Set up a Digital Menu Board with three easy steps:
- Choose your design, images, and templates
- Set up a timer for your playlist
- Connect to a screen using on these three options:
Digital Menu Boards Allow You to Make Changes on the Fly
Change ingredients and prices in no time, highlight the daily special or spotlight menu items with stunning photography – more and more restaurants are using digital menu boards to provide a better customer experience.
This modern alternative to a printed menu doesn’t just save you a ton of money but combined with the right digital signage software it opens up a world of new possibilities, with just a few clicks. But how do you get started? We’ll walk you through how it can be done in three simple steps and we’ll even throw in some great free templates that you can use.
1. Design, Images, and Templates
Commercial displays are a great way to show off your unique menu board design. Because a picture is worth more than 1,000 words. Digital Signs are great at showing off your product and allowing the customer to imagine themselves enjoying the product they are seeing.
Well, here at viewneo we understand the importance of good design and have done some of the heavy lifting for you. You can see all of our templates for yourself for free by signing up for a 30 day trial of viewneo. Once you’ve signed up for a trial, just right-click on Create from Template in the Media tab. The folder Public Content has a wide variety of different animated templates that are designed to be the perfect menu board solution. Additionally, you can customize them, so they are an exact fit for your business.
As promised, below we have provided just a small sampling of some of the free templates that are available to use. So, take a look and find one that you can make yours. Additionally, we also feature a Pixabay integration which allows you to use thousands of free images and videos in your slides and templates. The following video will walk you through how they can be used.
The Breakfast Place
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” – we’ve all heard this a million times.
The current fitness and health trend has also brought a change in eating habits, which has also had an effect on breakfast choices. The classic breakfast of a Peanut Butter and Jelly toast or a big bowl of sugary cereal has been replaced by healthier alternatives. Protein smoothies, fruit, and yogurt or muesli have gained in popularity. Digital menus allow you to exploit this trend and highlight some of your healthy breakfast options.
Every weekday you could even have a different special on your tv menu board, like the Monday Smoothie or cereals on Tuesday.
The Italian Restaurant
When you own a restaurant, you sometimes just have to switch up the menu. The problem this presents is that now all of your old menus are useless and you need to print new ones. This costs time and money. Not to mention any boards that are placed around the restaurant that now need to be replaced.
You just bought fresh seafood at the local market? Great! Just add it to the specials on your digital menu board: Today only: Spaghetti Frutti di Mare!
The Ice Cream Parlour
The seasons are changing; it’s turning to fall and the days are getting shorter. Adding ice cream that is more seasonal can help get more customers into your café. You can also offer ice cream with hot raspberries, cherries or different warm sauces, to extend your offering into the colder months. For Christmas, you can add ice cream that tastes like cinnamon, eggnog or maybe even candy canes as an alternative to the classic strawberry ice cream.
This template can be used year-round and only needs a few changes each season. Because it is so easy to use, you can react to what is happening around you. It is suddenly 70 degrees in December? Use that for your digital menu board template: It’s too warm for eggnog? Come have an iced coffee here!
The Burger Joint
Burger joints are all the rage right now and with them come some crazy burger of the month selections. You want to show off your newest creation in a modern way and get a lot of attention but with little effort? Of course! With this free template, you can quickly switch up your monthly burger. You can also add an animated graphic to make the burger look even more appealing. Use the different components and let them appear layer by layer. This grabs customers’ attention and shows them in detail what they will be eating.
Most digital menu boards are used horizontally but you could also use it vertically. The next template shows how a simple change can dramatically affect how the display looks. This can be especially effective for products that are taller like this burger.
After highlighting the burger you can provide your customers with information, such as, a lunch special that complements the burger.
The Cocktail Bar
Gin Tonic, Mojito, or Lillet. Every spring brings a new cocktail that is declared the new best thing. You can follow this trend with just a few simple steps. Add everyone’s new favorite cocktail to your menu or delete a classic cocktail that has lost its fan base. Making changes to your drinks line-up has never been easier.
You can keep your customer up to date with your digital menu board template without spending money on printouts.
The Gourmet Restaurant
A classic layout without any knick-knacks shows elegance. Especially in the restaurant business, you can say a lot with images. You are also able to add more images to these templates. A nice word from the kitchen or the newest dessert creation can be added to the template without any problems.
2. Set a timer for the playlist
Another advantage of digital menu boards is the ability to adjust them based on your schedule. By organizing your content into different playlists, you can target your messages based on the time of day. So, you can advertise breakfast items in the early morning, happy hour drinks after work, and promote other specials at targeted times and days.
It is easy to change these settings by clicking on the + symbol located in the Playlists tab. Then just name the playlist (i.e. lunch menu, dinner menu, happy hour specials, etc.) and then drag and drop your created menu boards into the playlist.
3. Connect a screen
Connecting a screen is simple. Just download one of our apps or use our Digital Signage Player. When you do this you will see an activation key on the screen. Enter this into your viewneo Content Management System (CMS) account and you’re ready to go. The following apps and devices are available for you to use:
