While businesses continue to rally around new goals for improving corporate communication, hundreds of thousands of screens throughout our offices go underutilized, just waiting to help out. And until the employee newsletter becomes retro enough to start being cool again or sentient enough to reverse the “send to trash” rules implemented by your employees, you might find more benefit in deploying a meeting room digital signage program to improve corporate culture and communication.
What is digital signage?
Digital signage is the use of a TV or digital screen to present graphics, directories, menus or any other form of signage digitally. Digital signage apps give you an easy way to manage multiple screens throughout the office by uploading graphics or slides to a centrally managed online portal and integrating prebuilt plugins that dynamically display news and social feeds at scheduled intervals.
5 Examples of Digital Signage in the Office
In the office, digital signage is often used for wayfinding, but it can easily be set up as a modern culture and communication hub for your employees. Screen real estate at reception, in common areas and in meeting rooms is perfect for displaying digital announcements in the office, and by combining the following five elements in your digital signage content, you can get immediate results toward improving key communication initiatives:
1. Welcome signage
When an important client or customer is coming into the office, celebrate the occasion with a customized welcome screen at reception. Welcome signage is a great touchpoint for your guests that can enhance the customer experience when visiting your office, and it also relays the message to your employees that important guests are in the office. Welcome signage can be set to display only at reception or globally across the shared spaces and meeting rooms throughout the building.
2. Announcements
Have an all-hands meeting at 3 pm? Adding a new snack to the kitchen? Post an announcement to get the word out. Like billboards, announcement signage just takes a second to take in and can help employees be better informed about everything going on in the building.
3. KPI dashboards and goal progress
Performance and progress dashboards can be configured to display throughout the building or personalized for specific areas or groups. Support ticket dashboards and Zendesk reports can be targeted to your customer success teams, while pipeline reports can be localized to your sales areas.
4. Meeting room booking
Meeting rooms are often booked in advance throughout the day. Digital signage on a tablet or screen outside the room can give you a real-time schedule of room availability and even provide a way to reserve rooms on the spot. Meeting room signage is also a great way to assure your meeting attendees they’re in the right spot for the meeting.
5. Social media and news feeds
Digital signage apps can integrate with your social media feeds to give everyone in the building a daily update about the messages being shared at the corporate level. You can also subscribe to news feeds from Google or other curates to provide relevant news headlines for your industry or local area.
Case Studies: How Top Businesses Use Digital Signage to Enrich the Office Setting
Spotlighting design work examples
London design agency Thin Martian uses digital signage to showcase their work and create an inspiring atmosphere for their creative teams. Spotlighting design work examples also provides an added touchpoint for clients visiting the office as they’re able to see a digital portfolio of the quality of the agency’s work.
Reinforcing security initiatives
Planning software company Anaplan enhanced their internal security initiatives via digital signage announcements. By posting security best practice reminders like how often to change your password and to always log out before leaving your computer unattended, the company was able to leverage previously unused screens to broadcast important internal communications.
Increasing training effectiveness
Michigan Waste Removal Company Granger has proven that learning management systems and live training events aren’t the only ways to highlight important training information. The organization broadcasts safety training videos using office digital signage to ensure that safety is always top of mind for their employees.
Improving social engagement
Berkeley National Lab uses digital signage software to share incredible news moments and testimonials with employees, including winning the prestigious Nobel Prize. By connecting screens throughout the lab and in common areas with the organization’s social media feeds, they’re able to improve social engagement and ensure everyone is up to speed on the latest scientific achievements.
Keys to Making Your Digital Signage Look Great
1. Complement your brand
Customize the color values for your digital signage apps to complement your brand colors and add cohesiveness to all of the common area screens throughout the office.
2. Design with safe space
Avoid having the text in your graphics cut off by screens that aren’t properly set up to display the right resolutions. By implementing a safe space around the border of your graphics you can ensure the message is displayed as intended.
3. Use the rule of thirds
This popular photography best practice is also applicable for digital signage. Divide your screen real estate into thirds (both vertically and horizontally) and position key elements at the 1/3 and 2/3 lines to provide visual interest.
4. Optimize for readability
Learn from billboard best practices and keep headlines short and eye-catching, but remember that the captured audience of your office will likely have many more opportunities to view your message so don’t be afraid to include additional details.
5. Change things up
Social media and news feed apps are great for adding daily variety to your digital signage, but remember to periodically update recurring announcements as well.
Automating Digital Signage on Meeting Room Screens
Lifesize Share™ can display digital signage apps on your conference room screens, providing a new way to share important company news between meetings.
Run your standard common area corporate communications playlists or provide custom slides tailored for the unique needs of the conference room, and your Lifesize equipment will automatically switch between digital signage and video conferencing as needed. Here is a look at the custom playlist we use for our meeting room digital signage:
- Clock App – A digital clock that will keep meetings running on time
- How to Share – Persistent banner for guests with instructions for wirelessly presenting in the meeting room
- Social Media Feed – Highlights the most recent Twitter and LinkedIn posts to keep employees informed on the latest news from Lifesize
- Weather App – Running five-day Austin weather forecast (spoiler alert: usually hot and sunny)
- Note from the CEO – Custom message from the CEO highlighting important wins and milestones
Setting Up Digital Signage with Lifesize Share
- Log in to your Lifesize Share admin console
- Select a Lifesize Share from the device list
- Scroll down to the Applications section and click Install for ScreenCloud
- Once the installation is successful, use your ScreenCloud account to pair the screen and manage digital signage playlists
Get Started with Office Digital Signage
Make better use of the screens already deployed around your office with a simple digital signage solution designed to help boost your internal communications programs. Create a more inviting space for your visiting clients, share important company news and spread your corporate messages easier and with a bigger impact than ever before. Request a demo to see Lifesize digital signage in action.
