In the dynamic landscape of internal communications, digital signage is a powerful, versatile tool. For those tasked with creating content for these screens, the challenge is real: how do you keep messages fresh, engaging and impactful when it’s so easy to fall into a rut? The truth is, showing the same old information leads to viewer fatigue and diminished engagement. However, a wealth of valuable, ready-made content likely already exists within your organization, waiting to be repurposed and unleashed on your digital displays.
This guide will explore diverse content ideas and strategic approaches, transforming your digital signage from a static bulletin board into a vibrant hub of information, connection and motivation for your internal audience.
Leveraging Existing Digital Assets: The Power of Repurposing
One of the most efficient ways to invigorate your digital signage content is by tapping into the assets already being created across your organization. This strategy not only saves time but also ensures consistency and broadens the scope of your messaging.
PowerPoint: Your Hidden Content Goldmine
Often, one of the first things people think of when creating digital signage content is PowerPoint, since it’s likely that different department heads and managers already use it regularly. But its potential extends far beyond simply building slides for your displays. Consider the sheer volume of presentations already floating around your office. Departmental teams diligently craft PowerPoint presentations containing valuable information that can benefit the entire organization. Your HR department is a fantastic source for training slides, benefits overviews or onboarding materials. Finance teams frequently prepare insightful presentations on the latest revenue figures, productivity statistics or quarterly wrap-ups. Sharing these key performance indicators (KPIs) and performance metrics can be a great motivator, letting everyone know how things are progressing. Marketing teams, rich in presentation materials, can often provide not only content but templates and branded backgrounds for your use.
With modern digital signage software, integrating PowerPoint content is seamless. You can display individual slides or entire presentations by simply selecting, scheduling and delivering them to your screens. This pixel-to-pixel content sharing ensures that the valuable information trapped in these presentations reaches a wider internal audience. And many digital signage solutions offer robust support for PowerPoint.
Data Sources: The Dynamic, Auto-Updating Solution
It’s likely that your organization maintains a wealth of information on its website, intranet or other online portals. Why recreate content if it already exists and is already being regularly updated? Digital signage software allows you to point to a wide array of URLs and data sources to display that information directly on your screens. This is a game-changer for dynamic, auto-updating content that you only have to set up once and then let it run and update all on its own. When changes are made to the original data source, your digital signs automatically reflect the latest version, saving content creators significant time and effort.
Imagine having a project update page on your intranet; instead of manually updating your signs, you can simply display the webpage, ensuring that the most current info is always visible. Want to show who’s out of the office today? Simply pull that list from your PTO calendar. You could also tie in your digital signage with spreadsheets to show company stats, employee and CSAT survey results, staff directories or daily cafeteria menus that can be easily and quickly updated by staff in Excel or Google Sheets.
Integrating data sources for auto-updating content extends to various other applications: showing event schedules from your calendar system, displaying current weather and forecasts, updating commuters with live traffic information, showcasing live social media streams (internal or external) and importing industry headlines into tickers with simple RSS feeds.
Print to Pixels: From Brochures to Big Screens
Even your organization’s printed materials hold untapped potential for digital signage. Handbills, posters and direct mailers, originally designed for outbound marketing or internal notices, can be quickly converted into engaging digital messages. This process isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about internal alignment. Sharing outbound marketing campaigns with internal staff ensures that everyone, from the receptionist to the warehouse team, is aware of current promotions and can confidently address inquiries.
The conversion process is often simpler than you might think. Ideally, the designer of the print piece can provide you with a graphic file in your desired size, which you can simply import. If the graphic doesn’t meet specifications, basic photo manipulation software can help resize and rearrange the layout. Most modern computers now have snipping tools and photo editors built into the OS. Be sure that your graphic fits the resolution and aspect ratio for screens. Nothing looks worse than a pixelated, squashed or stretched graphic on big screens. And remember that digital signage is for short messages. If your print ad has lots of text, you’ll need to cut it down.
The good news is that your marketing team is already creating attractive content designed to engage people. Partnering with them is a great way to bolster your content library with minimal fuss.
Brand Assets: A Shortcut to Stunning Visuals
Most organizations already have a treasure trove of visual assets that can be repurposed for display – logos, product photos, employee headshots, social media graphics and more. These visuals are often professionally produced, already on-brand and ready to go. You may even have access to a stock image subscription through vendors like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock or iStock.
Start by checking with your marketing and social media teams. Be sure to read your brand guidelines and then check out assets on internal shared drives and social media archives. You’ll likely find high-quality images and artwork that can quickly be adapted into attention-grabbing digital signage content.
Don’t forget about in-house videos and short clips that may have been created for training, presentations or promotional use. These can be edited into quick loops or silent reels for lobby displays, break rooms and meeting areas.
By tapping into existing creative assets, you save time, reduce costs and ensure your digital signs stay visually cohesive with the rest of your communications.
More than Just Messaging: Content that Builds Bonds
Effective internal communications go beyond merely pushing information; they aim to engage and educate and foster a sense of community. Your digital signs can be instrumental in achieving these deeper connections.
Profiles: Humanizing Your Organization
While being itself technological in nature, digital signage offers a unique opportunity to humanize your organization and build stronger relationships among colleagues. Spotlight profiles are a powerful way to do this. While you may already display welcome messages for visitors or new team members, think broader: why not feature employees from every department, from department heads to custodial staff? These profiles can commemorate anniversaries or simply be part of regular content rotation.
To make profiles engaging, include a clear picture (portrait orientation is often best, but casual shots or even baby pictures can add a personal touch). Combine professional data (name, job title, recent milestones, current projects) with personal details (where they grew up, hobbies, interests, pets, favorite quotes or even the punchline to their favorite joke). You might even experiment with color-coding (e.g., a specific color for new employee spotlight messages, or colors representing departments).
Suddenly, Rick from IT isn’t just a department head; he’s a person who collects vintage sci-fi magazines. This shared humanity fosters a more close-knit atmosphere, helping people discover commonalities they might not have known about their peers.
Beyond individual people, profiles can extend to products, services, equipment or even locations. Who was Lawrence Cook, for whom the school is named? Why is the mustang your school’s mascot? Why is your new product called “Choros”? Personifying these elements, even elements for internal initiatives, can make them friendlier and more accessible. Imagine a message saying, “Meet our new widget!” rather than just “We have a new widget.” This approach not only builds community but also subtly reminds people of expertise or available resources.
It’s crucial, however, to prioritize respect and privacy. Always allow individuals to opt out of being profiled and grant those who agree the opportunity to edit their information before it goes live. The goal is connection, not intrusion. Profiles also make excellent content for integration with your social media efforts, expanding their reach.
Community News: Fostering Connection and Civic Engagement
Many organizations partner with local communities or charitable groups for fundraising and special events. Digital signs provide an excellent platform to spread the word about these community communications, building a true feeling of inclusion and encouraging audience participation in non-profit activities.
Publishing messages about your organization’s civic efforts, calls for volunteers, special events, fundraisers, blood and pledge drives, appeals for donations and association news can spur audiences to action and keep them informed. Even if your organization isn’t formally involved, you can still gather and advertise community programs from public event calendars, publications and websites. You could also set up a countdown timer for upcoming events or automate data visualization to show fundraising progress.
When planning these communications, be sure to include a URL or QR code for people to get more details and get involved, and begin promoting at least one month before an event or deadline. Repetition is vital for gaining mindshare and ensuring viewers remember and respond to your appeals.
“How To” Topics: Becoming a Trusted Trainer
Digital signage can move beyond announcements to become a go-to resource for practical, valuable information. A “how-to” tips series can engage and educate your audience through knowledge transfer, adding significant value to your visual communications. Instead of simply pushing corporate information, offering useful advice builds loyalty and increases viewership.
These tips can be quick, just a sentence or a few bullet points outlining practical information that positions your digital signage as a valuable education resource, building credibility for your organization. People love to learn new things, and mixing in best practices or quick tips makes your signs a knowledgeable, reliable and even entertaining source of information. This is particularly effective when introducing new procedures, products or technologies.
Don’t limit yourself to purely business-related topics. Consider your audience’s broader interests. Popular subjects include:
- Software Applications: Basic Word and Excel tips are always appreciated.
- Internet/Intranet Tips: How to navigate internal systems or find information online.
- Community Resources: How employees can volunteer locally or access services.
- Technology Help: Quick guides for new apps or common tech issues.
- Best Practices: Company-specific guidelines or industry standards.
- Safety Tips: Crucial information for any environment.
- Study Habits: For educational institutions, advice for students.
- Health Topics: Everyone is interested in wellbeing and food.
- Recipes: Most of us love food, and lots of us like to cook.
For optimal absorption, keep messages clear and concise. It’s better to publish one “how-to” message every few days or once a week, rather than a big batch all at once. Display each message for 12-15 seconds and repeat it frequently throughout the day for better retention. If you have a series of tips or complex instructions, consider referring viewers to web resources or delivering the tips in a serial format over time (a QR code can be displayed that takes people to a webpage with step-by-step guides).
Ask employees to share their own tips or suggestions for “how-to” subjects they’d like to see. You could even match requests with internal experts or mentors. By keeping the knowledge relevant and collaborative, you’ll ensure your audience anticipates and revisits your digital signs.
Press Releases and Publications: Broadening Context
Finally, don’t overlook the value of sharing relevant news and broader industry context. Copying and pasting current headlines from your own press releases or industry news into messages and tickers is a quick way to keep your audience engaged with important developments. Furthermore, if your organization belongs to professional associations or subscribes to industry magazines or newsletters, sharing articles, tidbits and research from these publications rounds out your content by adding a broader context. Always cite your source and include a URL or QR code in your message so interested viewers can follow up on the entire story.
Loyalty Programs: Measuring Engagement and Building Viewership
Loyalty programs are used by businesses to retain customers by offering rewards and incentives for repeat purchases or engagement. It’s why you swipe your discount card at the supermarket or always choose the same airline to build up points.
Beyond typical marketing efforts, loyalty programs can be creatively adapted for digital signage to encourage “loyal viewing behavior.” Do you know how many people read your messages or if your signs are their preferred source of information? Loyalty programs provide a creative framework to answer these questions and build a more dedicated audience.
Such programs offer both educational and inspirational benefits. Educationally, they allow you to build viewer contact lists, collect basic audience demographics, monitor trends and preferences, and reveal which communications are most effective. Inspirationally, they show viewers that you value their opinions, encourage participation and feedback, reward loyalty and continue to build relationships.
To implement a communications loyalty program, first define clear objectives: who is your target audience, what do you want to learn from and about them, how will you communicate, how will you collect feedback, how will you reward them, and how will you measure success? A simple method is to invite viewers to register for your program and then integrate contests and rewards specifically for members within your digital signage messages.
For example, “The first Rewards Club member to call extension 230 wins a Starbucks gift card.” Since these rewards are exclusive to digital signage viewers, it incentivizes more frequent viewing and encourages others to sign up. The key to success lies in tailoring the program and rewards to your audience’s tastes – if the rewards aren’t enticing, engagement will be low.
Becoming an Indispensable Tool
Digital signage, when leveraged creatively, is a dynamic communication channel that can transform internal engagement. By intelligently repurposing existing digital assets and implementing strategic content types, you can create a truly valuable and trusted resource for your internal audience. Focus on clear, well-designed messaging and strategic repetition, and always consider the diverse interests and needs of your viewers. With a little creativity and cross-departmental cooperation, your digital signage can become an indispensable tool, fostering a more informed, connected and engaged workforce.