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Anyone dreams of a perfect solution and a way in which they can increase their current income using the web. And that’s sometimes, that is not easy to achieve. And also we find out there, lying around on the corner, guys that pretend to have the solution that can make you a millionaire over-night.

They even ask for money to teach you stuff that is usually worthless.  But the truth is that you can succeed in using the internet. Although it won’t happen overnight, you do have an equal chance with anyone trying to do the same thing and starting at the same time as you.

Read Also: Using Skills In 3D Animation To Make Money As A Digital Graphics Artist

One way you can achieve your goal of making money online is by utilizing a Digital Signage Network. I am sure you are already wondering what it is and how you could possibly make money from it. This article will provide exposure to the earning potentials of digital signage networks.

  • What is a Digital Signage Network
  • How does it work?
  • Components of Digital Signage Network
  • How to make money with Digital Signage Network
  • Digital Signage Software
  • How do Digital Billboards Make Money?
  • How Effective is Digital Signage?
  • Increased Retention and Recall Rates in Digital Signage
  • How Much Does Digital Signage Cost?
  • How do You Use Digital Signage?
  • How Profitable is Owning a Billboard?
  • Digital Signage Display
  • How is Digital Signage Used in Product Promotion?
  • Do LED Signs Increase Business?
  • What is The Best Digital Signage Software?
  • How Big is The Digital Signage Market?
  • How do Digital Signage Media Players Work?
  • How Big is The Signage Industry?
  • What Are Digital Signage Media Players?
  • Digital Signage Companies
  • Digital Signs
  • Digital Signage Expo
  • Electronic Signage

What is a Digital Signage Network

Years ago, I’ve heard about Digital Signage technology and I was fascinated by how easily it can be used to promote a product, a service or even an entire business. Of course, we all know the basic meaning of a Digital Signage network. It is related to those TV screens we see in shopping malls, grocery shops, and local banks and so on. They are used mainly to advertise but also to entertain the audience.

At first, I didn’t have a clue of how it all works and I was wondering if the guys in charge of displaying the content had to update everything manually, on location. So I found a worker that was installing a TV screen for a local Digital Signage network and I ask him a few questions. I was very surprised to find out that at first, most of the stuff were indeed managed locally, without the possibility of having remote access to the TV screens. So things like VCR’s or DVD players were used to publish the content on those TV screens or monitors.

What is a Digital Signage Network

But things changed and more and more powerful Signage Software applications were developed, capable of creating, managing, and deploying the content 100% remotely. So here starts the adventure of using a Digital Signage network, from the comfort of your house, in order to gain clients and win revenue.

How does it work?

The main core of a Digital Signage network is the Signage software that is used as a tool to manage the entire system. Using a Signage application like (SAS) Software As a Service will allow you to sub rent the options that the application itself uses.

So the first step will be to build yourself a nice website, using some SEO technics and gain more traffic and then find Signage Software that suits your needs. Having the option to re-brand the application, will allow you to use it as if it is your own.

So any visitor that will use your website, or that can have access to the signage software and use it to manage their own content, deploy dynamic content on the screens and basically run a Digital Signage software by themselves.

You don’t have to buy or rent any TV screens this job will be done by those on the ground. Your new customers. They are the ones that are using the software provided by you, on your website.

SO all you have to do is find a good and effective Digital Signage application and use your website to let people use it as a Service after you brand it as being your own. Of course, if the company that developed it will allow you to do that. And some of them would.

You can charge a monthly fee, you can charge a fee based on the number of screens the clients are deploying the content on, and so on and so forth. You have many options and since you have no other things to do in terms of investing, you can continue updating your website and making it accessible to as many users as possible. You can even let the customers try your software for a specific period of time for FREE and if they are satisfied they can continue with it as a paid service.

Components of Digital Signage Network

There are many components to a digital signage solution, but these can be covered in a few broad categories:

  • Hardware – the physical components: screens, media players (if necessary), network components, mounts, etc.
  • Software – the content and/or device management system(s) and playback software on media players
  • Connectivity – the ways in which digital signs connect back to the content management system, whether using hard line, Wi-Fi or mobile technologies
  • Installation – the entire installation process, from site surveys through the final installation
  • Content – the biggest ongoing cost of the network: the continuous creation of or subscription to fresh content to keep the network current and relevant
  • Procurement – the channels end customers use to purchase the various parts of the digital signage network

It can be a confusing process!  Coming up with the idea of creating a digital signage network, whether for revenue, branding, education or information is complex and therefore time-consuming.  Hopefully, this guide will provide a good starting point and assist you as you look to implement your digital signage solution.

With all the necessary details out of the way, lets now diving into how you actually make money with Digital Signage Networks. We will discuss 5 opportunities available to you.

How to make money with Digital Signage Network

How to make money with Digital Signage Network
Inform and Educate

People today love information. Your digital signage can not only tell people what products and services are available but go deeper. Where does the café get its gluten-free cheesecake from? Why are fair trade products a good idea? Why is this 401k better than that one?

When you give people more than they expect, they like it. They might not care the first time they see the messages, but with repeated exposure, they might start to. You can even change behavior and nudge people to prefer one thing over another, simply by using your digital signs effectively.

Interactive displays let you make even more information available, with the added bonus that people can decide how much information they want on a given topic. You can also tie in wayfinding to make it easy to find the things you have just convinced them they want.

Monetize your Screens

Strategic partnerships with a local business is a straightforward way to see some revenue. The idea is simple – you advertise their products and services on your screens, and they pay you for the exposure.

However, you want to make sure that what they offer appeals to your viewers. It might be an obvious fit, like a local coffee shop near a university campus, or a quick and affordable lunch option near a corporate hub. Or ads might need a little more tweaking to fit in with your audience.

For example, it may seem like there’s no point in partnering with a local car dealership if you’re a K-12 school since kids don’t drive. But staff and parents do, and so do older students who get their driving permit.

You can show one-off static ads that are displayed in your regular playlist rotation for one price. For a bit more, you can show short video commercials. You can offer long-term campaigns, daily or short-term specials, or even branded screen layouts.

If you have the capability, you can even make the ads for your local partners (for example, you are a school with AV students who could use some hands-on practice). Even if they make their own ads, you want to ensure that those ads fit in with your overall look and design specs. Creating templates for partners can streamline the whole process while ensuring design standards remain consistent.

You also know when traffic is highest at certain digital signs and might have a sliding price scale accordingly — higher visibility signs cost a bit more, as does display an ad during peak traffic times. Some offers can even be specifically targeted at certain times of the day, such as lunchtime for cafes. Digital signage is known to drive impulse buys (19 percent of consumers say they’ve made unplanned purchases of products they’ve seen advertised digitally). And digital ads are 34 percent more effective than traditional ones.

Using specific, targeted codes can help both you and your advertising partners track the success of digital signage ads, and so can special loyalty programs just for your audience.

Charging for advertising space on your signs is a straightforward way to increase revenue and offset set-up and maintenance costs. But there are intangibles to consider as well.

Streamline your signage

Real-time metrics can give you accurate information about who is doing what, when and how. Some touchscreens allow you to know exactly how many interactions there were on the screen, which areas and buttons were pushed most, etc. This is invaluable information that allows you to constantly tweak and improve your digital signage offering.

Having effective calls to action also lets you track exactly how effective particular messages are, so you can repeat successful messages and campaigns, and improve ones that don’t perform as well.

Save money in the long run

Once you have paid for a digital signage system, the only upkeep costs are hardware and software maintenance and updates, and electricity.

Not to mention that digital messages are easy to update – details change, or you repeat a promotion or initiative. With a cloud-based system, you can literally update messages from any web-connected device.

Imagine how easy it is to walk past one of your digital screens, see a message, realize that something needs to be changed, whip out your smartphone, log in, make the change, schedule it, and watch as the new information immediately goes up on your displays. What once took hours now takes only moments.

Advances in technology make hardware better all the time. In fact, a study from a few years ago found that LED signs cost less than 10 percent per 10,000 impressions than any other form of advertising.

Turn them into cheerleaders

Include messages that encourage people to actively interact with what you offer them, and with your organization. Ask them to leave reviews on websites or social media pages, take pictures and share them, invite others to participate etc. If they like what you do, and how you do it, they will become advocates for you and your brand.

Again, interactive displays and kiosks make it easy for people to immediately interact with your other online portals. Having a digital signage app that drives content and connectivity right to their mobile device helps create a close-knit network of interactions that raises your brand’s profile and lets more people know about who you are and what you do. Word of mouth is still the greatest form of promotion—get people talking about you, even if it’s online.

Once you look at everything a digital signage system has to offer, from ways to actually make money in the short term to long-term savings, brand recognition and loyalty, and the ability to fine-tune your offering, you can see that there really is no other form of communication that reaches as many people as effectively for the cost.

Digital Signage Software

There are good deals to be found and here are five of the best free digital signage softwares that are well worth investigating.

1. DigitalSignage.com

Marketing themselves as the first company to offer advanced digital signage to everyone for free, DigitalSignage.com is a browser-based solution that allows you to easily create an amazing digital presentation on your PC and share it to an unlimited number of remote screens.

DigitalSignage.com genuinely offers a decent service for free as it makes money from subscribers who opt for the premium version. However, the free version still offers all the core features such as SignageStudio software and the ability to make instant updates everywhere.

It’s worth checking out if you are interested in dipping your toes into the world of digital signage software as you’ll also have access to hundreds of pre-made templates which can save an enormous amount of time and money.

2. Screenly OSE

Screenly OSE (Open Source Edition) provides a digital signage software package for the Raspberry Pi developed and backed by its user community. You can use it to create full HD video and images on TV screens powered by a single Raspberry Pi. Usefully, the software automatically detects your TV and monitor dimensions to render your signage in the highest resolution available.

Screenly OSE is ideal for a variety of purposes, from display business metrics on a dashboard to digital menu boards in a restaurant; it can easily cope with videos, as well as web pages and images.

3. Concerto

Concerto is free open source digital signage software that was originally developed on for university students, and the intuitive software is great for small businesses.

To run Concerto you will need a database and server that can run Ruby on Rails (ROR) web applications. If you haven’t got a server, you can still use Concerto but the service won’t be free.

4. viewneo

viewneo is a cloud-based digital signage software solution that is suitable for companies of all shapes and sizes. viewneo currently offers a free 30-day trial for new customers so you can create an account login in and take advantage of all the services which include automatic file conversion, a content designer, a media and template library, a playlist manager, social media integration and a live tracker.

There are also interactive content features, and viewneo supports HTML5 and integrates with Microsoft Office. viewneo is easy to use and users can also access customer support by email, phone or forum if necessary.

5. Chrome Sign Builder

Chrome Sign Builder is an undoubtedly versatile tool that allows you to schedule content on Chrome OS devices to avoid blank screens between displays, as well as creating pretty impressive signages that can be instantly updated. You can use it for restaurant menus that need to be updated daily, presentations and retail displays.

Users report that getting set up can be a bit trickier than anticipated but overall satisfaction levels with the extension are high and there are plenty of demo videos on YouTube to help. Chrome Sign Builder is completely free, but device management using a Google toolset is approximately £1.53 per device.

How do Digital Billboards Make Money?

Whether you have corporate digital signage, digital signage for education, government digital signage, hospitality signage or whatever, your messages can not only end up paying for the whole deployment, but actually become a regular source of income for your organization.

Monetize your screens

Strategic partnerships with local business is a straightforward way to see some revenue. The idea is simple – you advertise their products and services on your screens, and they pay you for the exposure.

However, you want to make sure that what they offer appeals to your viewers. It might be an obvious fit, like a local coffee shop near a university campus, or a quick and affordable lunch option near a corporate hub. Or ads might need a little more tweaking to fit in with your audience.

For example, it may seem like there’s no point in partnering with a local car dealership if you’re a K-12 school, since kids don’t drive. But staff and parents do, and so do older students who get their driving permit.

You can show one-off static ads that are displayed in your regular playlist rotation for one price. For a bit more, you can show short video commercials. You can offer long-term campaigns, daily or short-term specials, or even branded screen layouts.

If you have the capability, you can even make the ads for your local partners (for example, you are a school with AV students who could use some hands-on practice). Even if they make their own ads, you want to ensure that those ads fit in with your overall look and design specs. Creating templates for partners can streamline the whole process while ensuring design standards remain consistent.

You also know when traffic is highest at certain digital signs, and might have a sliding price scale accordingly — higher visibility signs cost a bit more, as does displaying an ad during peak traffic times. Some offers can even be specifically targeted to certain times of the day, such as lunch time for cafes.

Digital signage is known to drive impulse buys (19 percent of consumers say they’ve made unplanned purchases of products they’ve seen advertised digitally). And digital ads are 34 percent more effective than traditional ones.

Using specific, targeted codes can help both you and your advertising partners track the success of digital signage ads, and so can special loyalty programs just for your audience.

Charging for advertising space on your signs is a straightforward way to increase revenue and offset set-up and maintenance costs. But there are intangibles to consider as well.

Inform and educate

People today love information. Your digital signage can not only tell people what products and services are available, but go deeper. Where does the café get its gluten-free cheesecake from? Why are fair trade products a good idea? Why is this 401k better than that one?

When you give people more than they expect, they like it. They might not care the first time they see the messages, but with repeated exposure, they might start to. You can even change behavior and nudge people to prefer one thing over another, simply by using your digital signs effectively.

Interactive displays let you make even more information available, with the added bonus that people can decide how much information they want on a given topic. You can also tie in wayfinding to make it easy to find the things you have just convinced them they want.

Turn them into cheerleaders

Include messages that encourage people to actively interact with what you offer them, and with your organization. Ask them to leave reviews on websites or social media pages, take pictures and share them, invite others to participate etc. If they like what you do, and how you do it, they will become advocates for you and your brand.

Again, interactive displays and kiosks make it easy for people to immediately interact with your other online portals. Having a digital signage app that drives content and connectivity right to their mobile device helps create a close-knit network of interactions that raises your brand’s profile and lets more people know about who you are and what you do. Word of mouth is still the greatest form of promotion—get people talking about you, even if it’s online.

Save money in the long run

Once you have paid for a digital signage system, the only upkeep costs are hardware and software maintenance and updates, and electricity.

Not to mention that digital messages are easy to update – details change, or you repeat a promotion or initiative. With a cloud-based system, you can literally update messages from any web-connected device.

Imagine how easy it is to walk past one of your digital screens, see a message, realize that something needs to be changed, whip out your smartphone, log in, make the change, schedule it, and watch as the new information immediately goes up on your displays. What once took hours now takes only moments.

Advances in technology make hardware better all the time. In fact, a study from a few years ago found that LED signs cost less than 10 percent per 10,000 impressions than any other form of advertising.

Streamline your signage

Real-time metrics can give you accurate information about who is doing what, when and how. Some touchscreens allow you to know exactly how many interactions there were on the screen, which areas and buttons were pushed most, etc. This is invaluable information that allows you to constantly tweak and improve your digital signage offering.

Having effective calls to action also lets you track exactly how effective particular messages are, so you can repeat successful messages and campaigns, and improve ones that don’t perform as well.

Once you look at everything a digital signage system has to offer, from ways to actually make money in the short term to long-term savings, brand recognition and loyalty, and the ability to fine-tune your offering, you can see that there really is no other form of communication that reaches as many people as effectively for the cost.

How Effective is Digital Signage?

One thing that makes digital signage so effective is that it can be used in countless ways. In fact, companies in virtually every industry have used this technology at a physical location to meet their customers’ unique demands.

Digital signage might seem insignificant to some business owners and its benefits can be overlooked. These signs are the meeting point for physical and digital worlds, making your store’s physical location and extension of the digital environment.

When it comes to benefits, the list is virtually endless. You can use your digital sign for providing information, entertainment, education, communication, and more.

Let’s break down some of the benefits of digital signage:

Attract the Attention of Customers or Potential Customers

It doesn’t matter if it is someone standing on the street or inside your business; digital signage can help encourage them to take the next step. This may mean coming in the door or completing a purchase. These signs can also help with the upsell.

You can use the digital signs to bring attention to new services or products being offered, emphasize the benefits or the interesting features of the business, showcase a product, or provide information regarding what other people have to say.

The options and capabilities are endless, and thanks to dynamic digital signage, it could not be easier. Since you are no longer limited by static text and images, you can use vibrant images, bright colors, and moving content to attract even more customer attention.

Customers Can Help Themselves

An engaged shopper is much more likely to become a real customer. This is why brick-and-mortar businesses must create a plan to provide shoppers with the information needed to be comfortable to make a purchase.

If you have ever had to wait around a store for someone to ask if you need help, you know how that wait may result in a person leaving and not coming back. While you may make a purchase, you probably will not return.

Today, customers prefer self-service over having to contact a support agent. Also, if a knowledge base meets a customer’s needs, they would use it. This is good news for businesses as self-service is the most cost-effective and fastest option for customer support.

Digital shopping continues molding customers’ expectations, which is also called the Amazon Effect. Retailers must keep pace by providing these self-service options.

With digital signage, shoppers are engaged without having to interact with employees. This ensures they get the information needed to make a purchasing decision, and your employees can provide help as needed.

Highlight Special Offers

With digital signs, you can quickly and easily showcase your special offers that are taking place now or coming up. Sometimes, customers are not aware of special menu items or the “deal of the day.” When you showcase this information on the digital signage and bring more awareness to your customers while increasing your chances of making a sale.

Look at it like this–if you are in a coffee shop, what will look more appealing–a static image or a sandwich or a digital sign that shows cheese slowly melting on a sandwich. One’s more drool-worthy than others.

Change Displays Quickly 

If you invest in digital signage, the displays you have in several stores throughout the country can be changed at one time, from a remote location. If you want to advertise a new service or product or announce something exciting, you can quickly create a new ad and deploy it at once.

This is beneficial for branding, too. If you don’t have a system that ensures consistency in place, your brand identity may get lost.

While being able to implement new information through digital signs quickly is definitely a benefit, it is also one of the best ways to ensure your brand is consistent across multiple locations. This concept works in reverse, too – you can retool or pull a marketing effort without having to pay to have traditional displays removed and new ones created.

Affordable Advertising

With digital signage, you have an affordable way to promote your business. You can easily broadcast an array of messages during the day.

You can choose videos, images, and update your signs with new templates when you desire. This is convenient and inexpensive. This is especially true when you compare it to advertising costs through traditional billboards, newspapers, magazines, or TV.

Increased Retention and Recall Rates in Digital Signage

The goal for many ads seen in stores is to convince customers to take action immediately. This includes things like making a purchase, placing an order, or following another kind of direction.

In other cases, the goal is to let shoppers know about upcoming promotions, sales, in-store appearances, and more. If your display uses video, digital signage benefits because it ensures higher recall rates than static ads.

When the effects of digital billboards were researched, it was found that 83% of people were able to recall at least one ad they saw in the past 30 days. Approximately 65% recalled two, and 47% recalled three.

Another impressive statistic is that about one in five people discussed the ad they saw on the digital billboard with another person. This helps spread the information to people who may not have known about it otherwise.

This is all thanks to the combination of content, graphics, and display movement. Content also plays a substantial role in retention and recall rates.

How Much Does Digital Signage Cost?

You know you need to improve your communication efforts, but what’s the cost of an effective digital signage strategy? There are four main components you need to consider while you plan your digital signage strategy:

1. Software

The heart of your digital displays is the software. The software allows you to:

  1. Manage the content you share across your digital signage network
  2. Automate the information you share on which display
  3. Integrate content from various data sources to simplify the sharing of information across your network

When it comes to software, don’t think you have to break the bank. Your digital signage software can start as low as $15 per month or lower if you have a high volume of licenses. For a solution with templates designed for your market to promote your products or for internal office communication, you can get a value packed software license with some content automation for just $49 per month.

2. Displays/Monitors

Depending on who you’re targeting and where you’re communicating – at a mall, in your front lobby or in your staff lunch room – your display options will vary, as will your prices. For options such as kiosks, interactive monitors, video walls, and tablets, have various price points. What you need to consider is a software provider that understands the hardware market and can bring you options that fit your needs.

Some hardware needs can be met with monitors or “TVs” you already have. Some installation needs may require a commercial grade monitor. Plan for some investment in hardware and ask questions. A reputable provider will offer leasing on hardware as well. Leasing digital signage hardware is a great solution for many businesses and enables you to get everything you need at one time.

3. Media Player

Based on your display/monitor, you will need a media player to send content from your software to various screens. The media player is a key component to keeping your signage live. Cost will determine the quality, performance, and security of the content you share. The media player you choose should reliably support the needs of your display devices.

You have many options when it comes to media players but remember a cheap media player creates risk that your signage will fail. It is recommended that you plan for approximately $995 for the cost of a proper media player. It’s a one-time cost or in many cases can be leased monthly to help your cash flow.

4.Content strategy & content creation

This can be an in-house cost through your Marketing or Communication team, or you can outsource the development of your content strategy to experts in digital signage who understand the why, how, when, and where to communicate, and will partner with you to learn about who you’re reaching and what you need to share.

The cost of a content expert can be built into your monthly plan but to give you an idea, a proper well thought out content strategy support by digital signage experts cost around $3000 and be a one-time investment, quarterly or annual depending on your needs.

The digital signage partner you choose should provide payment options when it comes to your digital signage strategy. Monthly plans can be tailored to your business needs and objectives, while easily aligning to budgets and achieving ROI, which should all be established in your overall content strategy.

Ultimately, you’ll want to be aware of those “free” software offers that turn out to be anything but free and understand the value of partnering with a digital signage software provider. Many of those free software options will require set up time and training for both you and your staff the costs will quickly add up.

How do You Use Digital Signage?

if you’re trying to figure out your brand’s message when it comes to in-store digital marketing, try starting with these ideas.

1. Feature a Product, Item, or Service

In-store signage has one primary goal – to visualize and advertise your products and services. While this can be done with posters, it can be done more effectively with Digital Signage. So if you’re looking for a place to start with Digital Signage content, start by advertising your core products and services.

2. Explain the Value in a Product, Item, or Service

What your business does or sells is important but perhaps more import is why it’s valuable. Consumers are cautious with their money, so make sure you communicate the value of your brand.

For a retail store, it might be the quality. For auto repair, it could be a parts and service guarantee. For a doctor’s office, it could be long-term health. Whatever your industry, make sure you’re communicating the why behind your brand.

3. Create Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency is a great way to upsell at the point of purchase. So use your Digital Signage to advertise a sale or promotion. It can be something straightforward like a store-wide percentage off or a discount on a particular item. Or, it can be something more subtle like using the weather to create urgency.
 
For example, do you have a product that people are more likely to think about if it’s raining? If so, Digital Signage can update your ads automatically based on local weather forecasts and current conditions, and advertise the most relevant products.

4. Entertain Customers

Not all selling needs to be hard selling. With Digital Signage options such as Waiting Room TV, you can replace cable with family-friendly entertainment content and make sure your brand isn’t associated with offensive shows or competitor advertisements.
 
Not only that, but with Waiting Room TV, you can display ads, custom messages, and other live feeds alongside your main videos and promote your brand message while still entertaining customers.

5. Inform Customers

Giving customers useful information can be just as valuable and advertising your products. Today’s marketing landscape is all about content, so if you can provide something valuable to the consumer, even if it isn’t directly linked to a product or service, you’re still helping win the customer over to your brand.
 
For example, a dentist office might run a video on the proper way to brush your teeth. Nothing about that leads to direct revenue for the practice, but it does help create a positive brand experience for the customer.

6. Introduce Your Staff

One of the easiest ways to give your brand a personality is by making your staff feel like family to the customers. Using Digital Signage, you can create a bio slide for each member of your staff – where they’re from, what pets they have, their hobbies, favorite sports teams, etc.
 
Instead of just being the person behind the desk, you’re inviting customers to identify with them. And that helps build relationships with your customers.

7. Communicate With Your Staff

Not all of the screens in your business need to be customer facing. Use a screen behind the scenes or in your break room to communicate with employees. Whether it’s a meeting calendar, rules and regulations, or a shout out for great work, Digital Signage works just as well for corporate communication as it does customer communication.

8. Communicate Brand Values

Things like your mission statement, brand promise, and core values deserve to be marketed as well. And while you may not make a 30 second commercial about those things, Digital Signage gives you the perfect platform to create a free, custom graphic about your brand messaging. 

9. Create a Revenue Source

Digital Signage is such a great place to promote a product or service that other companies may want to get in on it. With the option for unlimited messaging and playlist length, you may be able to get other companies to pay you to run ads on your Digital Signage, creating an additional revenue stream.

10. Display Reviews

Few things reinforce the decision to buy like endorsements from other customers. Not only does that mean your products or services can be trusted, but that they’re positively affecting other people’s lives. 
 
Most buying decisions are made at the point of purchase, so make sure you’re influencing customer behavior with powerful content such as customer reviews. 

11. Share Social Media

Share your social media efforts in your business and invite people to like or follow your brand. If possible, let them know what they’ll get by following your feed, such as the latest information or exclusive offers.

12. Ask For An Email Address

Does your company have a newsletter or other email marketing campaigns? If so, make sure you’re asking for and collecting customer emails. Digital Signage offers a great way to draw attention to your email efforts and similar to Social Media, if you let customers know the benefits to sharing their email, they’ll be more likely to opt-in.

How Profitable is Owning a Billboard?

For the top four billboard advertising companies, the industry average for annual revenue in 2015 was 3.69 billion dollars. Profits generated by billboard companies can reach up to 50% before depreciation, taxes, amortization and interest.

It commonly takes between 7 and 10 years to pay off the initial cost of the purchase of land and the construction of a billboard. Once that has been accomplished, profits increase significantly.

Digital Signage Display

Digital signage display, sometimes called electronic signage, refers to display technologies like LED walls (or video walls), projection and LCD monitors to vividly display webpages, videos, directions, restaurant menus, marketing messages or digital images.

Digital signage functions in different settings — public spaces, museums, sporting arenas, churches, academic buildings, retail stores, corporate spaces and restaurants — to offer wayfinding, messaging, marketing and outdoor advertising.

How is Digital Signage Used in Product Promotion?

digital signage is one of the best technologies that have graced retailers with a better option to promote their products and enhance the shopping experience of their customers. Through digital signage, retailers can deliver multi-channel, intuitive and multi-touch experiences that their customers can interact with using touchscreen gestures, smart phones, and external input devices.

Create interactive displays 

Digital signage can serve as a retailer’s virtual aisle of products or a virtual catalog that can provide customers with easier access to what they have offer. Retailers can use interactive displays to delivery social recommendations, product information, and news on the products that are currently in demand.

When customers can interact with the display, they are more likely to pay attention and be interested in it, creating an opportunity for a retailer to effectively share or deliver a promotional message.

Create highly targeted content

Content can be tailored to a specific target audience that is likely to visit on a particular time of the day. Likewise, content can be modified to attributes like geographical location, season, and customer demographics.

Increase sales and promote brand awareness

Digital signage can work together with a retailer’s existing merchandising and marketing strategies to enhance the customers’ shopping experience, boost sales, and encourage brand loyalty.
It may help influence what customers buy, while making sure that they have the relevant information on the product.

Directly reach out to customers 

Interactive digital signage can enhance the way retailers reach out to their audiences in a cost-effective manner. Some digital signage platforms come with that can help retailers collect and measure data, which may be useful in further enhancing the shopping experience of more customers in the future.

Do LED Signs Increase Business?

It’s been proven that LED signs can increase business by 15-150% through their unmatched ability to generate awareness, differentiate businesses from competitors, and display customized messages to passersby.

Builds Awareness

If hundreds or thousands of people are driving past your business daily, why not market to them? If your business currently doesn’t have any storefront signage, you are missing the opportunity to expose your products, services, or promotions to passersby.

Outdoor LED signs can help build awareness and attract customers to your business as they drive by daily, without spending money to mass advertise in this week’s newspaper. LED signs can also generate impulse buys, persuading people to go into your store right then if they see a good deal displayed on the sign.

Outdoor LED signs can also create long-term awareness with people who are exposed to the sign. If they drive by every day on the way to work, they will see the sign, which can help keep your business in mind at times they aren’t driving by. Taking advantage of every opportunity of exposure can help bring in more business and increase revenue.

Competitive Advantage

In the highly competitive market we live in today, it’s extremely important to stand out from your competitors. You carry the same products, or offer the same services, so it can be hard to differentiate yourself.

An outdoor LED storefront sign can help attract more customers to your business over competitors and increase long-term revenue. An LED sign allows you to display your current deals or promotions that can attract returning, new, and competitor’s customers.

Customizable

One of the biggest advantages of an LED sign is that it’s completely customizable at any time. Businesses are able to easily change messages as promotions or products change, and can strategically message to certain people depending on the time of day.

For example, a restaurant can display breakfast, lunch, or dinner promotions’ depending on what time it is. LED signs can also be used to display real-time messages such as weather or traffic alerts that are useful to passersby.

Customization also allows businesses to test what messages bring people in, and which don’t. LED sign’s versatility allows businesses to easily alter messages without spending any more money on advertising, thus saving money in the long run.

The effectiveness of outdoor LED signs is unmatched by any other simple marketing method today. LED signs generate awareness 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and can be altered as many times without spending another dime. Investing in an LED sign for your business will only help by increasing long-term sales and revenue.

What is The Best Digital Signage Software?

Digital signage software allows for text, animation, or video to be displayed on an electronic sign. This content is delivered through a remotely managed display such as a television, computer monitor, or a network of electronic signs.

Typically, this signage is meant for the public, such as an electronic billboard or menu outside a restaurant. Digital signage is commonly utilized for marketing purposes, such as enhancing the customer experience or brand building.

1. Rise Vision

Rise Vision is a cloud-based digital signage solution that helps small to large businesses create, manage, deploy presentations, images, videos and other content for digital signage. Designed for any industry, Rise Vision allows users to create custom schedules and quickly change presentations in playlists running on 1 to 1,000+ displays.

Key features of Rise Vision include a visual editor, easy to personalize Templates, digital menu boards, integrations for weather, social media, among others, a media library to store digital signage assets, emergency alerts, and more.

2. Sprinklr Modern Engagement

Sprinklr Modern Sales & Engagement helps users listen to, triage, engage and analyze conversations across modern channels. The vendor states that users can increase revenue and reduce churn by engaging more customers while reducing cost per engagement and managing brand risk with enterprise-grade governance.

3. Zoom Rooms

Transform any area into a modern, easy-to-use, and powerful collaborative workspace with Zoom Rooms. Zoom’s suite of meeting room solutions allows you to bring integrated HD video, audio, and wireless sharing to any room. Deliver a consistent meeting room experience that allows employees to easily meet with participants across mobile, desktop, and room systems.

4. OptiSigns

Make any TV a digital sign. Manage remotely from a central portal. Supports images, videos, playlists, schedule. Wide range of add-on apps: Google Slides, Weather, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more. Supports Fire TV Stick, Android, Raspberry Pi, Windows, Linux and more.

5. Raydiant

The Raydiant Experience Platform empowers organizations of all shapes and sizes to build strong, long-lasting relationships with their employees and customers by helping them create memorable, interactive experiences both in-location and in the workplace.

Our easy-to-use, plug-and-play, cloud-based solution empowers our customers to create, manage and scale experiences across 1 or 100,000 locations anytime, anywhere. Choose from an array of options from plug-and-play digital signage and interactive kiosk solutions to our video conference enabled Virtual Agent for brick and mortar location and SecondScreen for the workplace!

6. ScreenCloud’s Digital Signage

Digital signage doesn’t have to be complicated. ScreenCloud’s digital signage software makes it easier than ever for you to put meaningful content on any screen, in any location. Use it to control one screen, or a thousand, from anywhere in the world.

Powered by a cloud content management system, ScreenCloud fits in seamlessly to your existing smart systems so you can check breaking news and the latest company updates, track employee communications and power data visualizations through one central, ambient medium.

7. ScreenScape

For more than twelve years the ScreenScape team has been engineering thoughtfully crafted software for digital signage. The new ScreenScape5 raises the bar when it comes to beautiful aesthetics, ease-of-use, and ease-of-management while delivering dramatic savings in the total cost of owning a digital signage network.

Using a simple plug and play device, ScreenScape customers can quickly turn any screen into a connected digital sign. Once a screen is connected it can be updated, monitored and managed over the Internet using ScreenScape.com.

How Big is The Digital Signage Market?

The global digital signage market is estimated to be USD 16.3 billion in 2021 and projected to reach USD 27.8 billion by 2026; at a CAGR of 11.2%. Key factors fueling the growth of this market include the growing adoption of digital signage in commercial applications, increasing infrastructure developments in emerging countries, surging demand for 4K & 8K resolution displays, and ongoing technological advancements in displays.

The digital signage market includes key companies such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Sharp Corporation, Leyard Optoelectronic, Sony Corporation, Barco, Panasonic Corporation, Shanghai Goodview Electronics, AU Optronics, and BrightSign.

These companies have their manufacturing facilities and corporate offices spread across various countries across Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and RoW. The digital signage products manufactured by these companies are purchased by several stakeholders for various applications.

How do Digital Signage Media Players Work?

A digital signage media player is a compact computer specifically designed to display digital signage media. The hardware used in digital signage media players are selected because they can crisply broadcast high definition images, videos, and animation.

In the past, desktop computers were used as digital signage media players, however, their large, bulky size made them difficult to work well for certain applications. For instance, if the computer needed to be stowed away from the audiences’ sight, then a large desktop tower became nearly impossible to hide.

If the computer was to be stowed in a drop ceiling, then weight concerns prevented technicians from installing them in overhead locations. A smaller, more lightweight computer was needed and digital signage media players were developed.

By removing non-essential components, ports, and bulky cases, digital signage media player manufacturers were able to provide a compact, yet powerful solution for any organization that needed to implement a digital signage system in any type of setting.

The lifespan of a digital signage media player is about three to five years depending on how often it’s running and the quality of the hardware used inside the media player. The main reason organizations purchase new digital signage media players is when they wish to upgrade their displays to higher resolutions and/or larger sized displays.

How Big is The Signage Industry?

The global digital signage market size was valued at USD 21.49 billion in 2020. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% from 2021 to 2028. The market growth is accredited to the increasing demand for the digitized promotion of products and services to attract the attention of the target audience effectively.

Furthermore, the demand for 4K digitized sign display with the embedded software and media player is rising as it offers customers an affordable Ultra HD digital signage solution, which is expected to drive the market further.

The advent of innovative products, such as home monitoring systems and leak detector systems, along with complicated monetary products, such as forex cards that need informative and succinct advertisement content, is also estimated to boost the market growth.

What Are Digital Signage Media Players?

A digital signage player is a computer attached to or embedded within a digital signage display. The player is responsible for feeding images, video, or interactive content onto the screen, and may need to complete more complex processes as well, depending on the type of media it is displaying.

Nearly always, digital signage players will handle media with the help of digital signage software that will do the scheduling, playback, content delivery to the player, and more. It is therefore important when developing a digital signage project to account for both the hardware capabilities and the software features needed to bring your network to life.

Digital Signage Companies

BroadSign: Many people, including us, in the past, have tended to dismiss BroadSign as a one trick wonder – focussing purely (as they have done very well) on Ad Based Networks (they of course won the JCDecaux business back in 2011) but we’ve seen of late a number of wins in retail and some great installs in an area that we ourselves love working in, that of corporate foyers, atriums and reception areas.  

If you aren’t an Ad Based Network or Media Owner then there is no longer any reason to ignore them.  We think BroadSign is starting to fit the bill no matter what your Digital Signage network needs are.

STRATACACHE: It’s hard to ignore any vendor that can boast of some of the very largest digital signage networks out there and when that is coupled with demanding brands such as McDonalds you know that someone sensible has done their technical due diligence well.  

Whilst we wouldn’t use STRATATACHE for a large video wall install, Ad Based Network or in education (not niched enough for the first two and probably ‘overkill’ for the latter) for any really big network involving Stadiums, Retail, Retail Banking, Corporate Communications or QSR they would be a good candidate.

Ayuda Media Systems: Here’s a company that has a nice vertical focus AND is very likely going to stick to it.  When they started they focussed purely on Out of Home – building very, very clever ERP software that managed the huge traditional inventories of the largest OOH Media Owners across the world – all the while adding in clever digital elements to their offering.  

Whilst BroadSign will most likely add to the sectors they play in – Ayuda will concentrate on the area they know best.  Both strategies have merit and it really is A vs B if you are a media owner looking for a software platform – your choice is simple, you either want a top to bottom, souptonuts solution in which case you will choose Ayuda or you want a digital signage software solution that you will do your own integration around – in which case you choose BroadSign.  In this vertical, a decision is very easy.

Signagelive: Jason Cremins and his team continue to punch well above their weight. Here’s another company that plays extremely well in almost all of the verticals you can image – you could call them the swiss army knife of digital signage. 

Jason probably had far too much of a love-in a few years back for Samsung but he is one of the only industry CEOs who has seemingly got his cloud software strategy spot-on – deals with Samsung for SoC were followed by support for LG’s WebOS and Google Chrome OS and (hats off) he also got the hang of open source very early on.  

His vision and his strategy will drive the business to new heights and we’d thoroughly recommend Signagelive for use in retail, QSR, hospitality, video walls, education, corporate communications and transport. Watch out for them to be one of the first to really get the hang of the ‘apps’ marketplace.

Scala: Scala still has the best known brand out there in the industry. It is rightly the first software vendor that is chosen and written down, no matter what the RFP is for.  It’s a jack-of-all-trades and (still) master of most of them.  

Caveat: despite it being the software that runs more digital billboards in the world that any other vendor we still wouldn’t choose it for an Ad Based Network – the investment in the ad technology that was needed to keep up with the likes of Ayuda and BroadSign just wasn’t there.  

However, for perhaps EVERY other industry vertical you can possibly think of, it would be in the top three of any list. We use it a lot ourselves for our big video wall projects. Whilst, the current leadership and its board seem to see it’s focus and future being in retail, it is hugely popular in QSR, Employee Communications, Hospitality and Education.

Digital Signs

Digital signs can include anything from displays on LCD screens mounted on walls to standalone directories in parking lots or lobbies. They can even be LED marquees with bright, eye-catching information. The content can be remotely controlled through cloud-based screen management software. The possibilities are endless. Consider these cases where digital signs have proven to be a wise choice.

  • Banks
  • Car dealerships
  • Government offices
  • Office buildings
  • Hospitals
  • Schools, colleges & universities
  • Hotels & large resorts
  • Movie theatres
  • Museums
  • Gas stations
  • Retail businesses
  • Trade shows, conventions & expos 

Digital signs are great because they help you present messages to the right audience at the right time. These signs can help introduce new products or services, inform students about upcoming campus events, or even inform employees about upcoming corporate holidays or company-wide initiatives. Best of all, because they are digital, they can be ever-changing. It is incredibly easy and hassle-free to update the information.

Digital Signage Expo

Digital Signage Expo is the largest and longest-running international trade show in the world for digital signage, interactive technologies and out-of-home networks in retail, hospitality, financial, transportation and public spaces. This industry-leading event offers the broadest and most comprehensive technology showcase and education program in the world.

Electronic Signage

Electronic signage is a digital sign used to convey information to in-store audiences and customers. It uses an LCD, LED, or projection screen to display videos and graphics that educate, engage, and inform nearby viewers.

Read Also: Make Money As A Computer Technician

Electronic signage can be used across a variety of customer touchpoints, and its applications are almost endless. A business can design and modify digital signage to meet their unique needs, but it is often employed in the following ways.

Finally

While certain industries have embraced digital signage more than others, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for this media in other industries. In fact, it’s the opposite.

For businesses in industries that are slow to adopt this technology, there is an opportunity to be an early adopter and one of the first to embrace this useful communication method.

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