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Interactive digital signage

As our world fills with screens and digital displays, it gets harder for brands and businesses to cut through the digital noise. Traditional posters and billboards, which were once very effective, now risk getting lost in a sea of digital signs. The game-changer solution to this problem is interactivity. And it’s more than just a trend; it’s a way to deepen levels of engagement between businesses and their audiences.

Interactivity can really improve digital signage. It has transformed digital signs from broadcasts to conversations, inviting viewers to participate rather than just watch. We will examine how different interactive features can change the goals and experiences of digital signage campaigns, discuss the various types of interactive elements available, and highlight the advantages they offer, especially for big brands that invest in these displays. We’ll review real-world examples, consider design tips for making engaging and effective campaigns, and discuss potential future developments in this field.

Variations in interactive digital signage

Interactive digital signage is divided into several types, all capable of offering viewers different ways to interact with screens. These include touchscreens, mobile integration, and gesture recognition.

Touching the future

Touchscreens offer the user a familiar, physical mechanism for interacting with content, typically by tapping, swiping, or pinching its on-screen surface. Touchscreen kiosks in retail environments enable customers to browse stock, check availability, or even complete a purchase. In museums and other educational contexts, touchscreen kiosks allow for browsing and support interactive exhibits and displays.

Information at your fingertips

QR codes, NFC tags, and Bluetooth beacons can be added to digital signage to connect information to a mobile device, whether it’s for delivering content or executing a transaction. In retail, for example, a customer might scan a QR code on a digital sign to get additional product information, get a discount, or even purchase the product. The customer’s mobile device essentially extends the reach of digital signage by transforming it into part of the personalized digital environment (i.e., a smartphone).

Writing with gestures

Adding gesture recognition technology to digital signage enables users to control content and applications with their bodies. Utilizing cameras and sensors to detect gestures allows people to interact with content without having to touch a screen. It can be helpful in places where hygiene is a concern, in environments where contamination is an issue, or in public spaces that experience high-volume traffic, making touchscreens impractical. Moreover, gesture recognition is a new and exciting field that exudes innovation and enhances engagement.

How boundless is the power of interactivity?

With digital signs becoming increasingly common in our environments, interactivity can help convert simple viewing into an actual experience. In a retail setting, for instance, what if screens were not just showing products but ushering shoppers to touch, swipe, or even create their own content?

Imagine this: an interactive touchscreen is set up in a retail store, enabling shoppers to move beyond the traditional shopping experience. They can choose a size or color before they buy an item. Each interaction allows them to build an experience that transcends the boundaries between the physical and digital world, creating a unique, exciting, and highly engaging experience. 

Motion sensing is revolutionizing retail displays and exhibition stands. With new technologies that let customers interact through motion, shopping becomes more personalized and engaging, whether in physical stores or online. Products now encourage customers to use their hands, smile, and make purchases simultaneously. Static sales displays are being replaced by dynamic digital ones that capture attention and draw people in with interactive features. These displays become the main attraction on exhibition stands, making interaction memorable. Gestural and tactile displays are not just trendy terms; they make the message of the display an unforgettable event for the consumer.

Innovation in interactivity provides a level of customization that makes each experience personal. A digital sign becomes an interaction by creating a message that’s custom-tailored for an exact moment and a unique observer.

In the realm of ad networking and brand immersion, where recall rules, interactivity is a big enhancement. It draws and holds attention as it lifts brands into the flow of daily experience. Interactive signage helps augment the shopping journey or dazzle at a trade show. Even when not the primary focus of a discussion or presentation, interactivity opens the door to deeper, more meaningful connections.

interactive digital signage

How to design effective interactive campaigns with user experience in mind

Effective user experience (UX) principles should be considered when creating interactive digital signage campaigns to ensure that the system is easy to understand and use and is ultimately a pleasant experience for the user.

Intuitive interfaces

The key to the success of digital signage is its ease of use. Interfaces should provide clear instructions and be easy to understand: users should be able to intuitively interact with a digital sign. Importantly, the interface must be simple; it should be quickly and unambiguously understood. Large, easy-to-read text, clear icons, and understandable prompts are a must.

Engaging content

Content must be interesting and relevant to add value to the experience. An interactive display in a shopping mall could show store directories, promote promotions, and help users navigate around the environment. The content must be regularly refreshed to stay relevant.

Seamless integration

If digital signage is interactive, it should integrate with other digital and physical elements in an environment – e.g., links to mobile apps, social media channels, or other digital signage nearby.

Accessibility

Accessibility is essential: different users have different sensory ranges, for example, and anyone who cannot use a touchscreen or gesture recognition might need a different input mode. There are also clear benefits to making the signage multilingual and ensuring that any idioms or content are geographically or culturally accurate.

Metrics for evaluating interactive signage campaigns

When assessing success in interactive signage campaigns, businesses must balance quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback. For instance, user engagement metrics, including the amount of time that the audience spends interacting, the most popular features, and drop-off rates, paint a clear picture of how engaging the content is and how the audience receives the whole combined package. 

Interaction rate and dwell time signify how effectively the signage program is able to capture peoples’ attention and how well it retains that attention. How frequently users repeat their engagement with the signage gives us a clear idea of the ongoing interest that it is generating among a unique set of users. The rate of conversion of the audience into sales or leads (known as the lead conversion rate) is the key to evaluating if the signage program is having an impact on wider business goals. 

Qualitative statements from the people who viewed or interacted with the display on their level of satisfaction, the level of ease that was experienced when they worked with the interactive display, and the relevance of the content that was being presented also go a long way in guiding businesses towards the best outcomes when it comes to future campaigns

Operational metrics such as uptime, frequency of maintenance, cost of downtime, and cost of operations are the quantitative metrics that must be tracked to ensure that the interactive content displays are continuously available and effective.

interactive digital signage

What’s next for digital signage? Emerging technologies and the potential impact on effectiveness

A couple of important emerging technologies – augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) – will deliver new levels of interactivity and engagement, further blurring the line between the digital and physical worlds. AR fuses these two worlds by superimposing digital content onto actual physical environments to create highly interactive experiences. VR immerses the user in a completely digital world for a transformative brand experience.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning personalize the delivery of content based on user data and behaviors. AI algorithms can identify user demographics and interaction histories and leverage them to optimize the recommendations that are shown to users and to maximize the effectiveness of messaging by giving each user a unique experience that meets their particular needs.

Connected to the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), which consists of smart devices and sensors, digital signage can provide contextual information such as real-time transit data or local weather, enhancing the user experience as the content becomes more time and location-specific.

Haptic feedback technology is a modern way for humans to interact with computers by adding touch sensations that match a user’s actions on touchscreens or in virtual environments. This enhances the user experience by making interactions more immersive and easier to use, especially when exploring products or in any situation where sensory feedback improves the experience.

New natural language processing technologies make signage accessible through voice interaction and add a hands-free mode for interaction. This is a complete paradigm shift from simply a reading experience to a more natural digital experience. It becomes possible to make signage readily available to all potential users not only where sight is limited or dark conditions exist but also where some users – especially those with disabilities – benefit from being able to use voice to provide instructions for their surroundings.

Interactive digital signage

Key takeaways for maximizing the impact of interactive digital signage

Introducing interactivity in digital signage campaigns forms a vital part of the next generation of media on display. It is about turning passive displays into active, participative experiences. By doing so, interactivity dramatically boosts engagement, captures attention, and changes behavior. This shift enhances user experience and provides valuable data insights through user interactions. Furthermore, it allows for personalized content delivery, making the messages more relevant and impactful to each individual viewer, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of digital signage.