Pros and Cons of News Feeds for Digital Signage

News feeds on digital signage provide many opportunities for digital signage users. Providing content that people want to read gives impetus for people to view a screen but that doesn’t mean that news feeds are right for every type of digital signage application.

In places like train stations and other transport hubs, news feeds on screens in waiting rooms and platforms provide some form of entertainment while people are waiting for their train or bus. And on the transport system itself, news feeds interlaced with advertising content provide the captive audience with a reason for looking at the screen.

News feeds can of course give consumers a reason for looking at what would otherwise be just repetitive advertising content but in an age of smartphones, Twitter and the internet, are they that effective?

News feeds are not cheap. Subscription fees for organizations such as Associated Press and Reuters can be very expensive, and justifying the cost means weighing up whether the inclusion of news will add value to the digital signage campaign.

For outdoor digital signage, where dwell times are a lot less than indoor screens, the chances of somebody lingering on a screen to read the news are quite small.

Any news feed in a display also needs relevancy. There is little point in providing global news content in a pharmacy or doctor’s surgery, but providing relevant health news could provide some benefits.

A lot of educational establishments such as colleges and universities use digital signage displays to provide campus news which has much more relevance for the community viewing the content.

Not all news need be global. Providing weather and transport news often has more relevance for people and is worth considering as a means of attracting people’s attention to a screen.

For advertisers, news feeds is not, perhaps, the best method of attracting viewers to a screen. Providing good engaging and eye-catching content and giving consumers something that adds value to their shopping experience is perhaps the best solution.