University digital signage is made for communication

University digital signage has been around for many years, yet many schools have not embraced it fully. That’s a pity as technology allows you to improve the overall quality of the educational process and boost teacher-student engagement. As with any other digital tool, it requires a good plan before implementation. Here’s an introduction to digital signage for universities explaining why you need it.

Starting out

Do you already have screens at your college but weren’t treating them seriously? Is your campus completely display-free? Or maybe you tried introducing the colleges' digital signage in the past but it just didn’t fly? 

You may have a different background for turning to university digital signage. The important thing is to give it your full attention and design the system according to the best practices in the industry. 

Kitcast is used by many colleges and universities across the world and we’re proud to be a go-to option for installing an easy-to-use and powerful digital technology. What we’ve noticed cooperating with colleges over the years is that usually the screens are not treated seriously enough. 

Often there’s no real strategy for using their full potential, the screens don’t connect to each other in an ecosystem, and the hardware used is obsolete.

It’s high time to get unified and create an actually efficient system.

Unification of the screens

Maybe you have screens around campus. Maybe they show some content. But if they are not unified in one ecosystem, you’re missing out on the fantastic capabilities of colleges' digital signage. 

Unification is the answer. And unification is something you should absolutely do when you start with digital signage. 

It means that you’re designing a communicational system that is made of screens of the same brand, that is controlled by one software, and uses one streaming device. 

In the case of Kitcast, the Apple TV is the device you will connect to every single screen and you will use our state-of-the-art content management system to control every aspect of your digital signage.

Multi-purpose thinking 

The main advantage of digital signage can be expressed in the phrase “one screen, many purposes”. 

It’s among the most sought-after communication and marketing tools, after all. A single screen on campus can show weather, provide wayfinding, do announcements, and promote social media. All of it at the same time.

Multi-purpose thinking means that you should treat each of your screens as a whole universe of content possibilities through only one application. This will allow you to get the most out of your ecosystem and revolutionize the studying process too. 

When you use the displays in the classroom, they complement the process, bring more interactivity, and bridge offline with online. Students are used to being on the internet all the time, and digital signage makes IoT a reality within the college process. 

Engaging content

Now about the content. It’s the backbone of every university's digital signage and it’s something that you should be very considerate about. Good management of a display ecosystem understands the value and the place of every single display. 

Here are examples of good content you can show using digital signage displays on campus: 

- study and events announcements

- social media feeds

- real-time alerts

- alumni information 

- curated advertising 

- live TV 

- weather forecast

- fun stuff (videos, photos) about the studying process

But don’t get us wrong, it’s not only enough to have content for a digital signage system to work effectively. Content should be: 

- relevant to the students 

- shown at the right time and place

- fulfill a specific purpose

Digital signage network allows you to put it quickly for everyone to see and interact. That’s the main difference between content delivery using screens and the old-school static print-based one. And the good news is that you’re saving money too. With displays, you will forget about designing and printing materials once and for all.

Transformed cafeteria

Cafeterias can use some digital transformation too. In fact, that’s a fantastic thing to do in 2023. The change comes to the menus. 

With displays instead of the regular paper or static-based menus, you’re literally getting your dining spot to the next level when it comes to selling and advertising products. 

Read more about the efficiency of digital menus here. 

You will be able to present the meals in a better fashion, promote the socials, put an emphasis on the special propositions, and get branding right.