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Disengaged employees lead to quiet quitting, high turnover, and ultimately, a suffering company. But what if there was a tool that could transform your internal communication and create a connected workplace?
Gallup's Exceptional Workplace Award Winners prove that it's possible to achieve 70% employee engagement, even during challenging times.
In this guide, we are presenting digital bulletin boards as a game-changing solution that will elevate your communication strategy. We'll cover the benefits of ditching outdated posters, simple setup steps using Look Digital Signage, and best practices for creating content that informs, inspires and truly connects your team.
Why Choose Digital Bulletin Boards
Real-Time Information Sharing
Every decision we make is based on a feedback loop. You check industry trends before planning a new project or glance at a clock to gauge how much time you have left for a task. The problem with physical bulletin boards is they become outdated as soon as they’re printed and can not provide the up-to-the-minute updates needed for better decision-making.
Digital bulletin boards jump in by providing real-time information updates. They can be managed from a central source which is just a matter of pushing content from a cloud-based platform to the displays and the effect is seen immediately.
Enhanced Engagement
The human brain is wired to filter out repetitive stimuli. When you see the same poster or notice day after day, it simply fades into the background. This is the curse of physical bulletin boards – their static nature makes them invisible over time.
Digital bulletin boards support multimedia content such as eye-catching videos, animations, and real-time updates to keep your audience engaged. But even varied content can lose its impact if not managed effectively, that is why you need a digital signage CMS where you can create smooth transitions between different types of media, schedule content to appear at specific times, and even tailor content to specific audiences.
Centralized Communication
The likelihood is that you’re going to have a network of digital bulletin boards for different purposes. From a single interface, you can control all the displays, regardless of the number or location, which is super convenient. This means that internal communication stays consistent all across and you can even tailor content based on department or team.
Benefits of Using Look Digital Signage for Bulletin Boards
User-Friendly Interface
We get the hassle of trying to learn new software, that’s why we made sure that Look CMS is incredibly intuitive and easy to navigate. All the essential features are neatly arranged in a side panel, allowing you to effortlessly switch between design tools, content libraries, and scheduling options with a simple click.
Using the drag-and-drop functionality, you can upload your own display content and use the Layout designer to arrange elements, add text, images, and videos, and customize the layout to your liking.
Versatile Content Options
As we mentioned, the key to engagement is variety in content, and Look has you covered. CMS provides you with a wide range of content options:
- Videos: You can upload your video content or connect your YouTube account. And the best thing is that Look does not compress your files. If your displays support 4K, Look DS with play the content in this high resolution for maximum visual impact.
- Images: Look has dozens of pre-designed templates from motivational quotes to safety guidelines that you can customize with your branding and messaging.
- Real-time social media feeds: Look has built-in social apps for Facebook, X (former Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube.
- Weather forecasts: Use the weather app to display real-time weather forecasts for your location.
- New updates: You can display news updates from RSS feeds, or BBC News, CNN, and Euronews.
Integration Capabilities
Look DS connects with Zapier, which acts as a bridge between your digital bulletin boards and thousands of popular apps. For example, you can connect your Look DS account to Google Sheets to automatically display real-time data, charts, and tables on your screens, your calendar app to display upcoming events and reminders, or even your project management tool to track progress and deadlines.
This integration works through actions and triggers that automate content updates on your digital bulletin boards. Triggers, like a new row added to a Google Sheet or a new event scheduled in your calendar, initiate actions within Look DS, such as displaying a new message or updating existing content.
Setting Up Your Digital Bulletin Board with Look
Step 1: Define Your Objectives
If you want to get the most out of your digital bulletin boards, you need a clear understanding of what the result looks like. Here are a few things you should consider:
Purpose: What's the primary goal of your digital signage? Is it to inform, educate, entertain, or promote?
Target Audience: Is it employees, customers, students, or the general public? Different audiences require different messaging.
Location: Where will your screens be located? High-traffic areas, waiting rooms, break rooms, or specific departments? Location impacts content relevance and viewing habits.
Metrics: How will you measure success? Increased sales, improved employee engagement, enhanced brand awareness, or specific actions taken by viewers?
One of the setbacks we see in most bulletin board deployments is having vague goals from the onset. Saying “We want better communication” is too broad and doesn’t provide actionable direction. Instead, be specific - for example, “Increase awareness of safety protocols among factory floor employees by 20% within the next quarter.”
Step 2: Choose the Right Hardware
The heart of your digital bulletin board is the display medium and the choice will depend on location and purpose. If intended for high-traffic areas like lobbies or hallways, commercial displays or video walls will provide a wider viewing area to accommodate a large audience.
Check out our guide to the best digital signage hardware for your needs and budget.
As for media players, it comes down to the complexity of your content, but since we’re talking about bulletin boards, our flagship Look HD-2222 Lite is our ideal recommendation. It’s a powerful device that can handle multimedia content in 4K resolution for 24/7 operation with crisp and clear results. Thanks to the Look firmware player it is ready to start automatically after power-up, and updates in the background mode.
Alternatively, you can find your best fit from our top list of budget-friendly media players.
Step 3: Install Look Digital Signage Software
- To install the Look DS software, download the Look app per your operating system.
- Once installed, sign up to create your Look account.
- In the web interface, navigate to the “Screens” section and add a screen to your Look account.
- You’ll receive a unique 6-digit code that will appear on the screen, enter the code to pair it with your Look account and you're ready to start creating and managing your digital signage content.
Step 4: Create and Manage Content
Here's a breakdown of the content creation process:
Add Media: Upload your own images, videos, and other media files, or browse Look's extensive library of pre-designed templates. You can also embed content from external sources like interactive Google Maps with your chosen address.
Design Your Layout: The layout designer is where you access the templates and customize the font, text, colors, and backgrounds to match your branding. If you have a large screen you can create multiple zones on your screen, each dedicated to a different type of content.
For example, you could have an announcement banner at the top, a scrolling news feed on the side, and a rotating slideshow of images or videos in the main area.
Create Playlists: Within your portal, you can organize your content into playlists. For instance, you might have a playlist of motivational quotes and company news for the morning, and another playlist of upcoming events and announcements for the afternoon. Then use the smart scheduling feature to assign timelines to each playlist.
The best thing is that Look DS enables you to group your screens according to their purpose. This way, you can easily assign specific playlists to groups, ensuring that each screen displays the most relevant content for its intended audience.
Preview and Publish: Preview your content on a simulated screen to ensure it looks perfect before publishing it to your digital bulletin boards.
Manage Your Content: Easily update, edit, or remove content from your playlists as needed. You can also track the performance of your content to see what resonates with your audience.
Step 5: Implement Interactive Features
Scenes is a tool that lets you create many independent layouts within a single project and switch between them using on-screen buttons. For example, you could have a main menu scene with buttons that lead to different sections of your bulletin board, such as company news, employee spotlights, upcoming events, or even interactive quizzes and surveys. Each section can have its unique layout and content.
In addition, use Look’s built-in QR code generator to create and embed the codes into your existing layouts. The QR code could link to a feedback survey, an event registration page, or a company social media channel.
Step 6: Test and Optimize
You need to make sure that all buttons respond correctly and that transitions between scenes are smooth and intuitive. Use the Demo Screen to preview how your content appears on your actual screens remotely. Test the QR codes on different devices to ensure they scan correctly and direct users to the intended destination.
For better feedback, engage a small group of users and observe how they navigate through the scenes, and their experience with the QR code, including ease of scanning and overall user-friendliness. From there, you can fine-tune your layout by adjusting button sizes and QR code placement and, simplifying navigation paths.
Best Practices for Digital Bulletin Boards
Regular Content Updates: Stale content can quickly become background noise, so aim to refresh your displays at least once a week, or even daily if possible. This will keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.
Encourage Employee Participation: Don't let your digital bulletin board be a top-down communication tool. Encourage employee participation by allowing them to submit content ideas, share photos from company events, or even create their own playlists.
Monitor Performance: Use Look's built-in analytics tool to download statistics on the number of impressions each piece of content receives, indicating how often it has been on display. You can also track the total duration to get an idea of how much exposure your media is getting. With QR codes, create UTM tags to track clicks and conversions on external websites with the help of Google Analytics.
Conclusion
We have looked at digital bulletin boards and how they can rev up your organization's internal communication game. With Look Digital Signage, this transformation is at your fingertips.
Kickstart your 14-day free trial today and experience the ease of use, the dynamic content, and the transformative impact on your workplace communication. Don't just take our word for it – try Look DS and see the results for yourself.
