Great digital signage boils down to great storytelling. The medium provides a remarkable way to convey a great story that is multifaceted, relevant, and engaging. This is the very foundation of creating a strong sense of trust, credibility, and a genuine and authentic relationship with an audience. No matter if you’re using realtime infographics, video clips, text, or any other content type, digital signage—if executed properly—can bring a wealth of insights and context to information that other mediums simply cannot.
The story you tell should consistently translate into news you can use; thought leadership, explanatory videos, best practices, industry insights, success stories—content that goes far beyond a traditional pitch. It doesn’t matter if your audience is made of employees, customers, or partners, a well-told, multi-dimensional story will transcend a sense of intrusion and rather be a part of a greater more holistic conversation.
We live in an age of two-way communications and corporate marketers have more editorial power than they ever had. In fact, they have become the storytellers, delivering messages directly to their audiences via websites, blogs, and social media. Digital signage compiles all of these into a media-rich, highly targeted channel that has the ability to close the loop with audiences by providing an avenue for instant feedback and innovative interaction.
Imagine a marketing channel that exists on a partner’s desktop or mobile device. Each day the partner receives highly focused, insightful content that can be used to make his or her sales efforts easier and improve the bottom line. New product offerings are made available along with case studies, industry data, stories of great implementations, and strategic approaches. Marketers are no longer just selling a product; they are selling the underlying story of their product and communicating a much bigger and more important message.
Vern Freedlander is vice president of production services for Montréal-based X2O Media, a full-service provider of technology, network management and content services for professional digital signage applications. With more than 20 years of broadcast television experience as a producer, director and executive, Freedlander oversees all of X2O Media’s content initiatives. He can be reached at [email protected].
