EPISODE 168 | Debbie DeWitt, marketing communications manager for Visix
This episode takes a deep dive into the impactful world of digital signage content specifically tailored for coworking environments. From optimizing space management and fostering community to providing valuable resources and promoting internal services, you’ll uncover a wealth of actionable strategies.
Learn how thoughtfully designed visual communications can transform shared workspaces into dynamic, engaging and highly functional hubs for diverse professionals.
- Learn why digital signage is a good communication tool for diverse coworking audiences.
- Hear eight specific content categories with practical message examples for each.
- Discover how to leverage digital signage to enhance wayfinding and streamline operations.
- Explore how to use digital signage to promote internal services and boost your brand.
- Get actionable tips on curating engaging content that automatically updates in real time.
Subscribe to this podcast: Podbean | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | RSS
Need more content ideas? Grab our free Digital Signage Content Guide
Transcript
Derek DeWitt: Today we’re taking a deep dive into content ideas for digital signage and coworking spaces. We’re gonna give you lots of specific examples you can start using today, so that your screens truly engage and help your entire audience.
We’re delighted to welcome back Debbie DeWitt, marketing communications manager for Visix. Hi, Deb.
Debbie DeWitt: Hi, Derek.
Derek DeWitt: Thanks for talking to me today.
Debbie DeWitt: Absolutely! Love being here.
Derek DeWitt: And of course, thank you everybody out there for listening to this episode of Digital Signage Done Right. I remind you, you can subscribe, like, review, share and follow along with a transcript on the Visix website.
Now, to really set the stage, let’s elaborate further on what exactly a coworking space means in today’s evolving work landscape.
Debbie DeWitt: The thing is, is that coworking spaces aren’t monolithic. You know, you have spaces ranging from small little boutique operations, and they’ll focus on specific niches like creative professionals or tech startups, and then you also have large multi-location enterprises that offer a wide array of amenities and membership tiers. So, kind of like a gym or anything else.
And, you know, those member profiles are equally diverse. You can find freelancers looking to, you know, escape the house and the kids and the dog. You might have small teams who need somewhere to work on their project. Or even remote employees looking for, you know, sort of a more semi-professional environment, maybe camaraderie. And quite frankly, even large corporations sometimes will use coworking for satellite offices, or so they don’t have to pay for desks at their facility. And the operators of coworking spaces often try to cultivate some sense of community and buzz to make it more fun and inviting.
Derek DeWitt: Right. That’s kind of the idea behind it. I mean, anybody who’s familiar with WeWork, I think knows what we’re talking about. Or maybe you saw the TV series We Crashed…
Debbie DeWitt: Great!
Derek DeWitt: …with Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. Yeah, obviously things went wrong for him, but generally speaking, it’s a pretty good primer on what the concept of coworking spaces is. The whole idea is to foster collaboration and networking and create a sense of belonging among individuals who might otherwise be working in isolation. So, you know, kind of a win-win-win, really. They do this with shared common areas, organized events, and just kind of a general ethos of connection and support. And, you know, little fun things like cappuccino machines and beanbags and games and other sort of modern office bells and whistles.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And just like any communication strategy, including your digital signage content, you know, you need to be mindful of this diversity and the overarching goal of building that cohesive, and let’s say it again, engaging community. It needs to really cater to that wide range of interests and professional needs while reinforcing this unique sort of, I’m gonna use a little buzz word here, but like the “social fabric” of that space.
Derek DeWitt: Now, why is digital signage a good fit for these kinds of places? What are some of the communication challenges that well-designed content can help address and overcome?
Debbie DeWitt: I think wayfinding screens are first and foremost.
Derek DeWitt: Oh, yeah, that makes sense. If you booked a space, you need to be able to find it.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, right.
Derek DeWitt: Right? And we’ll get into specific content tips for that in a bit, but why else, besides wayfinding, might coworking venues want a digital signage system?
Debbie DeWitt: Well, I think your screen designs can help present kind of a consistent brand identity across a chain of coworking venues. You know, we talked about WeWork, and there are a lot of these, so, you know, you wanna remember this is a business.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, that’s true. And just even having digital signage itself might be seen as a differentiator from your competitors. Or if what you put on your screens is better than what your competitors put on theirs, it might bring in more people.
Debbie DeWitt: Yep. I mean, digital signage lets you reinforce that brand. We’ve talked about this before with your identity and things through consistent visuals and messaging, creating a more unified feel.
But also, you know, everyone is there to work. So digital signage is passive. You know, it’s not in your face, like if you’re emailing or texting or some, God forbid, dude making announcements, you know about a change like…
Derek DeWitt: With a bullhorn!
Debbie DeWitt: Right. Or even just someone standing up and saying like, hey, Thursday, our hours are gonna be different. You know, it’s just there to catch members’ attention during downtime or as they’re walking by. So, you know, the better the content, the more often they’re gonna look at it.
Derek DeWitt: And I’d imagine a lot of the content we’re talking about would also be good for hybrid workplaces. I mean, it’s a little bit of the same scenario. A bunch of different people using a bunch of different spaces as they need them.
Debbie DeWitt: Absolutely. There’s a lot of crossover. You know, think about celebrating team or member achievements. In a hybrid office, you might be showcasing project milestones. And you know, employee recognition fosters morale and a sense of shared success. So, it’s kind of similar in a coworking space. You might highlight member successes to build community and inspire others.
A lot of the content tips we talk about here are gonna work for both situations. The key is that humans are visual. So, clear, engaging visual messaging is gonna benefit the audience in either environment.
Derek DeWitt: Okay. Let’s unpack some content examples. We have eight of them, and we’re gonna go through the benefits and some specific examples for each one.
Debbie DeWitt: Let’s do it.
Derek DeWitt: Let’s do it.
Number one is scheduling and space management info. Like you said, wayfinding’s a big one, but so is schedules. You have a bunch of people who may not remember what space they booked or how long they booked it for. So, you put daily bookings up on screens as a kind of an event schedule, honestly.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah.
Derek DeWitt: And of course, maps of the facility, they could be static or interactive wayfinding on touchscreens, these will be hugely helpful for people to navigate the venue. Members can easily find where they need to go, which leads to less frustration and smoother workflows.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And you know, we’ve started offering workspace wayfinding. So, that actually shows every desk and every room on a map. So, spaces are shown in green or red, so you can see what’s booked, what’s open. You can even have little popups when you touch a space to show who’s booked it and for how long, if you can’t find yourself, or you’re looking for somebody, you know?
It really works well with our Choros product, little plug there, you know. But if you put a QR code in the pop-up for a particular space, people can book it using that, or you could just put a QR code on a big screen that goes to your general booking system.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, absolutely.
So, here are some specific examples. You could show a schedule that displays bookings for the current day with the reservation name, the location, the start and end time. You could have a simple list view that shows each meeting room or desk or whatever it is, locker, and its current availability. You can show floor maps, hopefully showing what’s already booked and what’s available at that moment. And this is best if it’s interactive so that people can get point-to-point directions, right?
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah.
Derek DeWitt: And screens outside rooms, meeting rooms and so on, so people going by can see the schedule for that specific room and then make quick bookings right there at the screen.
I know Visix has both ePaper room signs and interactive room signs that let you book right there at the screen.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, yeah. We have both. And like I said, you can also put a QR code on those ePaper signs to let you book. So, either way you’ve got that option. I’d say integration with your booking system is paramount. Because it allows for automatic updates, and that way you don’t get double bookings or discrepancies. You know, the key here with event stuff is clarity and realtime accuracy. You have to make sure those screens are easily visible from a distance and just provide that information in a clean format.
Derek DeWitt: Right. If your system is saying, hey, this room is available and you walk over there and it’s not, you kind of lose trust in the whole system.
Debbie DeWitt: There might be a refresh time, you know, you might give yourself the buffer of five minutes or something like that. But yeah. What you don’t want is to have, you know, something that’s hours outdated.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, that’s the first item.
Two would be member spotlights and announcements for everybody. So instead of just throwing up somebody’s name like “Bob Johnson works for us”, that would be a weird thing to do, right? Maybe throw in a brief bio, their area of expertise, maybe a fun fact about them, something they’re interested in; he collects dog collars and loves wine, whatever. When you’re talking about announcements that affect large portions of the audience, use engaging visuals and make sure to keep the information concise and easily digestible.
Debbie DeWitt: Yes. Keep it simple.
Derek DeWitt: This humanizes the space, letting members learn more about one another and potentially even find collaboration opportunities they might not otherwise have had. And then finally, recognizing achievements boosts morale, especially when it’s public, and creates a supportive environment.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And I think, you know, elevate those member spotlights beyond just a name and a job title. Like you said, you wanna have a high-quality photo, a very brief, but engaging bio highlighting their expertise or their passions, or perhaps you could also put in their contact info, you know, if they’re open to collaborations, LinkedIn or even an email if you have like your own for your coworking space.
For announcements, we always say use visually distinct templates. You know, keep that text concise. Think about color coding your announcements. You could have topics like community news or member updates or space information. And each of those could use like a different color background all the time, so people instantly recognize those.
You could also feature something like “A Member Asks”, where individuals can post questions or seek help from other members.
Derek DeWitt: Hmm. That’s a nice idea. Some other specific examples include a weekly featured member slide with that photo, short bio, maybe a QR code that takes you to their LinkedIn profile for a deeper dive if you want to stalk someone in the coworking space.
Debbie DeWitt: Hey, every time you can use a QR code, it’s good. You’re gonna hear that a lot.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, ’cause they’re fast. They’re so fast, it’s preposterous.
Obviously, congratulatory messages from member achievements like, hey, such and such published a book, or this person’s company just launched a product or whatever. Obviously, new members feel welcomed if you have them featured in a welcoming message with, again, brief introduction and their name.
And because people are coming and going throughout that space all the time, and it’s sometimes an unfamiliar place, people leave stuff behind. So maybe even think about like a digital lost and found section with like, hey, here’s a photo of something we found. Whose is it?
Debbie DeWitt: That’s a great idea. But I will say on all of these things about featuring your members or “Member Asks” and that, it all has to be voluntary. You can ask for member spotlights through a simple web form and encourage members to share their news and achievements, again, through a web form. This kind of content’s perfect for templates if your content management system has those, so you can just quickly fill them out and get them on screen.
Derek DeWitt: All right. Three is inspirational and motivational content. We’re talking way beyond the, you know, cat in the tree hanging in their posters stuff.
Debbie DeWitt: I love that poster still.
Derek DeWitt: I know, I know. But studies do show that exposure to positive imagery and art reduces stress, improves focus and enhances creativity. I know, I don’t notice it in myself when I’m in those environments. I roll my eyes and go, duh, I’m too cool for this. But apparently just having that stuff in the corner of your eyes does have a psychological effect.
Now, in a shared workspace, like a coworking location, this contributes to a much more positive and a less sterile atmosphere. It helps everyone’s mental wellbeing and potentially can even boost their work output. And they will kind of associate that increased work output with being in that coworking space.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And just a more positive, you know, customer experience for them in the space. You know, you need to think strategically about the kind of inspiration that resonates with your specific member base. If you cater to creatives, then showcase inspiring design work or photography or short films. For a more like entrepreneurial crowd, maybe features some quotes from successful founders or excerpts from insightful business books, things like that. There are tons of websites out there where you can find these things.
Derek DeWitt: So many.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. Another thing is maybe consider, like, rotating themes. You could have like Mindset Monday, Creative Spark Wednesday, Focus Friday. You know, it’s all about providing some variety.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, that’s true. I will say though, if you’re gonna go on the web to try and find quotes, verify that that person actually said that thing, because there are a lot of fake quotes out there.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, definitely.
Derek DeWitt: Some more specific examples include that you could maybe display an in-house artist feature with like a quote about a piece of their work or their journey or something like that. You could rotate through a curated collection of graphic design posters, each of which has powerful messages. You could share short, digestible tips on time management, productivity, wellbeing, desk exercises, you know, all that kind of thing.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. Health and wellness is huge.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. Or snippets from relevant articles or podcasts that offer motivational insights. Not necessarily the audio. Maybe you have a particular part of your specific venue that allows for audio, but yeah, you can just throw up a quote in words from a podcast and maybe a QR code, so that people can then go to that episode.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. I think some DSDR tips, since we do a transcript, would be very easy.
If nothing else, you can just advertise. Did you know about this podcast? And again, I think, the articles work much better for that, ’cause it’s a quick copy paste.
The biggest thing is understanding your members’ interests. Conduct informal polls or surveys to gauge what kind of stuff they wanna see, what kind of inspirational content might resonate with them. As always, you need to keep those visuals high quality, keep the text concise, and make sure the tone aligns with your coworking space’s overall brand and culture. Again, we’re talking about consistency and identity here.
The other thing I’ll say, as we say all the time, is to rotate the content to keep it fresh and engaging.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah.
Number four is social media buzz in real time. Now, this is certainly possible to do. It does need careful curation. Maybe you put up posts with a dedicated coworking space hashtag, which means you could create a specific page or group or something like that. Now this could foster a sense of realtime connection and community. Seeing fellow members engaging online in the “real world” can translate sometimes into offline interactions in the coworking space. It can also serve as a powerful social proof for potential new members and amplify the space’s brand presence kind of organically, ’cause people are using social media anyway.
Debbie DeWitt: True. But one thing I’ll say is you don’t just throw up a static social media feed. Don’t just be like, this is our Facebook page, let’s put that on screens. You need to, as you said, curate that content to highlight positive member interactions and showcase that community spirit. You know, you wanna promote your coworking space authentically.
I would encourage members to use a specific hashtag. You know, when they share experiences, especially if it’s, like, this happened in your coworking space, you know? Obviously, photos taken in the space, things like that. You might wanna even run contests or prompts that encourage social media engagement and then display the best submissions.
I think the big thing here is you need an administrator, you need a curator. Don’t just let it be anything anyone posts goes up there. Again, you have to be thoughtful in this.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, yeah, that’s true.
Some specific examples are, yes, you could show a live feed of posts using that unique hashtag you’ve created, showcase member testimonials or positive reviews that someone has written on social media or Google or whatever. You could have a weekly member shout out featuring someone who has actively contributed online to the community. And obviously, photos and videos from recent coworking space events. It’s honestly your best advertisement to draw in new members.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And, you know, don’t forget to use your screens to clearly promote your social media hashtag to members and your social media presence. You wanna actively engage with them and don’t just leave their posts hanging out there either. I will say, taking this out of the digital signage realm, you need to respond to posts, you need to respond to comments
Derek DeWitt: And reviews.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah, absolutely. But you know, when you’re doing social media, and there are automated feeds that let you do this, that let you choose hashtags and channels and things, the big thing is just making sure it’s visually appealing and easy to read.
Derek DeWitt: Yep.
Five, promotional content for internal services and local vendors. Basically advertising. Advertising for local businesses. Maybe you come up with an exclusive deal for coworking space members. Hey, that deli down the road, if you show them your membership card or whatever you use, you get 5% off or something. This gives members a direct real-world benefit by reminding them that there are some convenient services in the area and maybe even saving them some money.
And it supports the local ecosystem. So, everybody in the neighborhood isn’t like, Oh God, that coworking space, those people, they swarm. They’re happy to have the business. And it creates a wider sense of community beyond just your coworking community. If you have internal services, then doing this can drive business to those and generate added revenue for your venue.
Debbie DeWitt: You wanna make those internal promotions visually enticing and clearly articulate the benefits. Don’t just throw up, you know, meeting rooms available. Yeah, we know. You’re going to want to say their different room types, their capacities, any special equipment they offer, you know? You wanna basically productize that meeting room.
And I would say for those local vendors, you know, consider featuring businesses owned by your members, you know, or offering exclusive discounts to your community from the members themselves.
Derek DeWitt: Or ask your members, hey, where do you like to go for after work drinks? Where do you like to go for lunch?
Debbie DeWitt: Yes. I think any good coworking space, hopefully has bought real estate in a thriving area.
Derek DeWitt: Right. Not just on the outskirts of town.
Debbie DeWitt: Tumbleweeds.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, right. Inconvenient.
Debbie DeWitt: There’s a dive bar near, I’m telling you.
Derek DeWitt: Right, yeah. And two snakes.
Some specific examples are you could showcase different membership tiers and the benefits of those tiers. Promote those onsite amenities that you might have, like, I don’t know, a coffee bar or a snack bar, vending machines, printing services…
Debbie DeWitt: No one has a printer at home anymore.
Derek DeWitt: I don’t have one. Event spaces and so on. Advertising those local restaurants that offer lunch specials to members of your facility, and local shops that offer services that are relevant to your remote workers; computer repair, dry cleaning, things like this. Pet sitting.
Debbie DeWitt: True. Childcare, things like that. You know, you mentioned different membership tiers and benefits. The other thing is, do you have a loyalty program? Do you have a referral program? I think a lot of these places are like, if you get someone to come in, you get a little cash spiff or a discount on your membership.
So, I would say the big thing is clear calls to action are crucial. And we have another episode with calls to action examples and advice, so I won’t go into that in detail here.
Another thing is, a lot of people drive, so you wanna show, like, local traffic can be really helpful. Or if there’s public transportation, put those schedules or updates or any service interruptions up on your screens.
I think the big key here is, you know, making those screens a helpful resource.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, yeah. That’s true.
Six, event promotion and engagement. So, visually appealing promotion increases event attendance. This has been proven time and time again.
Debbie DeWitt: Always.
Derek DeWitt: And it creates a buzz around those community activities. We’re talking about more than just listing the details, right? Use good compelling visuals, photos, videos from past events, to showcase the experience.
And consider incorporating countdown timers for deadlines or event start times. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but again, we have the data now, studies show they work.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. I don’t think it’s cheesy. It kind of builds suspense or excitement. So, I think with all of this, especially events, like you said, it’s advertising. If you think of it not as, oh, I have to get a message on screen, it’s no, I’m gonna advertise this. So just like you’d think about ad space, you’re buying for a billboard or something, that’s what you’re doing. They’re just internal billboards.
So, you wanna clearly highlight the value proposition of attending the event. Maybe you have a networking opportunity, maybe it’s for learning new skills or connecting with the community. And you need to make registration as easy as possible. Again, I’d say use a QR code, just link it right to that signup page.
Derek DeWitt: Some specific examples are, obviously, promotional slides with eye-catching photos, and clearly the date, the time and the location. If you don’t have those three things, that one’s gonna show up.
Debbie DeWitt: True.
Derek DeWitt: And a brief description that is accurate but also enticing. If you’ve had earlier similar events, testimonials from members who have attended them. The agendas for more complicated events, speaker photos and bios, things like that.
And yeah, like Deb said, QR codes linking directly to the event registration page or a detailed agenda. People will use it.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And you wanna start promoting those events well in advance. You know, I would say, you know, never less than a week out. Maybe you have a weekly, you know, cocktail mixer or something; that’s fine. But you really want to go up as early as you can. Again, using those high-quality visuals that capture the essence of the event, especially if it is a recurring event, you know, use photos from the last time.
And consider using digital signage to gather realtime feedback during that event. ‘Cause you could have polls, you know, people doing surveys and polls on their phones, and then showing either social posts or streams or the results of those polls on your screens as the event’s happening.
Derek DeWitt: Oh, very nice. Realtime!
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah!
Derek DeWitt: Number seven is member updates and facility announcements. You want maybe to use distinctive templates for different types of announcements. This helps keep the text concise and obviously concise is easier to understand. And make sure that important announcements are displayed prominently and that they’re up on the digital signs for an adequate duration. Don’t have them up there for five minutes, that’s silly, but don’t have them up there for five seconds either. You need to regularly review and update the information that you’re putting out there to make sure everything is accurate. Accuracy is key to all of this stuff.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And when we’re, you know, we’re talking about member updates and announcements about the facility they’re working in. This is your business, right? This is not, hey, isn’t it fun? Hey, go have lunch at Mel’s. This is very much the core of your business. So, this is, this is quite crucial.
Derek DeWitt: Some examples include, maybe there are changes in building hours or access procedures, put those announcements up there. Maybe gentle reminders about phone etiquette and quiet zones.
Debbie DeWitt: Or not even gentle. Just “turn off your phone.”
Derek DeWitt: Turn off your damned phone. Information about temporary disruptions in various things, maintenance schedules, things like that. And even emergency contact information and guidelines for safety.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And again, you know, we always talk about graphics and photos, I think icons can really draw attention to critical messages. You know, that big info or the big, it’s like a diamond with an exclamation point in it. Icons are great for drawing attention when it’s very important.
I think also using things like orange, red, yellow, you know, we know this from alert communications. Those are things that get people’s attention, but don’t use them for everything or it just kind of like, nobody will pay attention.
Derek DeWitt: Oh, it’s another red thing. I wonder if It’s important.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. So, if it’s not so important, you could use that in, if you had like a text ticker at the bottom if it’s just, hey, you know, in three weeks we’re gonna close an hour early, or something like that. Think about using QR codes again to link to more detailed information.
Derek DeWitt: What, do you have stock in QR codes? Honestly!
Debbie DeWitt: Oh, I wish, right? And as with all of your content, you know, just make sure it’s designed for accessibility. That’s something you have to keep in mind.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, that’s very true. Because who the heck knows who’s gonna be joining your coworking business.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And I think when it comes to architecture and your facility planning and facility management, you’re gonna be thinking a lot about accessibility already. So, when those screens go in, the physical placement of them will be considered. It has to be carried through to the content strategy.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. And the last item is curated industry news and insights. You want to tailor this to the interests of your members. Like Deb said, maybe your place is specifically for creatives, or it’s specifically for entrepreneurs or whatever.
Debbie DeWitt: Tech bros.
Derek DeWitt: Or tech bros, whatever. Or wannabe tech bros. You know, someday, I’m telling you, my app’s gonna make me a mint. But um… or you may have a mixed bag, in which case, yeah, you’re gonna have to reach out to people and find out, so when you come in here, what kind of stuff do you work on, and then throw stuff up that’s relevant for them. If nobody is a writer, then you don’t need to put anything up there about the publishing industry.
Debbie DeWitt: Right. Exactly. And there are always gonna be, sort of, it’s pretty easy to Google out, like, what’s the top news site or magazine for a certain topic.
Derek DeWitt: Right. And if you do this, the coworking space becomes a valuable resource. You’re actually saving your members time to, they don’t have to go out there and search for this stuff. Hey, look, my place where I go to work served it up for me. Thanks, place.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And I think that, you know, all of us get way too many newsletters and emails.
Derek DeWitt: I don’t read them.
Debbie DeWitt: And what’s funny is like, they’re from associations that I belong to that I like, but I don’t wanna get it in my inbox. So, I think that’s a big one, you know? I’m sorry, I don’t read your newsletter, I’m too busy. But I see a great headline up on that screen, I might pull that out of my deleted folder, or certainly go to your website, log in and read it. I think the big thing is you have to choose articles or blog posts that are really relevant and offer actionable insights for your members, you know.
Another thing is consider short videos. Videos we know get better engagement than just a bunch of texts. They just do. And you know, again, share those links to the full articles so that people wanna learn more, can.
Derek DeWitt: Some examples are you could have like a daily industry bite, whatever the industry is, with key takeaways from a leading publication or leading publications in the relevant field. Sort of a summation, kinda like what Google News does and a bunch of these other, I don’t know what you call them, curation sites, conglomerate sites.
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. And I would say there are a lot of AI tools now out there that will literally take a 5000-word article and summarize it down to a few bullet points for you. And that is perfect to go up on screens.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah, yeah. And then a QR code to the actual online article.
Debbie DeWitt: QR stock!
Derek DeWitt: Data visualizations that summarize important statistics relevant to the industry, always super interesting. Highlight upcoming webinars or online courses or events that are relevant to members’ professional development. Hey, this certification thing is starting up again, everybody who’s interested in this, here’s the information. And again, podcasts that might be relevant to members. Promote them. Why not?
Debbie DeWitt: Yeah. Find out the key industries and interests of your membership with a short survey. Again, it’s a simple web form. Let your members suggest those articles or websites that they follow, topics of interest. Again, just put it out there on a short web form, or even if you had, like, a kiosk or a touchscreen, you could have them fill it out right there. But always, always, always make sure you’re grabbing that news from reputable sources.
And I would say, be sensitive. You don’t wanna slant one way or the other when it comes to sensitive topics. Maybe don’t do Fox News, but at the same time, don’t do something super liberal. You don’t know who your audience is. So, kind of take that middle path, but make sure it’s somebody that is reputable.
Derek DeWitt: Right. Or if you are, if you are gonna put up articles from Communist Daily, then I think you also wanna put up stuff from Fascist Daily.
Debbie DeWitt: Oh, there you go. Balance is all things.
Debbie DeWitt: Balance, yeah.
Derek DeWitt: This is the way.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. This is the way. Yeah, check your sources. And don’t just steal stuff, you know, make sure to attribute to those sources.
Debbie DeWitt: Oh, true. I forgot to say that, yeah.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. That’s important.
Well, that is a lot of potential content.
Debbie DeWitt: It is. If you create just one each of the specific examples that you went through, that’s like over 30 pieces of content. So, you’re good! You’re good for the month.
So, a lot of that is also auto-updating. You know, there are actually subscription feeds that will pull in things that are tailored to certain industries. It’s already made it what they call, you know, public friendly, and things like that. So, you set those up once it runs and you’ve got great content, and it’s always already designed for your digital signs, which is great. Things like news feeds, social media, event schedules, these can all update automatically to save you time.
Derek DeWitt: Yeah. Which is awesome.
To conclude, in coworking spaces digital signage can act as a sort of silent communicator, addressing logistical needs, reinforcing community norms and interests, and enhancing the overall ambiance of the space in a non-intrusive, yet effective, manner.
Debbie DeWitt: Well summarized.
Derek DeWitt: I’d like to thank Debbie DeWitt, marketing communications manager for Visix for talking to me today about how to level up your coworking space using digital signage. Thanks, Deb.
Debbie DeWitt: Thanks, Derek.
Derek DeWitt: I remind everybody again that there is a transcript on the Visix website. Just go to visix.com/resources, and you’ll see it there with lots of helpful links.