Everything About Narrowcasting

What is Narrowcasting software?

Narrowcasting software is a computer-based program that is an essential part of a narrowcasting solution. It is perhaps the most important for achieve maximum return on a narrowcasting campaign. There are commonly two types of narrowcasting software: content management systems and analytics.

Before diving further into the software, it is important to understand what exactly narrowcasting is. As described in our previous article, Narrowcasting is process of tailoring and delivering the right content, to the right people, at the right time, and at the right place. With narrowcasting, audiences can be narrowly targeted and segmented in the following ways:

• a specific region

• a specific group

• a company

• an organization

• people with a specific interest

Types of Narrowcasting software

As mentioned earlier, there are commonly two types of narrowcasting software (CMS and analytics) and these can be divided into the following categories:

• Digital Signage Player Software

• Content Management and Distribution Software

• Content Design Software

• Device Management Software

• Audience Analytics Software

Digital signage player software

Digital signage player software is found on the media player and plays back content. There are many types of player software available on the market but typically, most player software can work online and offline and support different types of media. For online use, consistent internet connectivity is needed to allow for streaming. Offline, the software will download the content to provide continuous, uninterrupted playback.

Content management and distribution software

A content management system (CMS) software manages and schedules content that is sent to the media player of a digital signage system. It enables businesses to efficiently manage all communications displayed on digital screens.

A CMS can be cloud-based or hosted. A cloud-based CMS makes use of the internet and does not need an onsite server hardware. The benefit of a cloud-based CMS is that it can be operated from anywhere. A hosted CMS software relies heavily on hardware and infrastructure.

Content design software

Content design software allows for the creation of both static and dynamic content. A good content creation software will offer valuable design tools, allowing the user to use graphics and text within the design. Some of the more advance software will have content apps and widgets natively built in. These apps and widgets help with displaying and updating of dynamic content, without having to log in to another tool.

Device management software

Device management software is important to a narrowcasting network deployed in more than one location. It collects information from media players and reports on the data. The software is able to reboot devices and screens from remote locations, compile playback data, deploy software and firmware updates for media players and screens, and also send automated notifications about the network status via email.

Audience analytics software

Audience analytics software analyzes information collected from a camera feed and detects, as well as process, relevant actions. The best way to measure the success of narrowcasting is by using audience analytics. Questions such as “Exactly how effective is my digital display? How many people did my message reach? Of those people, how many were in my target audience?” can be answered by using Face Analysis software. The information that is captured and analyzed includes headcount, facial expressions, age, gender, dwell time and time of day.