Digital Bulletin Board

BBulletin boards are one of the classics of internal communication and represent a typical push medium. They provide employees, tenants, visitors, or students with important information. Bulletin boards create points of contact and encourage discussions. As a result, employees and the company are in constant exchange with each other.

In this article, you will learn about the advantages of digital bulletin boards, how they work, and where they can be used. At the end, you'll read how our software supports you.

chaotic bulletin board
Chaotic old school bulletin board

How does a Digital Bulletin Board Work?

Digital bulletin boards replace traditional pin or magnetic boards with a digital screen. Nowadays, these screens are networked and receive their content via centrally controlled management software. Paper notices are now a thing of the past.

Technically, electronic bulletin boards involve several components and processes working together:

  • Display Devices: This includes LCD screens, LED displays, projectors, or interactive touchscreens. Place these devices strategically in central areas.
  • Media Players: A media player is a specialized device or computer that delivers the content for the smart bulletin board. It communicates with a CMS via the internet, local networks, or other connections.
  • Content Management System (CMS): The CMS serves as the central control unit that allows for the management and distribution of content to the digital announcement board. It enables the uploading, scheduling, organizing, and updating of content. Administrators use the CMS to manage content for individual or multiple screens. This can also include tailored digital bulletin board software in the form of platform independent widgets.
  • Network Connectivity: The media players devices need to be connected to the CMS through a network connection. This can be done through wired Ethernet connections or wireless networks. The network connection facilitates the transmission of content, control commands, and updates.
  • Content and Templates: The content is distributed within the CMS, including text, images, videos, animations, or interactive elements. To simplify creation and standardize the presentation, often Templates are used.

Through these technical components and processes, digital signage message boards enables the flexible and dynamic display of content on various display devices, effectively communicating information and capturing the attention of the target audience.

Which Advantages has a Digital Bulletin Board?

Digital bulletin boards are centrally administered and therefore always look neat. Notes no longer fall off or get stolen. Information updates at multiple locations at the same time. The use of touchscreens also brings interaction into play and enables feedback.

Creativity

Digital information boards display various formats such as videos, web pages and images. Is there a video from the class trip or a 3D animation of the last works council election? The Digital Bulletin Board is the perfect solution for the traditional paper economy. It takes internal communication to a new level.

Centralized Management

Digital information boards often come with content management software that allows centralized control of multiple displays. It is possible to update and schedule content remotely, providing real-time information across multiple locations.

Flexibility

Digital boards offer flexibility in terms of content scheduling. You schedule specific content to display at particular times or days, such as menus for different meal periods, event announcements, or daily specials. This allows for dynamic content management and targeted communication.

Clean and Tidy

Traditional paper bulletin boards are typically disorganized and chaotic, making it challenging to locate the relevant messages amidst a jumble of smudged papers. Notes can also fall down or be torn off. Digital message boards always look neat and tidy.

Interaction

A digital bulletin board with a built-in touch screen enables interactions with your employees or visitors. Involve your employees or visitors and increase the value of your company. Place it directly at the entrance of your company or school and benefit from constructive feedback.

Speed

People don't have to run anywhere to pin, correct, or take down notes anymore. Now, everything happens at the same time in multiple locations. You post news, plans, or menus at different places with a few clicks.

Different Types of Digital Bulletin Boards

Company bulletin boards serve as valuable communication tools. They provide a central place where important information is shared with employees, fostering motivation, transparency, and collaboration. While the specific types of bulletin boards can vary depending on the organization's needs and culture, here are four types:

  1. Informative: These electronic notice boards are used to convey significant information, such as company announcements, policies, guidelines, news updates, and upcoming events. Informative bulletin boards serve as a central source of information for employees to stay informed about what is happening within the organization.
  2. Promotional: Digital advertising boards are designed to promote products, services, or events. They can be found in retail stores, schools, or community centers to showcase advertisements, promotional offers, upcoming sales, or special events. Promotional digital message boards aim to attract attention and generate interest in specific offerings.
  3. Interactive: Smart bulletin board encourage engagement and participation from the audience. They often include interactive elements such as puzzles, quizzes, discussion prompts, or activities that require the audience to interact with the content. These can be used for educational purposes, team-building exercises, or as a creative outlet for expressing ideas.
  4. Decorative: These digital message boards focus on aesthetics and visual appeal. They are commonly found in shops, offices, or common areas and feature visually pleasing designs, artwork, or displays. Decorative bulletin boards can be used to celebrate seasons, holidays, showcase artwork or student achievements, or add color and vibrancy to a space.

These four types of bulletin boards serve different purposes and cater to various communication needs, whether it's sharing information, promoting something, encouraging interaction, or enhancing the visual environment.

How Digital Bulletin Boards Improve Your Internal Communication?

Digital bulletin boards significantly enhance internal communication within an organization. Here are several ways in which digital bulletin boards can improve internal communication:

Visual Appeal and Engagement

Digital bulletin boards offer the advantage of incorporating multimedia elements such as images, videos, animations, and graphics. This visually appealing content grabs employees' attention and increases engagement. Visuals can be used to convey complex information, highlight key points, and make messages more memorable and impactful.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the term “bulletin board” originated in pubs? On black-painted boards, people wrote down with chalk what the respective guest had to pay.

Targeted Communication

A digital information board enable targeted communication to specific departments, teams, or individuals within the organization. Creating different boards for various departments, ensuring that information is relevant and tailored to specific audiences. This helps streamline communication and ensures that messages reach the intended recipients.

office

Feedback

Smart bulletin board can include interactive features that encourage employee motivation and feedback. Employees can leave comments, ask questions, or provide input directly on the digital platform. This fosters two-way communication, promotes collaboration, and encourages a sense of involvement and ownership.

Metrics and Analytics

Digital information boards often provide analytics and metrics that track engagement and views. This data can be analyzed to assess the effectiveness of communication efforts, identify trends, and make informed decisions to improve internal communication strategies.

Remote Accessibility

With digital signage message boards, remote or geographically dispersed teams access information regardless of their location. This is especially valuable for organizations with remote workers, multiple office locations, or a global workforce. Digital boards ensure that all employees, regardless of their physical presence, have access to the same information, fostering inclusivity and effective communication.

remote worker

Use Cases for Digital Bulletin Boards

Digital bulletin boards offer numerous advantages over traditional physical boards. They leverage technology to enhance communication, interactivity, and visual appeal. Here are some common use cases for digital bulletin boards.

Canteens and Dining Halls

Present the current menu of the day or that of the whole week. With the touchscreen, visitors have the opportunity to give ratings. This gives the kitchen chef important feedback. Remind them of critical hygiene rules. Not only during a pandemic.

Schools

Digital bulletin board for schools can be used as a display for substitution schedules. Because they are up-to-date, news spreads quickly and therefore has an enormous benefit for students, teachers, and staff. Publish timetables and substitution plans automatically. Announce events. Your students will be happy to see pictures and videos of the last class trip.

School building

Universities

In addition to lecture schedules, announcements or the dining hall menu, you can also use the Digital Bulletin Board for apartment or job searches and sales requests. Using a PC, smartphone, tablet or directly via the touchscreen, students enter their advertisements for the respective location.

Authorities

Guarantee quick access to operational information paperless for employees and visitors.

House Hallways

Inform tenants and owners of appointments such as electric meter readings, fire alarm maintenance, or upcoming repairs. Provide important emergency phone numbers. This is a great way to reach people who don't have their PCs.

people in front of display

Factories

Communicate work instructions, company happenings or works council resolutions, or show various diagrams on the screens you attach. Show emergency exits and visualize the fastest way with interactive overview maps.

Our Offer for your Digital Bulletin Board

SmilControl provides you field-test proven software for your bulletin board. This means media player software and content management software.

Quick Hardware Guide

We recommend so-called “all-in-one” as a “board”. The media player and screen form a single unit. Typical names for this class of devices are, for example, signboard, tablet, all-in-one, or smart TVs. If there is no Wi-Fi, LTE mobile radio is used. You will find this working out-of-the-box from IAdea or Philips.

We also offer you the opportunity to create your individual Android devices. Contact us for more information.

Tailored Software

Our content management system supports you to create, schedule, and distribute visual information. But individual cases need individual solutions. We invented a cost-efficient way to create interactive digital bulletin board software tailored to your needs. The technology called digital signage widgets. This simplifies software developing and makes it possible to integrate different technologies and services without big hassles.

Templates: Fast Content Creation

Create “pin board” templates in your corporate or administrative design. Your employees simply enter images and text. This way you maintain a consistent and clear structure.

Integrate external data, for example from timetable software, into your digital bulletin board via the CMS. Our flexible and open architecture allows for specific customizations.

Use the RSS feed from your corporate blog to automatically display content that has already been created, without any additional effort.

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