Integrating Business Messaging Tools with Digital Signage

Integrating Business Messaging Tools with Digital Signage

Business messaging tools like Google Sheets, Google Chat, and Alertus power corporate communication globally. They provide an easy way for teams to stay connected, share information, and collaborate on projects from anywhere. These powerful business messaging tools are often used in conjunction with digital signage, allowing businesses to provide staff with up-to-date information quickly and efficiently.

Immediate Communication

Interactive digital signage software integrates with business messaging tools to create immediate communication. Users set up digital signage with buttons, also called touch points, either triggered by a touchscreen or a mouse and keyboard. These buttons trigger messages to be sent to the appropriate person or team. For instance, there may be a button for IT support, facilities, or security, and each of these buttons would then trigger a Google Chat message to be sent to the appropriate department. 

Learn more about using touch points for interactive digital signage.

Automated Announcements 

Digital signage is often used to automate announcements. By scheduling a presentation within digital signage editors, users set up automatic messages to display at predetermined times throughout the day. For instance, a presentation is scheduled for 10 am every Monday to display a Slack channel that communicates sales metrics. This allows businesses to ensure that important information is sent out on a regular basis. This could be used to remind staff of upcoming meetings, deadlines for projects, or any other pertinent information. 

Streamlined Collaboration

Integrating business messaging tools with digital signage streamlines collaboration. Teams are able to quickly and easily communicate about tasks or projects. For example, a project manager may post information on digital signage regarding a deliverable and then use integrations from internal messaging systems to coordinate resources or answer questions from team members. Integrating both solutions together makes it easier for teams to collaborate in a single place, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Adaptive Content

Digital signage software is capable of integrating with external data sources to create adaptive content as well. This means that the content displayed can be tailored to a specific audience or event. For example, if an event is being hosted, digital signage can be used to send out automatic Slack messages with information about the event and  how to attend. This allows users to easily access all relevant information without having to search for it in multiple sources.

Alerting Integrations 

Since businesses have a responsibility to keep employees and stakeholders safe, they often use altering software. Alerting software providers like Alertus integrate with digital signage software in addition to integrating with business messaging tools like Slack, Teams, and Google Chat. As a result, businesses deploy emergency messaging to digital signage and business messaging tools simultaneously. This integration is especially important for business with remote employees. Tools like alerting software, digital signage, and business messaging tools have significantly improved businesses ability to communicate during dangerous situations.

Learn more about Alertus and business messaging. 

Increasing Visibility in Communication 

By configuring business messaging tools to work with digital signage, businesses ensure staff stay up-to-date on important information consistently. This ensures efficient communication within the organization, ultimately leading to improved morale, productivity, and overall success. 

 

Digital Signage for Churches

Digital Signage for Churches

While churches, mosques, and synagogues practice traditions dating back thousands of years, they are implementing cutting edge technology to make worship more accessible and impactful for their congregations. Religious organizations are using digital signage software to display worship services, announcements, and even emergency alerts to their communities. 

Virtual Worship Services

Many religious organizations began offering virtual worship services during the COVID-19 pandemic. While virtual worship services were started out of necessity, they are still offered as a convenience to many congregations today. Worshipers who can’t attend services because of distance or health concerns are still part of their practices.

Churches use digital signage software to display worship services on screen in church, but the same content can be accessed from any devices with a stable internet connection. Congregation members can view services, announcements, or any other church digital signage content from their phones or laptops.  Expanding their congregations beyond borders and around the world.

Digital Alerts and Announcements

For various reasons, services or classes may be delayed or postponed. Many religious organizations notify local news stations of closings or delays and rely on the news to get the word out.

Digital signage software allows churches to communicate with congregations outside of traditional media formats like the local news. Members can see announcements on digital signs on location, but they can also access content from virtually any modern web browser.

LEARN MORE about how churches are using digital signage to stay up to date. 

Digital Displays during Services

Some religious organizations are actually implementing digital signage into in-person services. Digital signs display hymn numbers, bulletin information, as well as Bible, Torah, and Qur’an Readings.

Digital signage is also used to display images or videos during services to make them more immersive.

Expanding the worshipers engagement, including the ever elusive children that are overly distracted and bored with services, and bringing more people to faith is the goal of many organizations.

Increased Sustainability

Many churches are shifting from traditional paper bulletins, pamphlets, and flyers to digital signage because it’s a more sustainable way to communicate. Most of the time, traditional paper products like bulletins aren’t reusable and need to be thrown away. Digital signage software allows religious organizations to save money, time, and resources by using the same reliable tool to deliver information.

Updates to digital signage content are quick and easy to make, and users often schedule updates well in advance. A synagogue may have a special Hanukkah worship service in December. With the use of premade digital signage templates, they can easily schedule appropriate Hanukkah content in November, or any time throughout the year.

No need to allocate time and money towards printing paper materials that will inevitably be thrown away.

 

 

 

More Congregation Interaction

Making worship services more interactive increases congregation engagement. Church members send each other messages of encouragement, and share prayers and scripture verses using digital signage software. Depending on how a religious organization wants to use its digital signage, content can be made publicly available or private. Publicly available content allows religious organizations to branch out and gain members. It also allows congregation members to view content from anywhere with a stable internet connection.

Privately published digital signage content only allows users with sign-in credentials access. Digital signage is used to recognize members for donations, good works, or just birthdays and anniversaries. LEARN MORE about interactive digital signage. 

Improving Religious Education with Digital Signage

Digital signage is an excellent school for churches because it makes services, announcements, and events more accessible for all. Churches are able to reach far more people outside of their four walls, especially when there is inclement weather. Digital signage brings an interactive element to church, thus improving congregation engagement. Overall, digital signage is a sustainable, scalable, and interactive tool religious organizations use to improve communication.

 

 

Using Digital Signage for Emergency Messaging

Using Digital Signage for Emergency Messaging

digital-signage-school-emergency-messagingNatural disasters, security breaches, and fires cause major damage to businesses. While not every business will experience these dangerous situations, it’s important that all are prepared for the worst.  Emergency planning and management is critical. Business owners are responsible for the safety and well-being of their employees and customers.

Businesses are using digital signage for emergency messaging, notifying everyone at a moment’s notice, saving time, and even lives. Integrating alerts into digital signage has become law in many states. Along with locking doors and limiting access to buildings, the alert systems are a natural fit to keep people safe.

Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters

Hurricanes devastate the coastal communities, leveling buildings and causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of people. While the damage will take years to repair, and many businesses will be reeling from the impact of the hurricane, physical safety of individuals will always take precedence over property.

Digital signage is an excellent tool for emergency messaging, because it allows businesses to alert customers and employees to impending danger. Digital signage also deploys vital information after storms have hit. Employees access content from cell phones, keeping up on the latest reports of damage and company news/updates. 

Businesses and schools need a plan to keep everyone safe in the event of natural disasters, like Hurricane Ian. Once a plan is in place to keep everyone safe, the next consideration to be made in an emergency plan should be to preserve property. When it comes to weather-proofing digital signage, one key step, which may seem counterintuitive, is to leave the displays on. While we might think we should turn them off, or even unplug them, experts recommend leaving digital signage running. This is because the internal fans will continue to run, which slows the accumulation of condensation within the device.

LEARN MORE about preparing digital signage for hurricanes.

Alerting Software Integration

Digital Signage for AlertsWhen disasters strike, every second counts. Through the integration of alerting software, digital signage displays emergency messaging instantaneously. Businesses save time and headache with a one click solution, displaying alerts on thousands of screens in seconds. Emergency messaging is tailored to each business and each specific situation.

For example, a school may use digital signage to set up one emergency message for a lockdown situation, a second for inclement weather, and a third for a fire in the building. Whatever the case, emergency messaging is easily customizable and effortlessly deployed.

LEARN MORE about triggering emergency messaging  for digital signage.

Key Candidates for Digital Emergency Messaging

Having a plan in place for various emergencies is key for virtually all businesses, but it’s specifically crucial for certain industries.

For schools and hospitals, digital signage is an essential tool for emergency messaging. These types of businesses are responsible for people who are more vulnerable, considering that they work with children and elderly populations. It’s imperative that their emergency plans are air tight, and that staff are able to react quickly and calmly. With the push of a button they can deploy emergency messaging to Arreya channels, taking over the content at a moments notice. When time is critical, alerting is easy.

Digital signage displays precise instructions for emergency messaging, giving instructions on what to do, where to go, and even what parts of the building are dangerous. Staff are able to take control of emergency situations more quickly and effectively as a result.

Keeping Stakeholders Safe Outside your Four Walls 

While the safety of customers and employees on location is of great concern, it’s also important to keep them safe after they leave. Businesses have more remote employees now than ever, and they need the ability to alert them to dangerous situations during working hours.

Digital signage software deploys emergency alerts to any device with internet access, not just the screens in the office. If inclement weather like a tornado or a hurricane is impending for an area where employees are located, digital signage software integrates with alert software to automatically alert everyone.

Replacing Outdated Emergency Messaging 

While sirens are useful for alerting multiple people at once, they provide little context as to where the danger is coming from or what to do to stay safe. Digital signage brings emergency messaging up to date, giving context to dangerous situations. Instead of bringing distress and panic like traditional alarms or sirens, digital signage provides clear instructions on where to go and what to do, no matter the situation. Maps and rendezvous points are displayed in the event of a fire, and directions to basements, bathrooms, and sturdy structures are provided for tornado warnings. In the case of a hurricane, like Hurricane Ian, digital signage displays evacuation routes and doppler radar.

LEARN MORE about the future of emergency messaging.

Preparing for the Worst

While we all hope we never have to deal with an emergency situation, and maybe we’d even prefer not to think about it, emergency planning is key to avoiding disasters. By using digital signage for emergency messaging, business owners are protecting their most valuable asset: their people. Replacing damaged property is expensive and inconvenient, but generally, everything is replaceable. Investing time and resources into an emergency plan is well worth it, and digital signage is a valuable tool in any emergency plan. Digital signage provides vital information designed to save lives through emergency messaging.