Everything you should know about Windows digital signage

What comes to your mind when you think of marketing campaigns? Snotty banners and online ads, I presume. How about Times Square? What’s so special about Times Square? The bright screens that bombard passers-by with ads are an iconic landmark that has become synonymous with every tourist that visits the city that never sleeps. Those screens that have enhanced the shopping experience by revolutionizing advertisements are called digital signages.

Digital signages have a multitude of functionalities, and advertising is just the tip of the iceberg. As we move towards an increasingly digital future, billboard advertising moves from static hoardings to dynamic digital signages. Having such digital signage in front of your store might be the boost you need to increase your sales.

Signing up for digital signage

Confession time. How much time did you spend looking at the picture at the beginning of this blog? 5 seconds? At least a good 3 seconds? Our brains are wired to pay attention to visual content. If I had a gif or short video instead of that picture, it would’ve probably kept you on the hook for a longer time.

In short, visual stimuli grabs attention. Attention equals opportunity. This statement is one of the key concepts of marketing. The traditional way of using posters and pamphlets as a visual means of advertisement or to convey information comes with a significant downside. Once these materials are printed, you can’t make any improvements in them without incurring additional costs. On the other hand, you can always change the digital signage to display any type of content. So, let’s look at ways we can leverage the concept of digital signage to help your business.

Better reach with digital displays

We can use digital signage to create unique and visually appealing window displays. For example, dynamic display boards with videos or animations are more likely to catch people’s attention. These boards will draw more people in and increase footfall. You can also choose to showcase your essential products, services and promotions.

Creative catalogs

One way to maximize revenue using digital signage is to let your customers use them. We have all had experiences where we had to walk out of a store because all the salespeople were pre-occupied. Having touchscreen displays that allow customers to get the information they want gives them a reason to stay a bit longer. You can also use this to entertain customers by loading it with games or by playing videos.

Gathering customer info

Digital signage can be used to get valuable information from your customers. It can be in the form of reviews, questionnaires, or even by asking them to subscribe to your newsletter. The information collected in this way will be beneficial later on for marketing purposes. Also, these reviews and choices will help you tailor your products according to customer needs and preferences. Giving customers what they want will eventually result in better customer satisfaction.

Engage your employees and customers

Building a cheerful environment for the employees and customers will improve your business. It can be done in a lot of ways using digital signages. For instance, celebrating birthdays and “Employee of the month” awards through these displays are some practices that can help you build a positive working environment. You can also use it to communicate with your employees. For instance, if your systems are going to be down for maintenance, the easiest way to communicate this with all your employees is through digital signage. In addition, digital signages can be configured to display evacuation measures in the event of emergencies.

Building business relationships

Apart from improving footfall for your business, another way in which digital signage can generate revenue is by advertising. Digital signages are way better than traditional billboards as they need a comparatively small amount of physical space and can display any form of media. So, you can sell this advertising space to other businesses in exchange for recurring revenue. This can even be used as a tool to build business alliances through partnerships and sponsorships.

The upside down

Now let’s look at the technical side of setting up a digital signage. There are a few things you need to consider while setting up digital signages:

• Creating digital content
• Hardware selection and installation
• Configuring the hardware and deploying the content

Digital signage displays are available on a variety of operating systems. Windows remains one of the most popular operating systems for digital signage. Windows 10 IoT core is the version that is particularly suitable for such displays. This version runs on both ARM and x86/x64 devices.

Windows digital signage?

There are a few reasons why Windows is preferred when choosing an OS for digital signage. Almost everyone knows how to operate a Windows operating system. It is an easy choice to make due to its user familiarity. That’s not all. To provide an uninterrupted display, the operating system should be stable, and Windows is one of the most stable operating systems out there.

Windows 10 IoT has a lifespan of 10-15 years, which is pretty impressive. Also, the ease of managing the operating system remotely gives it a clear advantage. It does include a license cost, but the other features make up for it pretty well. Pulling all these factors together, the decision becomes pretty simple.

Setting up Windows devices for digital signage

Let’s look at how we can configure digital signage in a device already set up with a Windows client.

Installing Windows configuration designer and Kiosk browser

• Sign in to our Microsoft Store for Business account. If you haven’t set up one yet, check the prerequisites and sign-up.
• Install Kiosk Browser from Microsoft Store for Business with offline, unencoded license type.
• Download the Kiosk Browser package, license file and all necessary frameworks.
• Install Windows Configuration Designer.
• Open Windows Configuration Designer and go to Provision kiosk devices

Creating a kiosk provisioning package

• Create a new project.
• On Set up device, provide your device name.
• On Set up network, provide your network SSID, network type and password (if required).
• Go to Account Management, where you can choose to enroll into Active Directory/ Azure AD, or create a local administrator account.
• On Add applications, enter Kiosk Browser as the application name
  • On Installer path, browse and select the AppxBundle that you downloaded from Microsoft Store.

Configuring the package with your content

• On Configure kiosk account and app, toggle yes to create a local user account to run the digital signage app.
  • Enter a user name and password.
  • Under Configure the kiosk mode app, enter the user name for the account that you’re creating.
  • Select Universal Windows App as the App type
  • In Enter the AUMID for the app, enter Microsoft.KioskBrowser_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App.
• Now, from the bottom left corner of Windows Configuration Designer, switch to Advanced Editor.
• Navigate to Runtime settings > Policies > KioskBrowser.
  • In BlockedUrl, enter *.
  • In BlockedUrlExceptions, enter the URL for the content you wish to display in your Windows digital signage.

Build the provisioning package

• On the File menu, select Save, and select OK in the Keep your info secure dialog box.
• On the Export menu, select provisioning package. Browse to where to want to save the file.
• On Build the provisioning package, select Build. Your .ppkg file will be saved in the desired location.

You’re almost there. Now you can copy this .ppkg file into a USB drive and use it to deploy signage in your devices. Next, you just have to attach the USB drive to your devices. You can also do this file transfer wirelessly, using ways like email or Bluetooth. Adding the .ppkg file to the Windows digital signage device can be done by going to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school > Add or remove a provisioning package > Add a package.

Viola! Your digital signages are ready for action.

Remote management of Windows digital signages

You have set up all your Windows digital signages. But is the job done? To make the most out of digital signages, you have to be able to manage them remotely. This situation is where tools like UEMs (Unified Endpoint Management) and CMS (Content Management System) software come into play. Hexnode, one of the top UEMs out there, lets you remotely manage your digital signages with ease.

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Hexnode digital signage software: Adding value to your digital signage marketing

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Apart from Windows, Hexnode supports other platforms such as Android, iOS, macOS, and tvOS. Hexnode offers a comprehensive device management solution that can streamline your IT team’s most mundane tasks. A crucial investment that can have a significant influence on your returns.