TLDR Key Takeaways
Digital posters are multimedia displays that replace traditional printed signs with vibrant, dynamic, and easily updatable content. From eye-catching ads in store windows to real-time event schedules in airports, digital posters help businesses communicate smarter and faster.
In this guide, you'll learn:
We cover the main benefits of digital signage at length in some of our other posts, but long-story-short, digital posters provide a significantly higher ROI than a printed poster – and improved engagement across the board that helps to scale your business.
When it comes to digital posters, there are a few key reasons why this technology is so important for your business. We already mentioned it before, but the most obvious reason still remains the fact that digital signage can reach a far wider audience than traditional print media due to the flexibility that is inherent in the digital world.
Digital posters offer key advantages over traditional print:
Whether you're promoting daily specials, guiding visitors through a space, or sharing announcements, digital posters provide a flexible and scalable way to communicate.
Now we have talked a lot about the versatility of the creative on digital posters already – but not all digital posters need to be animated. When it comes to creating a digital poster, often static digital posters are just as useful as dynamic graphics when it comes to reaping the benefits of digital signage.
There are two primary types:
These display fixed content—great for:
These include animations, motion graphics, or video. They're ideal for:
Choose static for consistency, dynamic for attention-grabbing content.
Static digital posters are those that don’t move and can still be updated with new poster content as needed. They are perfect for events or locations where you will have a limited amount of time to make changes and updates, or for sharing information on a display screen, or poster design, that will rarely if ever change.
An example of a static digital poster would be one used in a local electronics store. In this type of setting, it would be very difficult to change the digital poster on a regular basis – so a static option is perfect.
The content might include things like special deals or sales that are happening in the store at that moment, or images and product information about the latest gadgets available.
Some other popular ways of using static digital signage include:
Pro Tip: Static digital posters are easy to manage and great for locations with limited internet access or design resources.
Dynamic digital posters, as we mentioned before, are digital posters that feature moving images or animations driven by multimedia formats like motion graphics or gif files. Like static digital posters, these also can be swapped and adjusted remotely at any time – but are often used in a more interactive setting or meant to capture the attention of a wider audience.
An example of a dynamic digital poster would be one found in an airport terminal that displays flight information for all the flights currently boarding at that time or public service announcements that need to be updated based on rapidly changing news or events.
Because dynamic digital posters are so versatile and can be changed to reflect any additional details, messaging, or branding – they are perfect for businesses who want to keep their content updated with the latest iterations.
Wallboard has built-in animations allowing you to create dynamic digital posters without the need to use third-party software or have video editing experience.
To build a digital poster, you need three things:
When it comes to the hardware needed to build a digital poster, there are two things you need: a display screen and an interactive device.
This includes:
When it comes to software, you need two main components: a design tool and a playback/publishing tool. The design tool is used to create the digital poster content while the playback/publishing tool will be used to publish your digital poster to the digital poster display.
You’ll need:
The final piece of the puzzle when it comes to building digital posters is connectivity – making sure your hardware can talk to each other and work together seamlessly. This could be done through a number of ways: a digital poster playback device that connects directly to the digital poster display, wi-fi, or Bluetooth connectivity built into your digital poster hardware.
There are pros and cons for each type of connectivity – so depending on what you’re looking for in digital posters, different options might be better suited than others. For example, if you want to be able to move your digital poster around or use it in multiple locations, a playback device that connects directly to the digital poster display might be best. If you’re looking for something more portable and wireless, wi-fi or Bluetooth connectivity would be better options.
Choose how you’ll connect everything:
Start with these key design tips:
Dynamic content like animated icons or transitions can boost engagement, especially in high-traffic areas.
Most digital posters are published through a CMS (Content Management System). Here's how it works:
Some platforms let you manage everything from a mobile device or browser—no IT team required.
Yes! Many digital signage platforms offer built-in analytics so you can track:
Use this data to:
Now that you understand the basics of digital poster types, and what you need to create them – let’s review the steps to actually bringing your digital poster to life most effectively.
The first step to making digital posters is understanding your audience and why you’re creating digital posters in the first place. Are digital posters being displayed in a public space for passers-by? Or are they intended to be used by one or two people at a time, where interactivity is important?
Once you understand why digital posters are being created, it’s easier to identify the best type of digital poster for your needs. For example, if digital posters will be displayed in a public area where anyone can interact with them – an interactive digital poster display would be most suitable since passers-by could leave notes and feedback on what they see.
Once you understand the intent behind your content, it falls on your creative team to actually make it. But digital posters come with a few more considerations beyond traditional print posters – things like font size and legibility, or ensuring that videos and animations are properly formatted for digital playback.
When creating digital posters, always consider what’s important to your audience and how best to display that content in a digital format. For example, if you have a lot of text to include on your digital poster, using bullet points or digital poster templates with customizable text boxes can help make digital posters easier to read and understand.
With the audience and content in hand, now comes time to bring your digital poster to your audience, this is where your publishing platform comes into play. Publishing digital posters can be done directly from your digital poster hardware, or you might need to use a playback device that’s compatible with the digital poster display.
In most cases, digital posters are published through CMS platforms like WordPress and Wallboard – making it easy for anyone with basic computer skills to publish their own digital posters in an intuitive interface without having to learn coding or design.
Once your digital poster is live, it’s easy to share through social media and other online channels – letting your audience know that they can engage with your content in a new and exciting way.
Once digital posters are live, it’s time to track the success of your digital poster content. Digital signage analytics help you understand who is engaging with digital posters and what they think about them – giving you insight into how well digital kiosks perform across different demographics.
Digital infographic tools like Canva can also be used to measure each digital poster campaign and see which ones are resonating with your audience the most. This data can then be used to optimize digital poster content for better results in the future.
Now that you understand how digital posters work, it’s easy to create your own and bring your content to life in a new and exciting way. By following these simple steps, you’ll be on your way to creating digital posters that engage and inform your audience.
Ready to create digital posters that get noticed? Try Wallboard for free and start designing impactful displays in minutes.
Digital posters are a type of digital signage focused on specific messages or promotions. Digital signage is a broader category including menus, kiosks, video walls, etc.
Yes. Platforms like Wallboard, Canva, and PowerPoint offer templates and drag-and-drop tools that make it easy.
It depends on your display. Common formats include 1920x1080 (landscape) or 1080x1920 (portrait).
Use a cloud-based CMS like Wallboard to publish and schedule updates in real time.
Not necessarily. Costs vary based on screen size and software, but long-term savings on printing and labor make digital posters more cost-effective.
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