4 guidelines that you can take to heart creating content

Last year the new MagicINFO 8 version was released. With that comes the new embedded web-based content player. This new player named the 'W-player' brings a couple of new features that you can use by designing content in the MagicINFO Web Author. Such as a bunch of new fonts, stickers, and shapes to choose from. The most striking ones are the dynamic options in the widget section, and the ability to add CSS code as a content element. These new options in the Web Author can really open up your creativity.

Are you just getting started with digital signage? Do you struggle to create content that effectively reaches your desired target audience? Read our thorough step-by-step pillar page and learn how to achieve your goals with digital signage. 

So with the new W-player now available, we think it's a good moment to share some practical guidelines that you can take to heart by designing your digital signage content. Before you lose yourself in the sparkling, shapes, colorful fades, shades, and bouncing loopings. 

1. Don't be tempted to design too much

'Less is more' is often said. This expression also applies to designing content for signage. Don't use too many graphics or shiny eye-catching elements to catch your audience's attention. Trust in your message! Use simple color schemes, and think about enough contrast so your text is readable from near and far. We also advise using sans-serif fonts. These are easy to read and always nice to the eye of any public with good taste.

2. Check, check double check

Because your message should be read by a lot of people, having a simple text mistake in it is really something that can give you a stomach ache after the incident happened. So it's best to check your content double, and again. The best way is to have someone else check your message. Preferably someone with knowledge about the rules of grammar and a good feel for assembling sentences. In MagicINFO you can play with rules and user rights. So if you are the content creator, you can make someone else responsible for publishing the content. This way you always have a proofreader for the final check, and if there's still a mistake, well you're not the one who did it. ;-)

3. Vary in text, images, video, and rotation

However, it's best to have a clean and mean message, having some graphics and videos supporting your message is always a good way to go. People like images and moving parts to look at. (We are still a bit like animals after all) Simply don't overdo it. Choose some accents to draw the eye and make things a little interesting. You can always call in the help of a design expert to create some templates for a good layout and have your corporate identity built on every slide. See your display as a person with a strong message and a little bit of flair and fun, not as a clown. And the same as with a person, hearing the same old story over and over again, makes you don't want to listen to them at a certain point in time. So change your content on a regular basis. Keep it up to date and most of all, interesting to all.

4. Be as relevant as you can be

This is probably the most important one. You will reach your audience no matter how your slide looks like if the message is relevant and important to them. So get to know your audience as much as you can. See if there's a way to gather data so you can start with data-driven content. Start to investigate where you can link data sources to create well-thought strategies. Think about options like special offers according to the weather; an umbrella offer when it's raining, the traffic information at the time everyone is leaving the office, an offer for a male perfume when a male is in front of the display (use facial recognition), baby food when there's a mother with a baby passing by and so on, so on...Knowledge is power, relevance is the key to a successful signage campaign.

Do you have a creative mind and ideas on how to interact more or better with your customers by creating splashing content? Do you need a solution that brings you there? Why not share your idea with us and let's see if our solutions can bring your ideas into reality?

Have a look at this tutorial on our YouTube channel to learn how to activate the W-player and get to know the new features. Don't forget to subscribe to stay up to date with the latest videos.

Want to learn more features? We provide in-depth training for content managers. Click here to find out more.