If you aren’t using digital signage yet, you may be missing out on a unique opportunity to engage your patrons.
No longer clunky, dull and hard to use, digital signage has evolved into something far more robust and accessible. Digital displays are easy for consumers and business owners to use and offer the chance to create a two-way interaction between you and your customers.
In a world of constant and competing digital material, comprehensive digital signage software can help you cut through the noise.
What’s interactive signage?
Once upon a time, promoting your business meant using one-sided, one-size-fits-all solutions.
Customers quickly glimpsed ads and billboards before dismissing the content entirely. The messages that they saw were meant to sell and present products and information without creating opportunities for interaction.
Those days are long gone, and now businesses can dramatically increase engagement by creating opportunities for interaction with digital solutions.
Technology is quickly evolving, and so are campaign strategies.
Digital signage is an easy way to keep up with fast-paced changes in trends, and many businesses have already caught on to the benefits it offers.
It’s the easiest way to create high-quality, tailored content that also invites target audiences to interact with what they see.
What does this actually look like in practice?
Take, for example, traditional print ads. With research and analytics, you can try your hardest to predict selling points and audience values to create something engaging. It’ll cost you time, money and manpower you may not have, and you may walk away from it all unsure about the efficacy of your campaigns.
Digital displays, however, allow you to create and share a mix of marketing messages that can be shared as easily as a Tweet or text message. From surveys to social media feeds, you have access to a range of niche market information all at your fingertips.
These displays can be as extravagant as Adidas’s “Highest Goal” campaign or as simple as a digital menu.
Interaction is a two-way street
A common misconception about interactive digital signage is that interaction stops when we stop interacting with content. However, digital signage makes it possible for content to interact with us as well.
Context-aware, or smart digital signage, uses real-time data and environmental variables to create responsive screen content.
Creating highly effective content is easy. Real-time analytics and screen monitoring make it possible to know where your audience is most likely to engage and what content they are most likely to engage with. It means you know which campaign strategies work and which don’t.
The desire for interactive experiences
According to Forbes, customers crave “compelling, personalized experiences”. These experiences drive almost 83% of consumers to become as interested in brand interaction as they are in a brand’s products.
Interactive displays make it possible to create customizable interactions without the need for face-to-face assistance. Target audiences can scan QR codes, input information, or connect to others through digital signs.
The possibilities are almost endless. Here are some examples of ways you can use interactive signage in your business today:
- Live games
- Polls
- Social media streams
- Links to products or information through QR codes
- Self-serve menus
With so much digital noise, the opportunity for two-way interaction with digital content can help your business stick out.
What you get out of interactive digital signage
Interactive digital signage creates unique, highly personalized consumer experiences. When it feels like your consumer’s attention needs to be competed for, those interactions can be highly valuable.
Running analytics and doing market research is the best way to capitalize on your displays. However, doing all of that may require a serious investment of time.
Interactive displays with comprehensive display software allow you to access that information instantly, with little to no effort.
Real-time analytics, easy deployment and highly customizable content cut out the costs of traditional marketing strategies and give you instant insight into campaign efficacy.
Instantly update content
It’s easy to create highly engaging content, sometimes even using the creation platforms you’re already familiar with.
There’s no need to code or toggle finicky design platforms with UPshow, which integrates with Canva’s design software so that you can easily manipulate text, add images and use pre-made templates. UPshow Connect also allows you to create QR campaigns that effortlessly integrate into your marketing material.
And, best of all, it’s easy to change what you don’t like and redistribute your new content. Or, you can seize the opportunity to create highly specialized but temporary promotional material.
Once you’ve created your content, it is easy to display at the right time with display rotations.
Cost-effective
The cost of digital displays may discourage some from investing, but there’s a reason so many businesses are leveraging the power of digital displays.
Ultimately, you save on frequent spending and wasted resources.
Cut back on the waste and inefficiency of traditional print media with displays that are interactive and personalized.
You can share a range of marketing messages to your target market instantly, without spending on print resources, marketing agencies, or paying for display space.
Incorporate social media
Interactive digital displays leveraging the power of social media are highly engaging. They make it possible for consumers to become extensions of the displays they see and participate in marketing campaigns.
For example, users might:
- Post content using designated hashtags
- Share reviews of products or experiences in real-time
- Ask questions in open forums
- Participate in games with other consumers
This is a low-effort but highly effective way to create authentic, fun experiences with target audiences.
They’re remembered better
Because interactive signs allow patrons to actively engage with content, retention and recall rates are much higher than conventional ads.
A MAGNA Global study found that interactive promotions can lead to as much as 47% more engagement time than static ads.
Collect valuable data
Interactive ads offer valuable insight into customer behavior that’s not accessible through traditional marketing strategies.
You have instant access to information about which elements users most interact with and can create opportunities for user feedback.
It’s a unique opportunity for your displays to be integrated into your point-of-sale system.
Information at a granular level makes it easy to create fine-tuned content.
How to make digital signage interactive
There are many ways to make digital displays interactive, regardless of the industry you are in.
Restaurants
Looking to capitalize on interactive displays that also take a load off of staff? Self-service kiosks may be your solution.
Self-service kiosks have free-standing touchscreen displays mounted on a stand or base. Each touchscreen runs a digital signage software application that delivers interactive content to a screen.
Healthcare
Self-check-in kiosks are simple ways to cut down on waiting times and may even make some patients more comfortable than having to check in at a desk.
These displays also make it easy to make the waiting room a little more fun with interactive options like custom trivia and informational displays.
Retail
Interactive displays allow shoppers to make the most of their in-store experience.
From searching for out-of-stock items to changing the in-store playlist, give your shoppers a reason to come back.
Boost customer engagement with interactive digital signage from UPshow
Interactive digital signage for your business is an investment that generates rich dividends.
At UPshow, we can help you create digital displays that increase engagement and help you cut through the clutter of outdated content.
Starting is simple.
UPshow offers the customer service and user-friendly software you need to get ahead in this content-rich market.
