“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Think about this when you consider the positive affects that could come of integrating social media with your digital signage.
In today’s Digital Age, that infamous line from Shakespeare’s As You Like It couldn’t be truer. Thanks to over 91 leading social media platforms worldwide, the world really is a stage. And if you’re looking to integrate social media with digital signage, you have to be willing to be a digital player.
Integrating social media with your digital signage campaign can do a plethora of things, like boost your brand, increase sales, and attract a different target audience.
But how do you do it?
And what are the best practices you should keep in mind as you plan your campaign?
How you integrate social media all depends on what you’re looking to do. Before we dive into best practices, there are two crucial elements to keep in mind:
#1 – Know Where Your Audience Socializes
Where is your target audience? Where do they play socially? On Twitter? Facebook? Instagram? Wanelo?
Retail giants like Nordstrom use Wanelo (a social shopping app) in their digital signage social strategy, Bryan Galipeau, Nordstrom’s social media director, said in a press release shared by Business Insider.
Nordstrom is installing video monitors in more than 100 stores to display products being shared on the social shopping app.
“It’s a purely customer-driven strategy,” said Galipeau. “We take a snapshot of that trending category once every week, and we will then match that up against our inventory and what’s available in those stores so we’re providing a good customer experience.”
A memorable customer experience is key, which brings us to crucial point number two:
#2 – Provide a Good Customer Experience
If your customer isn’t having a good time, they’re never coming back. You don’t want that. Your job is to create an experience they won’t forget so they do come back.
Too often we focus on selling, selling, selling. The truth of the matter is, if you create a powerful, fun, interactive customer experience, you won’t have to push a sale. Customers will buy. They’ll tell others about you, too.
Now that we know what elements need to be in place before we launch a social, digital campaign, let’s dive into 5 Ways to Integrate Social Media With Digital Signage:
1) Encourage Image Sharing
If you’re a retail store tired of stale, static images in your storefront, encouraging image sharing from a colorful digital sign instead is a growing trend.
By encouraging shoppers to share their pics online, you not only get a ton of models working for you for free, but you also get a ton of models that are more than happy to share their images on social media. What’s more, they’ll act fast if they know their image will be displayed on the digital sign at the front of the store, too.
Create a campaign that encourages image sharing. If those images are to be shared on Twitter, include a #hashtag that speaks to the campaign. Hashtags are a great way to leverage social media and increase brand awareness.
2) Incorporate Live Video
Anywhere you dabble in social media, it’s no secret that images and video get the most attention. That’s why Royal Caribbean decided to use streaming video and digital signage to get the world to look at them.
In their November 2015 ‘Come Seek Live’ brand campaign, the cruise line busted out a digital campaign using the Twitter-owned live streaming app, Periscope. Travelers at Royal Caribbean destinations shared some of their adventures on Periscope. The cruise line then sent edited versions of the live broadcasts to digital billboards in New York City.
The campaign lasted eight days and yielded thousands of shares.
People all over Times Square (and 75 other locations around the city) saw the video. Hundreds of thousands more saw it after it circulated via users on Twitter.
The campaign wanted to show the world what destination cruises were really like, from the travelers’ perspective and even those employed by Royal Caribbean. It gave viewers a look at the real side of a Caribbean cruise, from start to finish.
If giving your potential customers a peek inside your business is something you think would appeal to your audience, Livestreaming video on a digital sign might be a great option for you.
You can recycle the video and use it later on in other marketing campaigns, too.
3) Interact With Customers
Coca-Cola wanted to find a way to interact with their customers, old and new. By integrating social media with digital signage, they did just this.
Last year, the beverage giant launched their #CokeMyName campaign. In conjunction with Google and other media agencies, Coca-Cola unveiled their digital campaign in Times Square, New York City.
Passersby that saw the giant digital sign were encouraged to tweet their first name with the dedicated #CokeMyName hashtag. Once they did, a personalized story about their name showed up on the big screen. A camera behind the digital sign took a picture of the story and tweeted it back to the user.
The user, of course, was nothing but eager to retweet the tweet to other tweeters tweeting on Twitter.
This kind of mobile interactivity is one of the hottest ways to incorporate social media with digital signage. With so many of us carrying smartphones, getting users to interact isn’t all that difficult.
If your demographic plays on social media and is almost always armed with a smartphone, this kind of campaign could work wonders for you and your business.
Even if your business is small, don’t dismiss this as an option. Selfies are a huge phenomenon in our culture today, and can earn you a larger audience when incorporated with a fun, interactive campaign.
4) Create a Sense of Urgency
Act Now!
Buy One Get One Free!
Today Only!
For a Limited Time Only!
Exclamation points and words that encourage speediness create a sense of urgency for your customers to buy now.
If you’re digital sign lives in the window of your store, you could pull in lots of new faces and dollar bills by creating a sense of urgency with a sale or promotion.
McDonald’s created a sense of urgency on a hot day in Malaysia with their Save The Sundae digital campaign.
In the campaign, users could use their mobile device to turn a fan on to “save” a melting ice cream cone.
By creating a campaign that encouraged area visitors to engage with their smartphones , those that did were rewarded with coupons for a free ice cream cone at the McDonald’s around the corner.
They created a sense of urgency, engaged their audience, and brought customers through their doors quickly.
If you have inventory you need to move or a new product you’d like to show, creating a social media news feed that emulates urgency can create sales for you.
Sharing a news feed with time sensitive promotions on your digital sign intrigues shoppers. It’s relevant and up to date. Knowing this, you’re more likely to pull in shoppers with a promotion and live feed, than a static poster or employee handing out coupons at the storefront.
5) Have Fun With It
If you ask five people who Colonel Sanders is, it’s likely four out of five of those you ask will know.
If you don’t know who he is, Kentucky Fried Chicken is finding ways to make you aware, including creating a profile on LinkedIn for the Colonel.
This fun, yet very accurate profile showcases the Colonel’s work history dating all the way back to February 1900.
While this particular social marketing campaign isn’t tied to a digital sign, it could be. We included it to open your mind to the world of shared social/digital sign possibilities out there. And…to remind you to have fun with any digital signage campaign you launch.
Plus I loved the concept and wanted to share it with you.
It’s original, like his chicken.
It’s amusing, like his commercials.
It’s innovative, which is what marketing calls for.
The more fun you have with creating engaging social campaigns, the more your audience will have fun. They’ll remember you, and that’s exactly what you want.
Conclusion
Every example we’ve shared with you in this post includes a Call To Action.
A Call To Action is where you encourage your audience to engage and respond to you in some way.
When you encourage video or image sharing, you are putting out a call to action.
When you interact with customers and create a sense of urgency, you are putting out a call to action.
By integrating social media with digital signage, you’re bringing two powerful technological mediums together. You’re building a stage. Your audience and customers are your players.
Are you ready to write the script?
Which best practice would you consider when merging social media with digital signage? Which social platform does your audience use the most?
