Best practices for your messaging

Content strategy

To create an effective digital signage strategy, it’s important to first understand your audience and their behaviors. Consider the following:

1. Who is your target audience, and how does that audience change throughout the day, week, month, or season?
2. What are your top 3 objectives for your digital signage? What key messages do you want to convey about your brand and the experience you want to create?
3. Where are your screens located, and how far are they from your audience? What is the typical dwell time and exposure to your screens?
4. How do you plan to visually communicate your messages – through copy, imagery, animation, etc. to impact how your viewers feel?
5. Who will be responsible for managing and updating your digital content? Do you have all the necessary resources to execute your strategy effectively?

By thoroughly addressing these questions, you can develop a targeted, impactful digital signage program that effectively reaches and engages your audience.

Design & layout

Effective messaging combines concise text with simple, visually compelling graphics.

1. Establish a clear visual hierarchy, ensuring your most important points are the first things your audience sees.
2. Position images on the left and text on the right, as the brain processes left-aligned visuals more efficiently.
3. Use brightness and color contrast to highlight key elements. Leveraging color and high contrast between foreground and background can make content more accessible.
4. Aim for standard aspect ratios like 16:9 when configuring screens, as this facilitates repurposing video and images from other marketing channels, reducing design and reformatting time.

General copy

Keep it simple. Create single, clear, and impactful messages.

1. Use short, bold phrases with large font sizes. Aim for 3-4 word phrases using common, concise language and strong action verbs for easy comprehension.
2. Convey one focused message per screen. Break up longer thoughts into multiple sections, but be mindful that viewers may not see every slide.
3. Always include a clear call-to-action.

Text & fonts

Use sans-serif fonts for optimal legibility.

1. Keep your font sizes as large as possible, especially for your main messages.
2. Avoid using font sizes smaller than 20-30 points, assuming a viewing distance of 10 feet.
3. As a general rule, your text should appear one inch taller for every 10 feet of distance between your customers and the screen.

Animation & motion

Incorporating motion can effectively draw your audience’s attention to your message.

1. While animation and motion can be powerful tools, use them judiciously. Overly complex or excessive motion graphics can create a disorienting visual experience for your audience.
2. Include smooth transitions between messages and content segments to provide visual cues signaling a change in the information presented.
3. Consider keeping your primary message static while incorporating subtle motion into secondary on-screen elements.

Message length (page duration in the playlist)

Understand the average dwell time around each screen and adjust your message length accordingly. For example, if customers typically spend six seconds passing a screen, they’ll likely only be able to read it for about four seconds. Exterior or street-facing screens should have simple, bold, and concise messaging to capture attention, since customers are moving quickly.

In contrast, screens in waiting areas like cash wraps can display longer messages, as dwell time is longer there. To test the optimal message duration, read it aloud – if you can finish reading before the message disappears, it should be readable for your customers as well.

Playlist length (time before repeating)

The length of your entire digital signage playlist should be tailored to the screen’s location and the average customer dwell time in that area, similar to the strategy for individual message length. To maximize impact, repeat key messages frequently and consider delivering the same message across multiple segments using different designs or wording.

Content update frequency

To keep your audience engaged, update your content regularly.

1. Create a library of “evergreen” content that you can easily swap in and out.
2. If you don’t have a new message, change the appearance of your campaign by rearranging the components, updating the images and colors, or using different layouts.
3. Leverage auto-update apps and services to keep content fresh without extra effort. Good examples of this are our social media apps that bring in your new posts automatically, news app, web page app and integrations with services like screenfeed.com which you can subscribe to through SmartSign2Go or contact them directly.

Americans with Disabilities Act

In regards to digital signage, the ADA requires that digital signage accommodates people with disabilities, including the blind & hearing impaired. It asks for reasonable accommodation of differently-abled individuals in terms of digital signage design, functionalities, and features, allowing them to engage and interact with a digital sign as a non-disabled person would.

Check your local and state regulations regarding ADA accessibility for digital signage.