Establishing a brand with a lasting legacy goes far beyond having an impressive logo. The most successful brands promote a story. Ideally, everything is well knit together to provide a
comprehensive package. Most importantly, they display consistency even as they promote various aspects of their brands.
It’s important that your core values stand out and remain consistent in all your marketing strategies. A consistent brand automatically differentiates the company from its
rivals. It presents a brand, not as a faceless organisation, but an entity with a solid personality. Achieving that while remaining true to the primary objective of digital marketing has proven quite
challenging in the past. The entry of digital signage has not made things any easier.
Nearly every renowned digital marketing expert agrees that digital signage wields the magical power of putting your brand in front of your customers. Right from the moment they walk into your store to the last minutes of their interaction with your brand, customers will have a fulfilling experience if you put into practice the effective use of digital signage. However, that will only be of help if the digital sign displays are consistent with your brand messaging. At the end of the day, it’s not all about pomp and colour. So how do you harmonize the two without affecting your marketing goals? We’ll consider a couple of tips.
Keep off generic content.
For businesses taking their first steps in digital signage, there lies that temptation of keeping the digital menu boards and display screens rolling with ‘fresh content’, even if it means displaying
generic content. Such content not only harms the initial aim of promoting your brand but also puts the effectiveness of your business network at great risk. When the actual content finally comes on the screen, the intended audience might not be there to view it.
It is, therefore, important to have every aspect of your digital marketing strategies point back to you. It might sound hectic and more involving but the long-term benefits are worth every effort. At the end of the day, you do not need too much content on your display boards. It’s more advisable to display a few digital signage templates tailored to your needs rather than having multiple generic filler wallpapers.
A content guide is key.
To ensure the kind of content displayed via digital signage speaks the same voice as your brand, you have to lay down clear guidelines taking into consideration several aspects. For instance, which tone do you want to bring out in your displays? Would you rather opt for a formal approach or sassy appeal? Again, this must reflect what your brand stands for.
Your choice of words must also be consistent with your brand. There are certain words you might as well avoid when in a particular industry. Similarly, some brands have long histories with certain words. For instance, Coke has always been consistent with words like sharing and happiness.
Apart from words, terminology also matters when it comes to digital marketing. It is important that you observe the spelling, wording and capitalization of commonly used content branding terms.
Maintain a constant visual outlook.
Consistency when using digital signage does not stop with brand messaging. The general appeal matters as well. For many businesses, you will find it easier using themes that are readily available
online or those that comes with digital signage software. However, that denies you the opportunity of branding the content to match your company’s core values.
The truth is, a little customisation goes a long way in passing your brand message. Creating beautiful content for digital signs does not have to involve complicated tools in as much as it demands creativity. A company with an existing style guide will find it easier coming up with engaging content that reflect their brand.
For other brands without clear guidelines, observing different aspects will be necessary in creating a uniform look for your content. Some of the essentials worth considering include:
- Colour scheme – Most companies already have specific colours with which their promotional
materials and decors are associated. You need to stick to that when designing digital signs
and related content. Even with that in mind, it is advisable that neutral tones are used in the
background to contrast the main colours of brands. However, sharp contrasts do not auger
well with digital signage. - Fonts – For brands that already have well defined fonts typographically, it is appropriate that
you stick to that font. Otherwise, you should choose not more than two fonts to be used
with your brand messaging. - Imagery – You have to be careful when considering the kind of pictures to be displayed on
your content. In some cases, purely black and white pictures would be appropriate. If you
are working on a digital menu boards, the idea of including people’s images might not
actually be necessary. You also need to consider the possibility of including clip art. Will it be
acceptable considering your brand messaging?
Consider social media integration.
If you have active social media accounts, it is almost guaranteed that you have found formidable ways of interacting with your client base. You can take guidelines from your social media profiles in
designing digital signs. With modern digital signage software, it’s possible to incorporate live feeds from your social media handles.
For instance, you can choose to display posts and comments from customers reaffirming their contentment with your brand. As an additional benefit, displaying your social media feeds remind your target audience that they actually exist translating to new followers and a bigger fan base.
As you might have realized, brand consistency is an essential aspect of marketing. Loyalty of customers leans on consistency, especially when you are exploring digital marketing. Businesses
embracing digital signage should therefore keep off the temptation to use generic filler content that isn’t in line with their brand messages. Instead, there should be a sense of flow, both in the
messages and outward look.
Bio
Karen is a Business Tech Analyst. She is very responsible towards her job. She loves to share her
knowledge and experience with her friends and colleagues. She can guide you through digital menu
boards design and other critical aspects. You can email her or find her on Twitter.