Step 1: Choose Consistent Hardware Across All Locations

No matter what industry you're in, you need to ensure that your hardware is consistent throughout all your locations.

Why? Because consistency matters. It helps you:

• Build better brand awareness
• Ensures every location feels like a valuable asset
• Creates a unified experience for customers or employees

Imagine walking into Nike's flagship store in New York City. Everywhere you look, there are top-of-the-line digital displays, and it's breathtaking. Each space is carefully designed to promote their brand and encourage your interaction.

Now, unless your hometown is in a major hub like NYC, your local Nike store probably doesn't even have half of the digital signage that's in that single flagship store. 

While this might seem like it's not that big of a deal, it leads to many problems.

For one thing, it creates an inconsistent customer experience. If customers see different hardware at different locations, they might feel like you don't care about their location or fail to recognize how they're supposed to interact with your signage.

For example, if you've decided to use a Smart Mirror in one location, but you equip other places with a kiosk, then customers won't know what to expect when they enter the fitting room, potentially ruining their shopping experience.

This doesn't just apply to retail. Healthcare, restaurants, educational institutions, and corporate offices must have consistent signage throughout their locations. 

On top of ruining your brand image, inconsistent signage is much harder to manage since every hardware has its own method for updating content. If you need to make a change, you'll have to update every location individually, which can take a lot of time.

Pro Tip:

When choosing your hardware, it's best to evaluate what you already have in place and ensure the new hardware will seamlessly integrate with your existing displays. If it doesn't, consider updating your entire system, so everything remains consistent.

For those of you who are just starting to scale your digital signage, you need to choose hardware that fits your needs and has the ability to grow with you. 

Step 2: Evaluate Your Content Management Solution

You can't manage a digital signage network without the right software—which is why you need to invest in or evaluate your current content management solution (CMS).

It might have been possible to manage and create content for a handful of screens using free tools, but once you start adding in hundreds of screens and multiple locations, it becomes nearly impossible.

For example, let's say you have a warehouse and corporate office. You might want to display core values, company news, and other important information in both locations.

However, you might want to display safety and real-time performance information for your warehouse teams, or you might want to showcase customer reviews for your customer support team. This will require you to create special content for each location.

The right CMS will make it easy for you to:

• Create engaging and dynamic content relevant to your different audiences
• Deliver your content to multiple devices
• Keep things running smoothly in every location without any headaches or hassles
• Add users or devices as your digital signage network scales

Since your CMS functions as the backbone of your digital signage system, it will determine how easy or difficult it is to manage your content, so choosing the right one is critical.

Pro Tip:

When selecting a CMS, you want to look for ease of use, flexibility, scalability, and integration. We've found that cloud-based options, like Wallboard, are the best for managing your content across multiple locations.

They allow you to create, edit, and publish your own digital signs from anywhere. The software has a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface that enables you to build dynamic content in minutes or choose from thousands of templates available for all types of industries.

See how easy it is:

[Embed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMSj9j-1-rk ]

However, we've put together some questions to help you determine whether or not a CMS is right for you:

• Can both content creators and content managers easily use it?
• Is it flexible enough to accommodate different types of content, such as images, videos, and text?
• Can it create dynamic content, such as weather or stock ticker information?
• How easy is it to scale with the solution? 
• Can we add users and devices easily?
• What integrations does the solution have?
• Will this work with our existing devices and systems?

Step 3: Coordinate Your Installation 

When you're looking to scale your digital signage solution to multiple locations, it's crucial to coordinate your installation. This means having a plan that covers how you will roll your displays out and where they will be placed in each location.

Typically, businesses opt for one of two options when it comes to rolling out their digital signage: In phases or focusing on one location at a time.

Installing your digital signage in phases allows you to consistently add hardware to every location. On the other hand, you could focus on upgrading one location at a time. Just make sure that there isn't a big gap between installations.

Regardless of which option you choose, the key thing to remember is consistency. If you have a wayfinding kiosk in your lobby, then you want to ensure that every location has that piece of hardware in a similar spot.

Pro Tip: 

While you'll most likely hire professionals to install your hardware and software, be sure you or your staff is also actively involved in this process. This will help you troubleshoot some minor issues you might run into.

Ask questions as they complete their installation and ensure you know how to work your system. 

Step 4: Build Relevant Content For Each Location

Even if you have digital signage solutions in multiple locations that are similar, you'll need to build locations-specific content, tailoring your displays to fit the specific needs and interests of each location (both geographically and the space within the building).

Let's go back to that Nike flagship store for a second. In the bustling metropolis of NYC, visitors expect their shopping experience to be more impressive and unique than their local stores.

So Nike created a digital signage solution that matches the scale, boldness, and technological savvy of the city it's located in, giving customers the ultimate experience. 

Additionally, they use their digital signage to create defined spaces where they offer targeted content, like their Bluetooth sensors that activate when a shoe is removed from the shelf. See how it works here:

[Embed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCMr6G6OuGY ]

For instance, visitors can interact with and request shoe sizes using an interactive kiosk in the shoe department. If that kiosk was located in another part of the store, it would confuse visitors. 

Building relevant content for each location may take some extra effort, but it's worth it when you consider the benefits.

Pro Tip: 

To build the most relevant content for your location, you'll want to consider things like:

• What type of content would be most effective in this location: dynamic or static?
• How much traffic does this location see, and how long will audiences view it?
• What does the audience need to know in this location?  
• What is the overall goal of this content? To inform? Educate? Entertain?

It's worth taking the time to get to know your audience so you can build content that will resonate with them.

Step 5: Set a Schedule to Update Your Content

Even if you're using the best software and hardware available, your solution won't be effective unless you keep your content updated on a regular basis.

Content has a shelf life, and it's pretty short. If you're displaying the same content day after day, your audience is likely to tune out.

Depending on your business, you may need to update your content daily, weekly, or even multiple times throughout the day. For example, restaurants may change their digital displays three times a day to reflect their changing menus.

If you opt for a cloud-based CMS solution, like Wallboard, you're able to set up a schedule for your content, and it will automatically push out to all your screens. 

Additionally, you can leverage APIs and data integrations to come up with a never-ending stream of fresh content, such as social media feeds, real-time stats, and more.

However, if you're using a locally installed solution, like a playback machine, you'll need to manually update the content on each sign. Plus you’ll be responsible for creating all that new content on your own! 

But no matter how often you need to update your content, setting a schedule will help ensure that your digital signage solution stays effective.

Pro Tip: 

If you're unsure when you should update your content, you can use metrics to determine the best time for you to update your content.

Depending on where your digital signage is located, you'll need to evaluate different metrics. For example, an office space might want to display real-time data to boost employees' productivity.

On the other hand, screens in a retail store might want to track the traffic levels of each location, the dwell time for each screen, and the times they are most active (weekdays or weekends). 

Control Of Your Digital Signage Locations With Wallboard  

Whether you're just starting to roll out signs to multiple locations or have hundreds of signs already in place, Wallboard can help you manage them.

Our digital signage software is the most versatile on the planet and can handle all your business needs. 

From basic info-centers to customized dynamic options, our cloud-based solution optimizes everything you need to create, manage, and push out the best possible content.

Even if you're not a tech-savvy person, you'll be able to easily use Wallboard. The platform is designed to be user-friendly, so you won't need to waste time trying to figure out how it works.

See how simple it is: 

With its powerful features and scalability, Wallboard is the perfect solution for businesses of all sizes. So why wait? 

Get started with Wallboard today and see the difference it can make for your business.