First things, first. What is digital signage? Digital signage is an increasingly popular marketing platform that distributes content on digital screens, ideally situated in high footfall locations. More dynamic and affordable than billboards, the technology is ideal for building a brand, whatever the industry, and is also great for advertising.

Like any marketing medium, the key to success is developing a strategy for brand engagement. While tailored to this unique platform, the strategy should operate as part of your wider brand strategy.

Location, location, location

The first rule of real estate also applies to digital signage. Screen placement is the pivotal factor when it comes to ensuring your digital signage has an impact. You could create the most amazing content for your screens but if no one is ever in front of them, you are wasting your time and money. When selecting a location for signage, there are two factors to bear in mind: 1) dwell time and 2) the direction of attention.

Locations such as waiting room areas are ideal for signage because you know your audience will be dwelling for a significant period of time. When an audience is bored, there’s no better opportunity to grab their attention. That’s not to say busier locations such as shopping centres are bad choices. On the contrary, these environments have far higher footfall so are great choices for getting eyes on your brand. The crucial thing to remember though is content should be displayed with dwell time in mind. Screens in-front of audiences for longer periods should be utilised to show longer pieces of content such as promotional videos. By contrast, displays in busier settings need content that can grab attention and convey a brand message in a much briefer engagement.

Enhance not replace

Building a brand isn’t about having a great logo, a nice website or being proactive on social media. It’s about how all these elements combine to form an identity that consumers buy into. Digital signage is often thought of as an alternative or replacement to traditional mediums, with the most obvious equivalent being simple posters or billboards.

But digital signage doesn’t have to necessarily replace an area of your existing marketing (but it should if that area isn’t performing). Ultimately, digital signage is a unique multi-media platform and it can be treated as a new tool in your brand’s toolkit. An investment in a network of screens is an investment in your brand and is worth doing for its own sake – if it can save marketing budget elsewhere, this is a bonus.

Amplify existing content

Returning to this idea of placing digital signage within a wider brand strategy, the great thing about signage is its compatibility. While opening a new marketing channel might sound like a lot of work, digital signage is actually great for repurposing the content you are already putting out.

Videos you have created or commissioned for your website, YouTube channel, or even a TV commercial, can also be displayed on your screen network. The same can be done with images to ensure your visual content gathers far more impressions and reaches new audiences.

Not limited to content marketing, digital signage amplifies your brand’s voice on social media too. Embedding a Twitter feed, Facebook gallery or Instagram account within your screen creates no work for your marketing team but can have a huge impact. The tweets you are writing and the images you are sharing anyway, can be pulled in and distributed real-time on a network of displays. The instant nature of this messaging makes it a great choice for events in particular.

In summary, digital signage is a powerful and accommodating platform when it comes to building a brand. The most effective deployments consider signage as part of a broader marketing strategy and use it to enhance and amplify existing activity.

Guest post by TrouDigital, experts in digital signage marketing.