LED screens are now an integral part of the way that businesses and organisations communicate with the public, whether it’s through a giant digital billboard on the side of a building, or a portable LED poster at an exhibition stand. 

Sometimes the content will be mostly functional and dictated by the place and purpose of the screen; for example a menu board or a bus timetable, but often there can be a looser rein that allows some scope for creativity. 

It’s an excellent opportunity to engage your audience round the clock and raise the profile of your business, but coming up with fresh content that will continue to command the attention can be a real challenge. Here are five strategies that will help you to always create engaging content that really makes an impact.

Define the purpose of the screen

First of all, ask yourself what the primary purpose of the screen is; for example, is it to entertain, inform, advertise, educate, or a combination of all of these? Think about who the primary audience that you want to reach are. 

For example, you will probably take a different approach to your communication style for a young urban crowd, compared to an older audience who may live in more rural or suburban areas. What could confuse or irritate some demographics could appear lively and engaging to another. 

Conversely, content that might seem too subtle and restrained for some groups could appear to be interesting and straightforward to another. Consider the socioeconomic and educational background of your target audience and use this information to guide your approach to content creation. 

The purpose and intended audience of your content will influence all of the following factors, so try to be as clear and precise as possible with your definition. 

Consider using motion graphics

If you are competing in a busy area for the attention of your audience, consider adding some motion graphics as this will naturally draw the eye. This could simply be a slideshow of rotating images, or a micro-animation, which is a small subtle movement to highlight certain areas of the screen. 

You may even want to create short animations that tell your brand story or help to build a human connection with your audience. There are stock video templates available if you find the prospect of creating video content from scratch a little daunting. Alternatively you could consider outsourcing the production to a content creator.

Use your screen as ‘social proof’ for customers

When deciding whether to use a particular product or service, many people will look for ‘social proof’ in the form of positive reviews from past customers. 

In today’s competitive market, traditional ‘hard sell’ techniques can be off putting, and fail to convince a discerning modern audience. Instead, consumers are more likely to turn to personal recommendations of people they know and trust, or the opinion of previous customers. 

Therefore showcasing success stories on your digital screen, backed up with images of your product or service being used by customers in its intended context, can help to reassure customers that you are a trustworthy and credible business. This can be social media posts from satisfied customers, or feedback from an email request. 

Optimise the screen quality for the type of content and viewing distance

LED screens are available with a range of technical specifications that affect the quality of the display. For example, a low pixel pitch indicates a higher pixel density and resolution, which means that the screen will be able to display fine details for close viewing.

Therefore if your content is intended to be viewed close-up and/or displays a lot of text, such as a menu board or an indoor retail display, then it is worth investing in a lower pixel pitch. Conversely, if your content will be viewed from a longer distance, there may not be any advantage in a high resolution screen because the finer details will be lost.

Refresh the content regularly

Even the most striking visuals and snappy strapline will start to lose their impact as time goes on. Therefore take advantage of the content management system and use it to schedule regular updates and targeted content. 

For example, if your business is sensitive to fluctuations in the weather, time of year, or even the time of day, you can review your content to reflect this with the most relevant messages.