month with Essentials, and the Lite player is $149. You can see both on the shop page.
A first screen suits the Advantage plan if you want slides to retire on a schedule, or Essentials if the page builder, templates and apps are enough. Plans start at $19 per screen per month, and the Lite player is $149. You can see both at the shop and on the pricing page. If you’d like someone to walk through your first screen with you, book a demo or call (844) 888-7446.
