Making your Digital Signage Content the PAL of Those Who See It

The city of Leicester in the UK is pronounced Lester (as in Holt). If your boss suddenly asked you to speak to an important potential customer there, without that knowledge, you'd probably misspeak the name. Offence might be taken; irritation would be caused. It's a simple example where an obvious lack of local knowledge or appreciation can seriously hamper a communication. Our team here at truDigital often spot such examples.

Why your digital signage should be a true PAL

This acronym stands for Personal, Applicable and Local; we feel these are three vital keys towards ensuring that the content you display is of maximum interest and benefit to those who are exposed to it. This is as true for in-company communications as for those with customers or the general public. If it meets these three goals, it is more likely to be accepted, even welcomed and acted upon. Should it fail in one or more aspect, it can annoy, frustrate, or even be disbelieved.

How communications can fail to impress

Using a cloud system for your digital signage allows instant flexibility; the content should reflect this. Here are three examples where communications might not meet such a standard:

- Presenting information that is out-of-time: a message only for the early shift in a factory location might confuse the later shift if it hasn't been updated or removed. The process of dayparting content playlists can also help ensure timely audience relevance.

- Providing information for only part of an audience: screens telling staff the time and location of registration for a conference, while not providing exactly the same detail to those registering, would lead to confusion.

- Delivering geographically irrelevant content: an international organization letting team members in Australia know that the Houston office is closed on Thursday afternoon for a local celebration is of little significance. On the other hand, if the head office is closed for a public holiday, then such information should be fully distributed.

Content that does need to be known to all could still be localized, perhaps through the use of different web pages for each state or city, thus passing a 'personal to us' test with all recipients. If these also had some kind of response device where appropriate, this can even provide a chance to compare how effectively these pages are actioned in different locations.

The importance of being a communicative PAL

Any content message, when viewed, should aim to be of Personal interest to those exposed to it. They should feel the content to be Applicable to a situation or event that is relevant to them. Where possible, it should be location-specific - people are proud of their Local area and expect to see an understanding of it.

As a PAL, content stands the best chance of fully engaging the audience and gaining a positive response. Should it fail, then the value of not just the messages, but the digital signage system itself, can be doubted by the audience. This can lead to it being ignored as 'background noise' when it's important that it be regularly looked to and relied upon.

Our truDigital signage team is always ready to help you motivate, engage and inspire those you wish to reach. Use our agile expertise to be their communication PAL. To find out how, please call 1-801-852-9898