Whenever summer comes around, it brings us an exciting season with new opportunities, both in business and personal life. In hopes of taking advantage of them, we’ve compiled a compact list of content elements to include in your summer digital signage to engage your audience and enhance the summer season’s joy. Additionally, you’ll find content ideas useful to anyone who glances at your displays, in particular the average local passing by your store.
Highlight summer activities for locals
Winter and summer seasons affect the way people choose to spend their free time. At the beginning of summer, most get excited about swimming pools and beaches. Others look into summer fashion, or vibrant vacation spots.
Research what exciting things are popping up in your town, then put them into the spotlight on your digital signage. Sports, outdoor performances, hiking trips, summer vacations, or even one-day field trips are all great options to include.
Build connections to other businesses
Look into local businesses and see what exciting offers they’re bringing this summer. This can be your opportunity to reach out and build connections with them more easily. Let’s say a coffee shop next door is promoting cold summer-themed smoothies. Direct your own customers to a refreshment, especially if there is a waiting period which needs to go by before it’s their turn for service. The point here is customer satisfaction, as we all know how tiring the battle against the summer heat can be at times.
Explore partnership possibilities and team up with businesses which have a solid strategy this summer. If you’re doing same—if you’re that coffee shop offering refreshments—invite other businesses to work with you.
Focus on industry-specific summer content
While we’re on the topic of business, summer digital signage is especially important if you’re in an industry swaying heavily as seasons shift. Retail stores, for instance, bring in new clothes and collections as seasons change. It is laborsome and challenging to adapt to the new season for these businesses. Use digital signage to ensure it does not go to waste and the customer base knows all about it!
Restaurants and coffee shops do this as well. Though, some more than others. Their menus change to perhaps only include ice cream as an addition, while some do an entire overhaul of their flavors and dishes specifically for the summer.
Warn about important weather updates
Big surprise: it gets hot in summer. You don’t need to run a weather app 24/7, but run weather updates when necessary. If there is a big heat wave approaching, warn your audience about it. Similarly, if rainy days are nearing, give them a heads up. If you spot a pleasant couple of days coming up, ideal for a stroll in the park, let them know and even provide a suggestion on how to spend the day.
While we’re at it, tailor your content to upcoming weather to make a bigger impact. “Rain this Saturday. Grab an umbrella!” If it’s recreation you offer, invite consumers to stop by on a given day to relax, to hide from the heatwave, or to ensure their rainy Saturday is spent in a cozy and dry environment. There’s a million other ideas. With digital signage software, it takes a few seconds to update your displays.
Data feeds can help you prepare these unique context-driven messages. For example, build a data feed containing a list of messages for any given context. Then, depending on the time of day, simply tick the boxes assigned to the messages you want to include. The app using this data feed (say, a text stroller) will update and deploy your message.
Digital signage software may also enable you to set certain limitations or restrictions on content based on real-time data! This would make it possible to trigger content based on the current weather, temperature, as well as time of day. This can help with important content, such as emergency weather guidelines. But it also opens up new creative opportunities. Run special menus or discounts, for example, when the temperature outside crosses a certain point.
Share summer safety tips
Heatwaves are not to be taken lightly. People often underestimate the need for sunscreen and hydration. Remind them regularly to limit their exposure to the sun, and to stay hydrated. You may even direct them to the closest store which can provide what they need. Unless, of course, you’re the one providing it.
Schedule summer safety tips to pop up a few times daily in advance. We talked in-depth about scheduling content loops ahead of time. It’s a simple matter to lay down the times of day when you want these tips to deploy. Additionally, utilize restrictions to publish them only to key player groups or displays with specific tags. For instance, push them only to the displays in your storefront.
This bit of summer digital signage content connects closely to weather updates. Some people can’t afford to stay indoors and not travel on a given day. Obligations force them to travel. So be sure to include these safety tips alongside heatwave warnings.
Share summer recipes
Regardless of the field you’re in, your target audience are all people who breathe, eat, and sleep, among other things. This one is a particularly useful way to use digital signage in summertime if you’re in the food industry, but it is relevant even if you’re not. Tailor your own recipes for summer drinks or foods and display them with appetizing images, along with the recipe text. Of course, make sure the recipe is simple and easy to remember at a glance.
Alternatively, look up online recipes and only show the images alongside a brief description. Then include a QR-code leading to the full recipe. This will save space on the display, yet still engage the viewer.
Highlight summer destinations
We talked about featuring summer activities as it’s a great bit of info to include on the sidelines for any local. Meanwhile, if your audience is interested in travel and tourism, go deeper! This doesn’t have to be limited to businesses in the tourism field, but rather any business which engages travelers. Think about your location in the city or the interests of your audience. They may very well align with this particular use.
Pick out the best summer destinations, ranging from local to international, and from affordable to luxurious. Highlight the information which engages consumers. Even if you don’t have highly-accurate prices to include, provide an estimate travelers can use to make a choice.
Display transportation information
Once summer heat becomes unbearable, walking instead of taking the bus or a taxi can quickly become an unpleasant alternative. Display information passersby can use to call a taxi service or find directions to the nearest bus stop. You get extra points if you also include information on bus destinations and arrival times.
As you see, there is a variety of content to include in your summer digital signage. With our Dynamic Composition or our tried and true Campaigns, you can section off a part of the display, perhaps a banner at the bottom, to display content such as weather updates and safety tips alongside your main content. Try it out right away, together with all the other benefits OnSign TV provides, in a 14-day free trial!
Cover image by Raimond Klavins.
