Be sure to enter all of our categories – Best Still, Best Motion and Best Screen – no later than May 18.

 

Get the full details here: http://www.visix.com/expressionawards.html

 

2012 Expression Award winners will receive:

. An Apple iPad®2
. A mounted, personalized Expression Award
. Recognition in Visix's e-newsletter and press release announcing winners

. Winning entry featured on Visix.com website, User Forum and Facebook page
. Use of the official 2012 Expression Award winner logo

 

Also, make sure you upload your still designs to our Facebook page for the People’s Choice Award at http://www.facebook.com/visixinc/app_254553244581393

At some point, you're likely to have to introduce new users to your AxisTV software. Here are some tips from Visix Software Trainer Michele Barard to get you started:

1. Start with the familiar
One of the ways you can help new AxisTV users get acclimated to the software is to start with familiar tools and concepts. Starting by teaching users how to import content they already have created or can create in familiar applications helps ease their fear of having to learn a lot of new tools right away and serves as a gentle introduction to a new way of doing things.

2. Introduce concepts one at a time
There’s a lot to learn in a new software application. Take your time and organize the information you want to share in concept blocks. When teaching importing, for example, show all the different ways to import content and how they can be used effectively. Then, move on to another concept block such as creating text bulletins.

3. Show real world examples
It helps users to see how they can utilize a new software tool when you demonstrate how to create the types of messages they might create in their environment. So if you are training bank employees, create messages about CDs and checking accounts to help them envision the type of messaging they could create. If you’re training university employees or students, show them how to schedule content on a schedule they may already be familiar with such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Tuesday/Thursday.

4. Create silly content
Creating silly content like announcements for a pizza party on the moon can help lighten the mood and lift some of the stress that can interfere with learning something new.

5. Observe your audience carefully
Take note of signs of stress and anxiety. Often new users feel intimidated when learning a new software tool. This can be for a variety of reasons ranging from feeling overwhelmed about learning a new software tool to the training taking place when they have a big project they’ve got to get back to right away. Being sensitive to their concerns will help make the training environment less stressful.

6. Take your time and follow-up
Speak slowly and distinctly. Offer snack and restroom breaks if the training session is more than 90 minutes long. Break the training up into smaller, more manageable concept “bites". Give your users time to process what was covered then follow-up in a few weeks to see whether or not they have any questions or concerns.

Of course, if you need a little more help than this, our Visix Trainers can lend a hand. Contact us at training@visix.com.

We all know we need to keep our digital signage content fresh, but it can be difficult to constantly come up with new and interesting messages. Instead of always having to start from scratch, why not gather content in advance – curate it – so you have a stockpile to draw from when you need ideas?

Content curation is simply finding, compiling, and presenting groups of content organized by subject matter. As you find interesting articles, videos, graphics, blogs, quotes – anything online that might be of interest to your viewers – gather it together by topic and store it for later reference.

You can use simple browser bookmarks to keep track of content, but why not make it a bit more interesting and easier to navigate? There are several popular sites that offer free curation like PearlTrees, Pinterest, and Bundlr to help you store and organize web content.

We’ve used Scoop.it to create four curation pages that give you lots of tips and sources for design inspiration, design software tools and online generators, and sources for free fonts, graphics, videos and music:

http://www.scoop.it/t/design-elements
http://www.scoop.it/t/fun-with-fonts
http://www.scoop.it/t/design-inspiration
http://www.scoop.it/t/software-generators

When you decide to turn your curated content into digital signage content, just draw from your library and make sure you add your own context to the topic to make it relevant to your viewers.

To learn more, here’s a terrific newsletter from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) to give you a good overview of content curation for organizational communications.

Learn more about Digital Signage Solutions from Visix

Visix customers asked us for a way to show HD-quality video on their displays within their digital signage layouts. In answer to your requests, AxisTV and Announce now both support QAM video overlay by leveraging Windows 7 media players and our Video Window Tuner Card.

QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) is the format by which digital cable channels are encoded and transmitted via cable television providers. We chose to leverage QAM overlay because it provides a cost-effective method for tuning unencrypted channels in the U.S.

The most popular use of this feature will be for our clients wanting to show cable TV channels within their digital signage layouts. There are two types of channels you may want to show:

1)      Cleared QAM (unencrypted channels such as basic cable, and

2)      Encrypted video (encrypted channels, satellite feeds, etc.)

We have two QAM options, depending on the application: See Diagram

 

1)      Cleared QAM channels only:  Take your cable feed from the wall into a Visix small-form factor or rack mount media player using Windows 7 and the VWOT (video window tuner) to show cleared QAM channels within your digital signage layout.

·         The number of cleared QAM channels your cable provider supplies is limited. You must check with your cable provider to determine which channels are unencrypted.

2)      Satellite or other encrypted sources: Take the video source into a QAM Modulator, then into a Visix small-form factor or rack mount media player using Windows 7 and the VWOT (video window tuner).

We realize that there are some proponents of HDMI out there, but HDMI doesn’t allow you to plug your cable feed into a media player or a PC due to content controls from cable providers (HDCP).

 

QAM video overlay is available as of AxisTV v.7.2.0.1 and Announce v.1.3 releases. For more information about the most recent releases and to request a software update, please visit http://www.visix.com/software_updates.html.

 

Want to know more? We’re hosting a complimentary 30-minute webinar on Wednesday, February 29 at 2:00PM EST. We’ll go into more technical detail about QAM and how it can work in your environment, as well as host an open Q&A session.

 

Register now!

We're now accepting entries for the 2012 Expression Awards and this year we've added a new People’s Choice category using Facebook for peer voting. We've got great prizes, including an Apple iPad2 for each winner.

Get details, entry form, deadlines, and more at http://www.visix.com/expressionawards.html and enter your People’s Choice design at http://www.facebook.com/visixinc.

Happy Holidays from Visix! Visix will be closed for the holidays on December 22, 23, 26, 30 and January 2.

For a full list of Visix holidays, click here.

Visix will be closed on Thursday and Friday (November 24 & 25) to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family.

We wish all of our customers a happy and safe holiday and thank you for your business and friendship over the years.

 

We are launching a monthly webinar series for our clients and integration partners. Each 30-minute session is free for all participants and will cover both product-specific and general digital signage topics. 

The first webinar will cover Mass Alert Notifications within AxisTV. The session will educate customers on the company’s flagship content management software’s Mass Alert Notification feature, discuss CAP (Common Alerting Protocol), differentiate between the four methods available to trigger mass alert messages and explain the basic configuration requirements for each method.

Future webinar subjects include:

• How grouping can enhance content
• Using themes and templates for better communications
• Flash design for digital signage
• The importance of software updates
• Making signage a two-way conversation
• Keeping content fresh
• Interactive wayfinding signage applications
• PowerPoint design for digital signage
• Determining naming standards
• Aspect ratios for digital signage
• Incorporating social media

If you have ideas for webinars you'd like us to present, please let us know at marketing@visix.com.

 

All webinar topics will be summarized in a three-minute vlog on the company’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/VisixInc.

To register for the webinars or get further information, please sign up for the Visix newsletter or contact training@visix.com.

 

When we talk about ROI, it can be return on investment, return on involvement or just how to know your digital signage is working. A lot of people don’t think about measurement when planning their messages and the fact is, if you’re going to involve yourself – your budget, time and creativity – you’ll want to measure ROI so you can justify those efforts. Instead of thinking of ROI in strictly financial terms, consider the effect on long-term goals, brand image, and culture in your organization.

The biggest factor in measuring ROI is including a call to action in your content. If you just put out a message without asking the audience to do something that says they saw the message, you have no way of knowing if it worked.

Measuring viewer attention is easy with some basic strategies and tracking.

• First, determine a clear, quantifiable goal
• Then, create your message with a simple, easy-to-track call to action
• Next, set up a response tracker like a webpage, web form or email address
• Publish your message and look at how many people responded
• And measure the results against objectives

Another idea is to see which displays in your facility get the best response by using interactive touchscreens or pairing displays with web kiosks to let viewers take immediate action.

There are also informal ways of measuring success, such as general conversation – a lunchroom chat, if you will – where you simply ask people if they’ve seen your messages and what they thought of them. However you choose to measure your ROI, make it a long-term, continuous process so you can fine-tune your messages to become better and better at reaching people and getting the results you want.

 Get fast, easy tips on everything from buying digital signage to content design in our new YouTube vlogs:

http://www.youtube.com/VisixInc

The playlist is Digital Signage Tips and Advice and the topics are:

• Why Use Digital Signage?
• Top 6 Mistakes When Buying Digital Signage
• 5 Steps for Implementing Digital Signage
• Brand Standards for Digital Signage
• Top 7 Mistakes with Digital Signage
• Communications Planning 101
• 7 Easy Steps for Crisis Communications Planning
• Top 6 Design Tips for Digital Signage
• 8 Content Ideas for Digital Signage
• 10 Steps to Digital Signage Policies
• Measuring the Success of Your Digital Signage
• Go Green with Digital Signage

We've added animated Twitter Board and Twitter Bulletin designs to our creative services offering.

Read the press release here.

Learn more about these and other creative products here.

Order online here.

It’s easy to get into a rut with your digital signage content and we all know that showing the same old stuff loses viewers. So here are 8 ideas for content that you may not have thought of.
   
Number 1 - PowerPoint
Now, you may already be using PowerPoint to create your content, but what about all those presentations floating around the office? Marketing teams usually have lots of presentations, and HR is a great source for training and benefits slides. If finance has the latest revenue figures or productivity stats, why not share them?

Number 2 - Web pages
If your software lets you create web page bulletins, you can point to any URL and display it on your screens. Why recreate an event calendar if you already have it on the web? This is also a good way to pull in current weather or post social media or survey results.

Number 3 – Profiles
Why not spotlight an employee, student or work team? This is a great motivator for the people featured and it creates a more close-knit atmosphere when people learn something they may not have known about their peers.

Number 4 - Press releases
Whether it’s your own press release or industry news, copying and pasting current headlines into bulletins and tickers is a great way to keep your audience engaged. But remember, always site your source.

Number 5 - Publications
Do you belong to associations? Or, maybe you subscribe to industry magazines or newsletters. Sharing articles, tidbits and research from your industry rounds out your content by adding a broader context. Again, though, don’t forget to cite your source.

Number 6 – “How To” topics
Just a quick sentence or a few bullet points of how-to info goes a long way to make your digital signage a trusted resource. Don’t be afraid to go outside of daily business topics.   Think about what interests people – from Excel tips to health advice and recipes – you have a virtually limitless pool to draw from.

Number 7 – Loyalty programs
We all know about frequent flyer programs, but how can you reward your viewers for their loyalty? Just invite viewers to register for your program, then advertise contests and rewards specific to them on your digital signs. Something like “The first 5 members to call extension 23 win a Starbucks gift card.” If watching your digital signage is the only way people can get these rewards, they’ll be more likely to watch more often and it will give other viewers an incentive to sign up and keep their eyes on the screens.

Number 8 – Community News
Many of you sponsor or participate in community events and charity drives. Publishing that information can help spur audiences to sign up and keep your viewers informed about your ongoing civic efforts and their opportunities to volunteer.

Those are just 8 ideas to get you started. Now go create some great new content!

When we talk about democratizing communications, we just mean getting more people involved in the process versus the old-fashioned way of having a communications department pushing out one-way messages.

Why does that matter and what’s wrong with the old way? Well, when communications are perceived as top-down, they’re not as effective as when they’re seen as a conversation where more people can contribute.

With digital signage, intranets and social media like wikis and blogs, we’ve made huge strides in democratizing how organizations communicate. With these tools, anyone who’s part of a community can post news and share best practices. Communicators should want to help people act on what they know and participate in that dialogue because when people become more involved, they’re more likely to get the story straight and share it with others. And, after all, that’s the goal of organizational communications.

Don’t just take our word for it. A study by Watson Wyatt confirmed that effective communication is a leading indicator of an organization’s financial performance, and employee satisfaction and turnover. It showed that firms who communicate effectively are nearly five times more likely to report high levels of employee engagement, and 20 percent more likely to report lower turnover.

If you choose a web-based or networked digital signage solution where lots of people can create and post messages, you’ll get better results in terms of understanding, branding and sharing. One reason is that it’s inclusive. As we’ve said, with open messaging software, you can get more people involved in the process. This doesn’t mean you can’t put gatekeepers in place, but it provides an easily-monitored platform for your community, which gives you feedback on your communications so you know if they’re working. Also, it reinforces your message. Different people take in information in different ways, and presenting ideas visually reinforces printed, email or web-based communications you’re publishing elsewhere.

Lastly, it’s unifying. For years we’ve been hearing about brand unity. Well, digital signage provides an environment where branded templates and presentation styles can be predetermined so that everyone is sharing their ideas within your brand standards so that they reinforce them.

Congratulations to everyone who entered!

Read the press release here...

See the winners and finalists here...

See a sample of entries here...

 Read the press release here.

 See the gallery here.