EPISODE 183 | Guest: Debbie DeWitt, marketing communications manager for Visix
In today’s workplace, meeting fatigue and email overload are driving organizations to rethink how they communicate. This episode explores asynchronous communication – a method that allows people to receive and process information on their own schedule rather than requiring everyone to be present simultaneously. Unlike traditional meetings or real-time calls, asynchronous methods respect people’s time, reduce interruptions, and accommodate diverse schedules across shifts, time zones, and work arrangements.
Digital signage emerges as a particularly effective asynchronous tool, delivering information that’s continuously available without demanding immediate attention. The discussion covers practical applications across various industries, along with content strategies, best practices, and how to integrate digital signage into a broader multi-channel communication approach.
- Understand synchronous vs. asynchronous methods and when each works best.
- Learn to combat meeting fatigue and protect employee “flow states.”
- Discover how digital signage engages with non-intrusive, always-available information.
- Explore asynchronous content ideas for corporate, healthcare, and campus environments.
- Get actionable advice on integrating digital signage into a multi-channel communication strategy that balances synchronous and asynchronous methods.
Subscribe to this podcast: Podbean |Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | RSS
Need content ideas? Grab our free Digital Signage Content Guide
Transcript
Derek DeWitt: Today we’re gonna talk about a form of communication, and its connection to digital signage, that’s actually kind of an old way of communicating, but it has a new label – asynchronous communication. Don’t that sound fancy? Joining me today is Debbie DeWitt, marketing communications manager for Visix. Hi, Debbie. Thanks for coming on.
Debbie DeWitt: Thanks for having me back, Derek.
Derek DeWitt: And of course, thank you. Everybody out there for listening. I remind you; you can subscribe and like and share and follow along with a transcript on the Visix website.
Okay. So, let’s start with something that maybe is more familiar, more relatable. Imagine you need to share an important update with 500 employees spread across multiple locations and multiple shifts. How do we do that?
Debbie DeWitt: Well, five years ago I would’ve said, you know, schedule a series of all-hands meetings and then send a follow up email. But now that’s exactly kind of the wrong approach for most information, and that’s where asynchronous communication comes in.
Derek DeWitt: Okay. So, let’s start with the basics of this. For anybody who might be hearing this term for the first time. In plain English, what does that mean, “asynchronous communication”? Sounds smart.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, it does. It’s fancy. It’s really just communication that doesn’t require everyone to be present or engaged at the same time. So, if you think about it like this, when you send an email, you don’t need the recipient to be sitting at their computer waiting for it. You know, they can read it, and when they’re ready, they process it and respond on their own schedule, you know, usually.
Derek DeWitt: Right. Obviously, we’re talking about just basic emails, not ones that are flagged urgent or something like that. You know, your day-to-day messages that don’t require some kind of immediate response. So, what would be the opposite of asynchronous communication then? Like, real-time interactive?
Debbie DeWitt: Actually like, synchronous communication, oddly enough.
Derek DeWitt: Oh!
Debbie DeWitt: Right. I mean, it is real time. It’s meetings, it’s phone calls, live chat, video conferences, you know, everybody needs to be there at that same moment. And both of these have their place, but we’ve historically really over-relied on synchronous methods in the workplace.
Derek DeWitt: So, what are some common examples of asynchronous communication that people might be using, and they don’t even realize that they’re using it? You may already be an asynchrononaut.
Debbie DeWitt: I like that term. It sounds like you’re pioneering it.
There are tons of examples: emails, obviously, recorded video messages, shared documents, and project management tools. You know, your intranets, your internal social networks like Slack and Teams, even though they can be synchronous using chat and meetings and things, but they’re often used asynchronously, like in, again, pushing out a chat, pushing out a message. And here’s one people don’t always think about, but traditional bulletin boards.
Derek DeWitt: Which is basically what digital signage replaces. So, I’d say digital signage is also this, it’s basically a type of push communications.
Debbie DeWitt: Absolutely. Digital signage is one of the most effective forms of asynchronous communication (needless plug for our product there, folks). But it’s true. It’s broadcasting information continuously, but people get to consume it on their own time as they walk by. You know, no one needs to stop what they’re doing to go attend a digital signage meeting.
Derek DeWitt: Right. So, what’s driving this recent shift in the corporate world in business communications towards this way of communicating? Why are organizations suddenly talking about this approach so much?
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, like I said, it’s not anything that hasn’t been used before, but I think there are three major factors why it’s popping up in a lot of articles and online chats. First, we’ve got meeting fatigue, you know?
Derek DeWitt: Yeah.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. Studies show the average employee spends 31 hours a month in unproductive meetings. So, hybrid and remote work have made it nearly impossible to get everyone in the same place at the same time comfortably. You know, even with online events, when you’ve got team members in different time zones, or work in different schedules, it can be a big challenge.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. I know. I read a lot of things about how people are just exhausted by constant context switching.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. You’re in the middle of something and suddenly, Ope, oh, my meeting reminder popped up; now I gotta change my whole brain. So, the second reason, I think, is this massive email overload. You know, in addition to meetings, we’re getting so many emails. So, the average office worker receives 121 emails per day.
Derek DeWitt: Jesus.
Debbie DeWitt: They spend about 23% of their time just checking messages. And that problem’s severe enough that 38% of workers say email fatigue could lead them to, honestly, quit their jobs. So that’s a productivity crisis and an employee retention risk. And I know that we’ve said email is asynchronous communication. The problem is, again, people are paying attention because they’re realizing it’s being overused.
Derek DeWitt: It’s also not really a great use of organizational resources. I mean, if people are spending 23% of their work time, that means more than one full workday just checking email messages.
Debbie DeWitt: I know. I just did my annual stats for last year, and if I combined just meetings and email and general planning and that kind of thing, it was like 17% of my time. So, I’m actually under the average. And I will say, you know, a lot of that was unproductive meetings. A lot of our meetings are productive. So there’s that.
Derek DeWitt: Gotcha. Right. So again, email is an asynchronous form of communication, but there’s just too much of it.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And the third thing is that there’s a growing respect for people’s time and attention.
Derek DeWitt: Finally!
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. It sounds really basic, but again, with all of the changes in hybrid, and people paying attention to wellness and all of that, organizations are realizing that not every piece of information requires someone to drop everything and tune in right this second.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, I think that’s a really important mindset shift. You know, flexible workplace, and the agile work environment and all that. People working from home, we’re seeing that people are more productive actually, which is better for employees and better for the organizations, better for the bottom line.
Debbie DeWitt: As you were saying, you know, interrupting that workflow to get everyone together just to tell them about like a basic policy change. You know, if it doesn’t require their input, it’s really wasteful for your business, and it’s really frustrating for your people.
Derek DeWitt: Okay. We now know what asynchronous communication is. Maybe some insight into why it’s trending. But let’s be honest, no communication method is perfect. So, let’s talk about the pros and the cons. What are the biggest advantages of asynchronous communication?
Debbie DeWitt: Well, I’d start with flexibility and that respect for time. You know, when you communicate asynchronously, you’re essentially saying, here’s the information you need, consume it when it makes sense for your workflow. You know, that’s huge for productivity, and people can stay in their flow state instead of constantly jumping into meetings.
Derek DeWitt: I know we have listeners from all types of organizations, corporate offices, university campuses, schools, hospitals, and so on. So, how does this flexibility play out differently in these different environments?
Debbie DeWitt: That’s a great question. I mean, off the top of my head, in healthcare, for example, you’ve got shift workers who might never overlap. A nurse on night shift can’t attend your 2:00 PM staff meeting, but they can certainly see important updates on a digital display in the break room, you know, whenever they take a break.
Or I’d say in higher education, students and faculty have wildly different schedules. So, a digital sign in the student center could share information about registration, deadlines, campus events, emergency protocols, and it’s there when someone walks by, whether that’s 8:00 AM or 8:00 PM
Derek DeWitt: Right. Yeah. That’s for sure. What else makes this type of communication so powerful?
Debbie DeWitt: Accessibility and inclusivity. You know, these are big topics these days. It’s really important and it often gets overlooked. Asynchronous communication gives people time to process information at their own pace. That’s super important. And it’s critical for neurodiverse individuals who might need a little extra processing time. Or, you know, there are people who maybe their first language isn’t English. So, they can take the time they need without feeling rushed.
And I’d say another thing is there’s this documentation aspect. You know, it’s true for things like an intranet. Everything’s there, so people can go back and reference it later if they need to. Like, how many times have you heard someone say like, oh, nobody told me about that deadline. You know, if you don’t delete the post from your internet, well, there’s a living record you can point to.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, that’s true. So, no excuse there, Ralph. It’s been on the internet for ages. Not our fault you don’t look at it. I think that’s not as true though with digital signage, because one of the advantages of that is that messages retire automatically from the system when they’re scheduled to. So, there’s not really a record there, ’cause those messages go away.
Debbie DeWitt: True. However, you can have those messages pop up over and over again on screens. You know, if you have that deadline people need to know about, you can schedule a reminder to play right up until the deadline hits. You know, you can, you use dayparting to go, like, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You don’t have to have it up there all the time. The other nice way to do it, I’d say back with my intranet documentation example, use your screens to remind people they can check the intranet. That’s your archive. So advertise it.
Derek DeWitt: All right, fair enough. There’s a scalability factor, too, which I think is another practical aspect of this.
Debbie DeWitt: Exactly. With asynchronous communications, you can reach unlimited number of people without requiring simultaneous attention. Think about the cost, both time and money, of getting just like 10 people together for a one-hour meeting. You know, that’s an entire business day, 10 hours of productivity, you just sat in a room. Hope you did something useful.
Derek DeWitt: I hope there were biscuits.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. Always need snacks. But you know, with digital signage or other asynchronous methods, you create the message once, you throw it out there and it reaches everyone without that massive time investment.
Derek DeWitt: Right. Okay. All right. So, those are some pretty compelling advantages. Now let’s talk about challenges. Let’s talk about the downsides, the cons.
Debbie DeWitt: I mean, the most obvious one is delayed responses. If you need an immediate answer or you’re dealing with some urgent situation, this is not your friend. You don’t want to do it this way, ’cause there’s gonna be a lag between when you send that message and when people receive it and act on it.
Derek DeWitt: So, there are situations where you really do sometimes need to have everybody in the room or on that call.
Debbie DeWitt: Oh, absolutely. I mean, obviously crisis communications and alerts. If you’re doing a brainstorming session, I think they’re better in a room, you know? I like a whiteboard. I just do. But you can do that online. But, you know, any sensitive conversation, obviously. Back to HR, if you’re complaining about those managers sending emails that need…
Derek DeWitt: Don’t put that upon your digital signage. Use this QR code to complain about your manager today.
Debbie DeWitt: Right. I mean, all of those kinds of things you want real time interaction. And the key’s knowing when to use which method.
Derek DeWitt: Isn’t there a risk of misunderstanding? I could imagine sometimes, without that immediate back and forth, sometimes things get sort lost in translation.
Debbie DeWitt: I think that’s true. You know, it’s, it’s a challenge. In a live meeting, if someone gets confused, they can raise their hand. You can clarify immediately. You know, you’ve got body language, tone of voice, a lot of different layers of communication that don’t always translate even online in meetings. But asynchronous methods, you’re gonna lose that. So, you have to be extra clear, extra thorough, and you need to build in mechanisms for people to ask questions or provide feedback if you can.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. I’m also thinking about, you know, information overload. This is a constant complaint in all aspects of life these days; not just work life. Doesn’t adding more of this asynchronous communication kind of just make that worse?
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah.
Derek DeWitt: Ha!
Debbie DeWitt: I mean…
Derek DeWitt: Thank you for listening.
Debbie DeWitt: Right! And that’s it. I mean, I would say just, you know, fill in the blank. Doesn’t adding more blank just make that worse? Yes, it absolutely can if you’re not strategic about it. That’s the whole point of this podcast.
Derek DeWitt: Don’t just use it as a substitute.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. The whole thing is, you know, you have to be strategic about your communications and all the different channels and mediums you’re using and the volume and how you design them. That’s what strategy is. And I will say though, this is where digital signage actually has an advantage over things like email, ’cause an email sits in an inbox, you know, it wants that attention.
Derek DeWitt: It’s bold.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah.
Derek DeWitt: It’s unread.
Debbie DeWitt: It’s staring at you. Yeah. A digital sign’s there when you’re ready for it, you know. It’s what I say is like ambient rather than intrusive. Like I said, you’re right, any communication channel can become noise if you’re not thoughtful about what you’re sharing and how often.
Derek DeWitt: With asynchronous communication methods, how do you even know people are paying attention? I mean, that’s gotta be tough.
Debbie DeWitt: Well, we may have mentioned this once or twice on here, but, you know, success measurement is the biggest challenge. You know, engagement uncertainty. With a meeting, you can see who showed up. With an email, you might get read receipts, you know? With a lot of asynchronous channels, including digital signage, you don’t always know who saw what.
So, it is getting better. Modern digital signage systems give you analytics for playback, or can track engagement on touch touchscreens, but it’s something you have to plan for. You know, you need follow-up mechanisms and feedback loops.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, yeah. That’s exactly what I was gonna say. We talk about this all the time. You can and should build in ROI measures, honestly, something as simple as a QR code. I mean, you could use short URLs, but no one will remember them. Just use the QR code in your digital signage designs, and you’ll automatically get some sort of metrics and a way for people to interact. We talk about calls to action a lot. We’ve talked about that in previous episodes; check the transcript for links to those.
But back to this topic, why is digital signage particularly well suited for asynchronous communication in your mind?
Debbie DeWitt: Well, I think it hits a sweet spot that other asynchronous methods don’t quite reach. You know, it broadcasts information continuously. It’s visual, so it’s processed very quickly. And, this is the key, is that it’s non-intrusive. You know? Again, like that email notification that pings you, or the Team’s message that pulls your attention away from whatever workflow you’re in, whatever headspace you’re in, digital signage is just like…there, you know? Tt creates what I call ambient awareness.
Derek DeWitt: Ooh. I like that term, “ambient awareness”. I think I do. It sounds nice. But what does it mean?
Debbie DeWitt: Right. Is that just gibberish you’ve made up?
Derek DeWitt: What a bunch of nice jargon.
Debbie DeWitt: No. I mean, let me give you an example. Think about walking through an airport. You know, you’re not actively looking for information every single second, but you’re subconsciously aware of the departure boards, the directional signage, safety messages, and all the other information that’s up on screens and plaques. It’s there when you need it, but it’s not demanding your attention right this second. That’s ambient awareness. And I think it’s incredibly powerful in a workplace or in a school or campus or, you know, public setting.
Derek DeWitt: So, it’s there when people want it, and it’s just not interrupting their flow.
Debbie DeWitt: Exactly. And another advantage is passive consumption, but with active impact. How about that?
Derek DeWitt: Very jargony.
Debbie DeWitt: Right? Right. I’m getting a T-shirt.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah.
Debbie DeWitt: So, all that means is, you know, people absorb information while they’re already in motion. They’re walking into a lobby, they’re grabbing a coffee, they’re waiting for an elevator. So, what I mean is you’re meeting them where they are, literally, without asking them to do anything special or go anywhere special or show up to a meeting or…
Derek DeWitt: Or open Outlook or whatever.
Debbie DeWitt: Right.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I mean, what about this always available aspect? How does that play into it?
Debbie DeWitt: I think it’s huge. You know, content on digital signs typically loops, right? You’ve got a playlist that’s going over and over. So, if someone misses a message on their first walk by, they’ll see it the next time or the time after that, you know? And that really accommodates different schedules and traffic patterns. The night shift will see the same information as the day shift. You know, the early bird student sees the same event promotion that the night owl student did.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, that’s true. And, you know, I think something that people don’t really consider is that digital signage, I think, can kind of bridge the gap between asynchronous and synchronous communication. Do you see where I’m going with this?
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, use those digital signs to promote the synchronous things, like, upcoming events, tomorrow’s all-hands meeting, next week’s training session. You know, those are all synchronous, but you’re promoting them on asynchronous.
And it works the other way, too, you know? You can provide follow-up to synchronous communications. For example, you held a town hall meeting last week where you announced some new policy. Well, not everyone could attend. So, put the key takeaways up on digital signs for the next week, and now everybody’s on the same page, whether they were in the room or not.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. I like that very, very much. Let’s talk about some other content ideas that really leverage this approach. Let’s start with corporate environments.
Debbie DeWitt: Sure. So, in a corporate setting, digital signage is perfect for passive announcements. Things like policy updates, deadlines, reminders. You know, we have a new brochure available. We’ve launched a new product, remember to recycle. You know, we always talk about celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries. Pretty much any information someone needs to know, well, not “someone”, everyone needs to know but doesn’t require face-to-face communication.
Derek DeWitt: Right, ’cause like you said, people can absorb it at their own pace. It’s nice to know that this is Julie’s five-year anniversary working at the company, but, you know, I don’t need to know that right this second. I’ll get around to it, and then I’m glad I did.
Debbie DeWitt: Unless there’s cake in the break room, then you need to know right now.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. Right now. That’s synchronous. Cakesynchronous.
I’m also thinking of data visualizations are used on digital signs, you know, people are updated on KPIs and progress towards goals. You’ve got things like countdowns, you got things like menu boards, all these sorts of things as well. And like you said, promote upcoming events, show a daily event schedule for meetings that, you know, nobody really wants to attend, but they may have to.
Debbie DeWitt: Exactly.
Derek DeWitt: Oh, good. Another meeting. Yay!
Debbie DeWitt: Or you can celebrate, look at all those meetings I’m not in! But, yeah, I think using digital signage for project milestones and team celebrations is something I really like. You know, engineering team hit their delivery target two weeks early, or sales team close the biggest deal of the quarter.
Derek DeWitt: Kudos, kudos.
Debbie DeWitt: Kudos all the time, man. Recognizing achievement and building culture without having everyone have to stop what they’re doing and be there.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, that’s true. And what about like training and safety content? Same kind of idea, right?
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, it’s perfect for digital signage. You know, quick training tips, safety reminders, cybersecurity best practices.
Derek DeWitt: Boy, no kidding. Stop clicking on those phish emails.
Debbie DeWitt: Exactly. Or, you know, remember to lock your computer when you step away. You know, phishing attempts are up this quarter, you know, be vigilant, you know? These are small reminders that reinforce some of the formal training you may have given without being overwhelming.
And I’d say, another big one is highlight employee resources. A lot of companies have like amazing benefits or wellness initiatives that people don’t even know about. And what happens is, especially if you have a lot of longtime employees, you may forget that you’ve hired a couple people this year, and so they didn’t see this campaign when you did it last time. So, make sure you’re showing things that are like, you know, did you know we offer free financial planning or mental health days are part of your PTO? Use them.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah! I love that. Okay. What about, like, educational institutions? Obviously, a lot of these things apply there as well, but schools and universities are very kind of different, maybe more flexible, more dynamic environments. What should they be thinking about when creating content for their audiences?
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, like you said, these are diverse audiences and diverse schedules, too. So, I think for your digital signage content, you start with the basics. You know, event calendars, deadline reminders, course registration closes Friday, or you know, there’s a career fair in the student center tomorrow at three.
I think another thing we talk about a lot on campuses is emergency notifications. You’re gonna have weather alerts, you’ll have campus security updates. Pretty much any situation where you need to get information out fast to everyone. Those screens can be updated instantly across either in one building or across campus, the whole system, you can choose where it goes, but I think that’s a big one that you need to, to think about.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. And the screens are right there. I don’t have to open up my email program or Teams or whatever in order to see it.
Debbie DeWitt: I will say this with any emergency alerts, it needs to be multi-platform, probably text messaging, you know? Most campuses have something in place and digital signage is one part of that.
Derek DeWitt: Right, right, right. And the digital signage is also, I think good for community building, too, yeah?
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. Especially in like K-12 schools. You know, student achievement spotlights are huge. You really wanna give a lot of reinforcement there. You know, congratulations to the robotics team for winning regionals.
Derek DeWitt: Robotics team in K-12! Boy, I wish been such a thing when I was in high school. That would’ve been cool.
Debbie DeWitt: I had to take typing. Now it’s, like, programming. High school….
Derek DeWitt: Home Ec.
Debbie DeWitt: Oh, I had to take that, too. I had to sew a smock.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, right!
Debbie DeWitt: But yeah, clubs and organizations are huge with K-12 content. Study tips during, you know, like final test weeks or working up to the SATs, you know? Inspirational quotes and wellness stuff, again….
Derek DeWitt: I think young people respond to those a lot.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah.
Derek DeWitt: They don’t seem hokey to them. They’re like, thanks I needed that boost.
Debbie DeWitt: No, I think you have to know your audience, and you have to know that public recognition is huge for younger people right now. They, you know, they’ve grown up with social media, and they’re used to, you know, unfortunately negative, but positive reinforcement being in a public setting is something you need to think about.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. Yeah. What about like career services? That also seems like a natural fit, especially for, you know, juniors and seniors in high school.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, I think absolutely. You know, there’s career services, sometimes like free resume reviews, you know, job placement programs, internship opportunities. I think, you know, whether it’s a campus or, some of this in K-12 but mainly campuses, as students are moving between classes, you know, you can catch them with that information and give them something like, you know, appointment reminders or perhaps you’ve got specialists in. Or like I said, that career fair, you know, you wanna remind them of that and reminding them of that while they’re in transition is perfect.
Derek DeWitt: Because they are, in a larger sense, in transition.
Debbie DeWitt: Ooh, nice!
Derek DeWitt: What about healthcare facilities? That’s a pretty unique environment, and I think there are specific communication challenges there.
Debbie DeWitt: I think it’s less of a challenge, and so it’s more that you’ve got different audiences, multiple audiences, you know, you’ve got your patients, you’ve got visitors, you’ve got staff. And the staff is several different layers. So, I think they’re often looking at the same screens. So, you have to segment that.
I think for staff you can share, like, wait-time updates, queue management info, upcoming training, certifications, employee wellness. You know, you do all of that though in staff-facing screens. You know, you don’t need to have that in your lobby.
Obviously for patients and visitors, digital signage is great for wayfinding. You can use a map to navigate the hospital, have department locations, or provider directories.
I think sharing general health tips, infectious control protocols, you know, hygiene reminders, like washing your hands, that’s always very relevant. And I think, you know, right now you can get rid of some of that general info that they might go to the reception desk for, like patient rights or satisfaction survey prompt, things like that.
Derek DeWitt: So, the asynchronous nature of these kinds of communications, I would think would be especially valuable in healthcare, because like you said, different shifts, these things are open 24 hours a day, you have three different shifts.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah! I mean you might have nurses who haven’t seen each other in weeks, ’cause they’re on different shifts. So, digital signage ensures they’re all getting that same information about, you know, protocol changes or new equipment or upcoming events.
Derek DeWitt: Okay. Let’s talk about one more: retail and hospitality environment. So, how’s digital signage work there? Because really, like you said with healthcare, different audiences. Retail, hospitality, you certainly have two. You’ve got customers and you have the employees. And again, you know, never the twain shall meet; they don’t all need to see exactly the same thing. Customers, I think, are usually gonna see, like, ads for products and services.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah.
Derek DeWitt: Daily specials on sales, branded content. If you’re in like a hotel or a convention center, maybe you put up group welcomes or promote onsite services. Hey, here’s a place, get your haircut, here’s a place, get coffee, et cetera.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And you’re gonna see a lot of event schedules in those and you know, especially with like breakout rooms and ballroom in hospitality. You’re gonna see those listings of who’s in what room. I think for employees you can share operational updates. Again, those training reminders, employee recognition, you know.
But in any environment, you can also use digital signage to communicate your company values and your community involvement. I think that’s something that gets overlooked a lot. You know, you wanna tell people, hey, we donated 10,000 meals to the local food bank this quarter, or our sustainability initiatives reduced waste by 40%. It builds pride and engagement among the staff.
Derek DeWitt: Those are great examples. But I know that some of our listeners might be thinking like, I don’t know, God, that sounds like a lot of different content to manage. What are some of your best practices for making this actually work?
Debbie DeWitt: Well, we have a lot of advice in these podcast episodes. We’ve got guides and we’ve got white papers you can download for specific ideas. But just to go through some of the biggest ones, I’d say the first rule is always to keep your messages concise. You know, the rule of thumb is keep the text short and sweet, 7 to 10 seconds of viewing time per message. People are walking by, not stopping to read a novel.
Derek DeWitt: Right. We’re talking basically headlines and key points here, bullet points. You don’t even need to use grammatically correct sentences as long as there’s a verb and a noun, and maybe the noun is implied. If someone’s in a waiting room or a break room or someplace where they maybe have more dwell time, all right, you could maybe toss in some more detail. But in, especially in high traffic areas where people are breezing through, I think you should keep it short and keep it punchy.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And I will just do a shameless plug here for our new AI assistant that’s in our CMS. You can actually, when you’re using our templates, type in whatever text you have, maybe you did have a paragraph, and you can actually ask it to play with that text and shorten it for you. Make it, you know, funny. They’re like five different tones of voice of professional, you know, friendly but professional, and short as possible is probably the one I would recommend the most.
Derek DeWitt: Right, right. So, you can show those short ones in the lobby and the longer ones in the break room.
Debbie DeWitt: No, I would say short ones in the lobby and longer ones on your intranet. I would never put a long paragraph on a digital sign at all.
Derek DeWitt: Right. Right. How about refresh rates? How often should we be changing this content?
Debbie DeWitt: I think you gotta do it regularly. You know, if people see the same message for three months, it just becomes wallpaper. They’re gonna stop noticing it. I usually recommend a mix of that, you know, timely, urgent information that changes every day or weekly, and then have some evergreen content that can stay in rotation longer.
But I will say, even the evergreen content, I’d say minimum every six months, like, just change the colors, you know? Change something on that design, so that it catches eyes again. And also mix in some lighter content, you know, interesting facts about the company, inspirational messages, trivia, you know, it keeps people engaged, and it actually makes the important messages stand out more.
And again, another shameless plug (yay!), we just launched our Good Vibes feed, which is all that. It is like dad jokes and trivia and inspirational messages. And it’s really fun and it’s a great alternative to, let’s be honest, what’s kind of downer news. A lot of people are not wanting to show like news headlines or news feeds right now. So, they’re like, can we get something else up there? Good Vibes.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. But keep in mind, even the, call it fluffier stuff, like every piece of content should have a clear purpose. You have to ask yourself, what do I want someone to do or know after seeing this? And it might be just keep them engaged, amuse them, make them enjoy the experience of interacting with the digital signage.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. Just, I wanna make these people smile today.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. And of course, every message should have a call to action. It might be visit HR for more details or go talk to the accountants. Or most often, I think, scan this QR code to register or to sign up or to learn more or whatever. Or ask your manager about this program, whatever, whatever it is. You should, whenever possible, give people a next step to follow. If there is one. If it’s a dad joke, I don’t know that you need to have a QR code.
Debbie DeWitt: That’s true. But yeah, that’s the only way you’re gonna get feedback and measure your success.
Derek DeWitt: So, how does digital signage fit into like the broader communication strategy? Should it be a standalone thing or should it be integrated into everything?
Debbie DeWitt: I think you know the answer to that, but thanks.
Derek DeWitt: I did; I did. That’s just a setup!
Debbie DeWitt: Thanks. Thanks for the setup. Definitely integrated. You know, digital signage should complement, not replace, your other communication channels. Think of it as part of a multi-channel strategy. For example, you might announce a new initiative via email, reinforce it with digital signage content for two weeks, discuss it in Team meetings, and then put a summary document on the intranet. Each channel serves its own purpose and every organization’s gonna have a blend of synchronous and asynchronous communications.
Derek DeWitt: So, really, you’re talking about creating consistency across the channels. I think that’s crucial. If the email you send out says one thing, but your digital signage, which is supposed to reinforce that email says something different, now you’re just creating confusion.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. All of your messaging has to align and support each other.
Derek DeWitt: All right. So, what’s the one thing you want listeners to take away from this episode about asynchronous communications?
Debbie DeWitt: Hmm. I’ll say this. If every message is urgent, nothing is urgent.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. That’s for sure. The best communication isn’t always the loudest or the most immediate. Sometimes it’s the message that’s there exactly when somebody needs it.
Debbie DeWitt: Perfectly said.
Derek DeWitt: Asynchronous communication, especially through digital signage, is really all about respecting people’s time and attention and flows. In a world where we’re constantly interrupted and overwhelmed, giving people information they can access on their own terms is actually kind of a gift.
So, here’s my challenge to everybody listening. Audit your current communication mix. Where are you over-relying on synchronous methods like meetings or real-time calls, where asynchronous communication might actually be more effective? Where could digital signage fill gaps in your current strategy? And what information are you struggling to share that would actually work beautifully on a screen in a high traffic area?
So, take 30 minutes this week, after you’ve finished looking at your 121 emails, to map that all out. And I think you would be surprised at what you discover.
Debbie DeWitt: Nice. I like the challenge.
Derek DeWitt: Gauntlet thrown.
Debbie DeWitt: Nice. Glove is down!
Derek DeWitt: The glove is down. Well, I’d like to thank my guest today for talking to me about sort of this new take on push communications, asynchronous communications. She’s Debbie DeWitt, she is marketing communications manager for Visix. Thanks for coming on Deb.
Debbie DeWitt: Thanks for having me.
Derek DeWitt: And thank you everybody out there for listening.