In our digital-driven world, businesses are constantly looking for innovative ways to connect with their audiences. Digital signage – which broadly refers to the ability to show media on a digital display – has emerged as a powerful tool for engaging customers, conveying important information, and enhancing brand visibility. From hospitals using informational displays to mitigate waiting room times to restaurants updating a menu board to reflect the latest offerings, the applications are nearly endless.
This mode of sharing media is highly effective, too. According to Digital Signage Today, digital displays capture 400% more views than static displays and boast a recall rate of 83% - almost double the information retention rate for traditional advertising.
To fully unlock the potential of your digital signage solution, however, Internet connectivity is a necessity. In this blog post, we'll explore the top 3 reasons to incorporate connectivity into your digital signage strategy.
Reliability
The Financial Threat of Downtime
You’re paying thousands of dollars to deliver your messages to your audience, so any interruption is costing you in revenue. In industries at high risk of downtime, such as healthcare, banking, manufacturing, and media/communications, the average cost for downtime is $5 million per hour (Atlassian).
Boost your business's reliability through onboarding with a solution that can intelligently switch between networks if connectivity is lost on the primary network. That way, you have a backup plan that will kick into action when an outage is detected – without any need for a manual response from you.
Loss of Consumer Trust
Even if the digital signs are not interrupted, part of reliability is making sure the information displayed is accurate and up-to-date, as any incorrect information could create a negative customer experience. Consumer trust is difficult to regain once lost – a survey of U.S. adults found that when trust is broken, more than half (55%) of consumers say that they will never give the brand their business again (Adobe). Ensuring your signs are Internet-connected makes them much faster and easier to update over the network, instead of working with static thumb drives or files.
There are some high stakes, to be sure – and you can mitigate the risk for your business simply by improving your digital signage reliability.
Security
Sign Hijacking
One of the most daunting security threats facing digital signage manufacturers and sellers is outside entities taking control of their signs. Hackers can find avenues to remotely hijack digital signage, creating the potential for huge disruptions in service, explicit language or content to be displayed, and – once again – massive loss in consumer trust.
This is where a secure, purpose-built connectivity solution comes in. Instead of relying on these traditional – and unsecure – operating systems to power digital signage solutions, businesses can onboard with a partner whose technical infrastructure allows your data to remain on a private network at all times. This way, your data never hits the public Internet – and you can rest assured that you are protected against outside intrusion and malware, regardless of manufacturer, operating system, or form factor.
No More Physical Assets
Additionally, with an Internet-connected solution, you no longer need to deal with physical thumb drives to update your signs – thus minimizing the security risks this method of content transmission could pose should they get into the wrong hands.
Consistent Software Updates
Lastly, an Internet connection makes it simpler to update your digital signage software to apply new features, enhanced security, and bug fixes – ensuring it remains safeguarded against potential threats in the future. Keeping your software up to date is one of the most important cybersecurity steps you can take, and is crucial for protecting your network and maintaining the integrity of your content.
Advanced Analytics and Control
Remote Management
Internet connectivity enables the remote management of your digital signage network. With the ability to access and control your screens from anywhere with an Internet connection, you can make changes, troubleshoot issues, and schedule content updates without being physically present at each location. This level of control ensures a seamless and efficient operation of your digital signage solution.
Targeted Advertising and Personalization
One of the significant advantages of digital signage is the ability to deliver dynamic, real-time content. Whether you're an EV charging station operator displaying promotions, a restaurant showcasing your menu, or a corporate office sharing important announcements, having an Internet connection allows you to instantly update and customize your content. Without it, you are limited to static messages that quickly become outdated.
Connectivity also allows you to deliver highly targeted and personalized content to your audience. By integrating with data sources like customer demographics, weather updates, or social media feeds, you can tailor your messages to specific locations and demographics in real time, increasing the relevance of your content to the viewer.
Analytics and Performance Monitoring
To measure the effectiveness of your digital signage strategy, you need access to data and analytics. Internet connectivity allows you to gather valuable insights, such as viewer engagement, content performance, and screen uptime. These analytics enable data-driven decision-making, helping you refine your content and strategy for better results.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Internet connectivity is the lifeblood of a successful digital signage solution. As you invest in digital signage for your business or organization, be sure to prioritize a robust Internet connectivity solution to fully harness the benefits of this powerful communication tool. The ability to connect with your audience in a dynamic and personalized way can give you a competitive edge and help you achieve your marketing and communication goals.
As a managed IoT connectivity solution provider, Kajeet is poised to help you achieve your digital signage goals. Our 20 years of experience in building secure, reliable turnkey solutions allows us to tailor our solutions to meet your business objectives. We offer multi-carrier connectivity, eSIM solutions, an advanced SecureRoute firewall, and Tier-1 and Tier-2 support to our digital signage customers, such as Darko. And, our patented Sentinel® platform allows administrators to manage, monitor, and gain insights into the health of their program.