What is a Digital Menu Board?

Have you noticed how restaurants and cafes are stepping up their game in advertising? They’re ditching those old printed menus and embracing digital menu boards.

These electronic signs on TV screens or monitors display their menus and can be updated in real-time. It’s pretty cool!

Gone are boring, static menu displays that just show pictures and text. With a digital menu board, restaurants can create dynamic, attractive visuals that draw customers’ eyes and capture their attention.

A new survey has found that 88% of quick-service restaurants are considering a switch to digital menus. Digital restaurant menu boards also make offering special pricing or promotional offers at the point of sale easier!

This blog post concerns digital menu boards and how these electronic signs can help your business stand out. Let’s dive in!

What is a Digital Menu Board?

A digital menu board is an electronic menu displayed on a TV screen, often mounted on a wall for customers to view and order. It shows menu options, specials, promotions, reviews, and more using hardware and software.

Digital menu boards are commonly used in restaurants to enhance the ordering experience for customers.

It can be either static or dynamic, meaning the content on the screen can be changed and updated when needed. AIScreen’s 2023 research found digital menu boards enhance restaurant dining experiences by 40%, with dynamic, interactive, and customizable displays.

Restaurants and retail food businesses prioritizing speed and convenience often use digital displays, particularly in quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and fast-casual eateries.

You won’t believe how much restaurants have transformed in the past three years, all because of the pandemic. 

Customer preferences shifted, leading to significant changes in how they operate. One of the cool things they did was upgrade their drive-thrus with digital signage menus. If you are confused on how to use digital menu boards, there is no need to worry.

Now, customers can quickly check out the menu while keeping their distance. It’s a win-win situation.

According to a report by the International Food and Beverage Technology Association (IFBTA), around 74% of QSRs consider digital menu boards a top marketing priority.

With digital menu boards, restaurants can display not only their menu items and queue management techniques with efficient content management.

Moreover, digital boards provide the flexibility to stream entertainment and plan marketing campaigns effectively.

Hardware for Your Digital Signage Menu Board

When choosing hardware for your signage, your budget is the critical factor.

While displays with more features and larger sizes are more expensive, it’s not advisable to go too small or skimp on parts as it can reduce the effectiveness of your signage.

Working with a trusted technology partner who can provide the necessary help and tools you need is always recommended.

The digital board needed for a business varies depending on the type of business.

A mall only needs a static board displaying store locations, whereas restaurants have various menu items that cannot fit on a single screen.

As a result, multiple screens or a video wall are ideal choices. In addition, specific hardware components are necessary for an effective digital restaurant menu. These include:

1. High-quality Digital Displays (LCD or LED)

Choosing the proper hardware is crucial for customer interaction, with a large display being the most critical factor. If you want to know how does digital menu board work, checkout this guide.

Opting for a high-resolution display will ensure clear images and text. AIScreen suggests Insignia Fire TV for the best results.

2. A Reliable Tablet Or Computer

To control an online digital display, you must connect it to a computer or a tablet.

Your device must have a reliable internet connection and meet the requirements to run the required software.

3. Media Player

To content on the screen, you need a media player compatible with the file format used for your content, such as media player MP4, MPEG, etc.

Media player hardware can range from a basic USB drive to an advanced media player like Apple TV.

Media player hardware can range from a basic USB drive to an advanced media player like Apple TV. Furthermore, businesses can easily display their menu on TV using a simple USB drive, making it a cost-effective solution for digital menu boards.

4. Cables

To connect everything, you’ll need three cables at least: HDMI cables for connecting the media player to the display, power cables to supply power to both the media player and the display, and Ethernet cables to network multiple displays and manage them from a distance.

5. A WiFi Router

For the digital signage menus to function correctly, having a reliable WiFi or internet connection on the premises is essential.

Ensure you have a router with a high range that can accommodate multiple devices.

6. A Compatible POS System

Some restaurants use touchscreen monitors with digital boards to facilitate ordering or checking inventory levels.

It is essential to have a POS system that is compatible with this board. Many modern POS systems provide this function. Consult your service provider to determine the most suitable options for your business.

7. A Fire Stick

You may need a fire stick to stream or access content from any broadcasting network.

This device allows users to access and stream online content from different sources without the hassle of downloading each app separately.

Many cafes and restaurants use this device to stream music or videos on digital boards.

With these hardware components in place, you can move to the next step.

Digital Menu Board Software

To ensure the effectiveness of the digital menu board, selecting digital menu board software compatible with the hardware is crucial. The software should enable remote screens and content management, allowing for updates or modifications.

When it comes to digital displays, there are tons of features for digital menu boards software options out there. Some have user-friendly drag-and-drop interfaces that make content creation a breeze.

Others specialize in live video displays, adding that extra oomph to your digital signage.

And let’s not forget the real gem: content management software. With the right one, making changes to your content becomes a piece of cake. It’s all about finding the perfect fit for your needs.

AIScreen is one of the leading digital signage software solutions for restaurants.

It makes it easy to create stunning digital menu board templates with interactive elements like pricing updates, animations, and ordering options.

Whichever option you choose, ensure the display system software is compatible with your hardware components and provides efficient remote management capabilities.

This will enable you to manage your digital displays from anywhere in the world effectively.

Our app is built in Canvas, allowing you to create a custom layout and design for the digital display.

Once you’ve selected the content management software, it’s time to start creating content. Remember that the content should be eye-catching, informative, and relevant to your customers’ needs.

To make things easier, it is recommended to carefully select a partner program and work with technology companies that offer such services.

Design Tips for Digital Menu Boards

Research suggests that incorporating photos and animations into your signage can increase its effectiveness in attracting people to your menu options.

Using stylish colors, appropriate font sizes, and contrast can enhance readability.

Creating practical and visually appealing designs, such as selecting appropriate images and using a structured layout, is crucial for enhancing customer experience and driving sales.

1. Invest In Good Themes But Keep Them Realistic

Here’s a pro tip for your restaurant menu board design: invest in good themes, but keep them realistic.

Avoid those heavily filtered or stock images that look generic. You want your customers to connect with what you’re selling, right?

So, opt for your mouthwatering food and drink photos in natural daylight. Say no to flash! Oh, and pay attention to the backdrop too. A clean white plate on a patterned or lightly colored table mat can make your meals pop.

And don’t forget about the angles! Some dishes look amazing from above, while others may need that perfect lower angle. It’s all about making your menu look irresistible.

AIScreen’s app has pre-made templates to help make your digital menu boards solution look professional and attractive.

With more than 1500+ stunning templates, you can create a uniquely designed menu board that stands out.

2. Add Color With Digital Signage Software

Choosing the right screen color depends on your restaurant’s decor. If your space has a lot of light, choose a dark screen to catch people’s attention.

If your space is already brightly colored, go for a white screen.

Using only three primary color schemes in your digital menu display is recommended to avoid drawing attention away from the main message, which is your food.

This is a standard procedure to be followed.

3. Fonts

When picking fonts, consider brand guidelines as your trusty measuring tool to create the perfect look and vibe.

And hey, my friend, it’s not just about the font size! You must ensure those headlines are crystal clear, especially when your audience is at the back of the line.

Imagine this: if they can’t read it, you’re missing a chance to showcase your products and make those sales soar.

4. Do Not Clutter; add Space

Designing a restaurant’s digital display system can be a real challenge when you’ve got a ton of delicious food items to showcase.

Let’s not cram everything in and end up with a chaotic mess in content management software okay? Give your patrons breathing space by allowing for a bit of an empty room.

Don’t be afraid to create more than two menus if needed. You can separate courses or switch them up, so it’s all nicely spread out.

Oh, and speaking of space, negative space is your best friend! Leave room around each list so your customers can easily read and savor every menu item.

Keep it neat, with no more than 35 lines per slide. That way, pricing, and names are a breeze to understand, and those queues will move faster than ever.

Regarding extensive menus, go for sans-serif fonts in content management software. They’re easy on the eyes, and make sure your messages hit home at a glance.

And let’s not get too fancy with multiple fonts or crazy, eye-popping colors. Keep it classy and cohesive with a color scheme that complements your overall design

5. Add Motion

We are discussing animated images or videos that grab attention since the human eye is naturally drawn toward moving things.

6. Include A Call To Action

Digital menu boards are effective in encouraging customers to take action.

However, if customers are unsure of what to order, you can utilize the digital menu boards to prompt them to ask questions.

For instance, you can include CTAs such as “Ask us about our specials” or “Get $ off by liking us on Facebook.” Such calls to action enable customers to better engage with your restaurant’s messaging.

Location Location Location – Where to Place Your Menu Boards

It’s time to get creative when figuring out where to put those awesome digital menu boards in your restaurant.

Try different spots that suit your restaurant layout and vibe, and don’t forget to consider your unique customers and their flow. Think about their behavior and patterns.

One crucial aspect to consider is ensuring the boards can be seen from every part of the restaurant so diners can easily spot them regardless of location.

Keep the boards away from bright light sources like windows or doors to make it easy to read the menu without glare. Additionally, select a location not blocked by furniture or other objects in the room.

It is recommended to begin by selecting one of the walls in the restaurant as it offers excellent flexibility in terms of visibility and placement.

If multiple screens exist, try mounting them on different walls to allow guests to view them from various angles. This will help prevent crowding around a single display.

Many Americans drive at least an hour daily, so several restaurants strategically place digital menu boards in their drive-thrus.

This is done to attract potential customers who might be too occupied to stop and enter the restaurant.

Reasons to Use a Digital Menu Board

Well, buddies, there are a few perks to using digital menu boards you might not have considered. Here’s why you should consider using one:

1. They’re Easy On The Eyes

Say goodbye to tired eyes from squinting at small menus. Digital menu displays can be much more extensive and easier to read menu items than regular printed menu.

Plus, you can customize the colors and fonts to make them more visually appealing.

Having digital menu boards work outside your restaurant that is easily visible to passersby can attract more customers, mainly if your establishment is in an area with heavy foot traffic.

Many people prefer to check a restaurant’s menu before deciding where to eat, and a digital menu can be more eye-catching and engaging than a printed one.

3. Help Build Connection to the Community

Ohh, this is a good one! Digital menu boards can feature locally-sourced ingredients, local craft beers, and other community-related content.

For example, some restaurants use digital menu boards to showcase unique stories about their chefs or even host live events for the local community.

Customers can feel good about supporting a local business, and it establishes loyalty with the district.

4. Eliminate Inefficiencies and Errors

Old paper menus can be messy and inefficient. Digital menu boards offer a much more streamlined way to track inventory and pricing so that restaurants can avoid ordering errors.

Updating digital menus is much easier than printing ones when new dishes or specials are available.

5. Highlight New or Special Items

When you have a digital menu board, it’s much easier to highlight new and unique items, all with the click of a button.

You can even include enticing visuals to make them stand out even more! This is especially helpful for restaurants that offer limited-time specials or seasonal dishes.

Ultimately, a digital signage menu board is worth considering if your restaurant wants to freshen up its brand and attract more customers.

Suppose you’ve grasped the concept of digital menu boards and are eager to delve deeper into their advantages, creation process, costing and more.

Transform Your Menu with Digital Menu Boards and Reap the Benefits With AIScreen

Nothing is more important to customers than the food they order.

With AIScreen, you can create a digital menu board that ensures customers can access accurate and up-to-date information about your dishes and specials.

We also offer powerful tools for customizing the design of your digital menu boards, so you can make sure they are both eye-catching and informative.

Our innovative technology ensures your menu boards function correctly and display the correct information.

With AIScreen, you can gain peace of mind knowing that your customers will have a great experience.

We are offering a free trial for our app. Try it now and transform your menu with digital boards. You won’t regret it! Contact us for more information.

Using Whiteboards

Good old-fashioned particleboard whiteboards are in every meeting room at every company that has meeting rooms worldwide. There are millions of whiteboards pinned to walls around the world.  Why is that?  Because whiteboards are the best way to share ideas, think visually, and connect and engage with your audience.

During the pandemic, those whiteboards sat in darkened meeting rooms, unerased, unused, unshared. Yet, as we try to emerge from ‘odd-normal’ to ‘new-normal’ for collaborating with prospects, customers, employees, and partners, the need for whiteboards has not gone away.  They’ve just transformed into something better.  They’ve been transformed into a smart whiteboard.

This primer defines smart whiteboards vs. other terms used, outlines usages, best practices for collaboration, and compares smart whiteboard vendors.    

What Are Interactive Flat Panel Displays (IFPDs)?

A new class of interactive flat panel displays (IFPDs) has emerged, transforming how we use whiteboards.  These new boards are not boards at all. Instead, they are large format touchscreen monitors fueled by powerful collaboration software.  The best ones are designed to support and enhance the way you work, collaborate, and engage.

Here are some common ways that we refer to this technology.

What Are Smart Whiteboards?

A smart whiteboard takes the form factors listed above. It combines them with the idea of having a cloud-connected, device-connected ecosystem that works with your favorite apps to get collaborative work done on any device, anywhere you happen to be working. 

A smart whiteboard device should support the reality of today’s hybrid meeting environment where presenters can use all their favorite apps in one place and present them to an unlimited audience around the world.  And where the audience is all on different devices with different form factors such as a mobile phone, laptop, or tablet.  

If the device is a smart whiteboard, it should support the ability for everyone to add to the canvas, regardless of where they are or what device they have.

Three Other Types of IFPDs:

Online Whiteboard

Online whiteboards are software-only solutions.  They work with the touchscreen on your familiar devices such as laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.  There are dozens of options available for online whiteboards that range from free to license, to a monthly subscription.  

Digital or Electric Whiteboard

These are the first generation of ‘chip-powered’ touch screen whiteboards.   They are used to ‘project’ computer screens onto the board and use touch input to mark up what is seen.  They are popular in education. 

Interactive Whiteboard

This is the broadest, modern term for a connected whiteboard.  As Wikipedia defines it, ‘an interactive whiteboard is a large interactive display board in the form factor of a whiteboard. It can either be a standalone touchscreen computer used independently to perform tasks and operations, or a connectable apparatus used as a touchpad to control computers from a projector’.  An interactive whiteboard works like a normal whiteboard, but the added digital component allows you to interact with it on a computer and save content for future reference.

Smart Whiteboards Are for Teamwork

In today’s uncertain work environment, there are several configurations for how meetings get done. They are all enhanced by using a smart whiteboard.

In-Person

All the participants are in the same room.  Work is on one, in-room smart whiteboard with an infinite canvas .  All the elements on the board can be automatically saved to the cloud (just like Google Docs works) as the meeting progresses.  No more ‘don’t erase’ notes on a whiteboard.

Virtual/Remote

Most, if not all, participants are in a different location.  Meetings and follow-up to action items take place with technology like video conferencing or Zoom.  Good smart whiteboard software should be able to integrate with your existing virtual meeting platform easily .  Each virtual participant should have access to the canvas for their unique input.  The results should be saved and sent to relevant participants.

Hybrid

Some participants are in the office, and some are remote.  Collaboration is enabled almost exclusively through technology platforms. For example, smart whiteboards allow all participants to be on the same canvas.  A remote person who doesn’t have direct access to the presenter’s board can still participate by adding sticky notes and annotating and highlighting key concepts.

It’s a safe bet to plan that all your future meetings will be hybrid. Of course, whiteboards will still be essential, but not everyone will have access to one.  This is why you see the ascent of smart whiteboards and smart whiteboard software as critical to enable virtual teamwork.  

A Brief History

When a whiteboard was used during a hybrid, collaborative meeting a few years ago, the typical solution was to point a camera at the board and watch one person draw with a dry erase marker. Then, a picture was taken of the final drawing and sent to the meeting participants.

How Do Smart Whiteboards Work Today?

You can still point a camera at the primary board and the presenter (just like in a Zoom meeting). However, it enhances the meeting to see a presenter in order to personalize the session more.  

But unlike a projection of a board, a smart whiteboard ecosystem has the central feature of a touch-enabled , large screen monitor with infinite scrolling and is connected to the cloud.  You can use a stylus pen or your finger, to draw, highlight, or interact with elements via the board’s touchscreen surface. In addition, you can share, archive, and save your notes as digital content.

You can connect other devices wirelessly, across the internet, or with an HDMI cable. From there, users can easily annotate on top of the content pulled from the connected device. Of course, you can also use it the other way: share your work from the board for instant real-time co-creation from another smart whiteboard, computer web browser, or tablet.

When you use a smart whiteboard for a hybrid meeting, everyone is literally on the same page.

Software Is The Key Takeaway

Virtual ideation, back and forth, on an infinite canvas broadcast worldwide in real-time is powerful.  But the real power in smart whiteboards lies in their ability to work with your favorite cloud apps. So you shouldn’t have to change the way you work for remote work.

Today’s smart whiteboards support an app ecosystem (just like an iPhone) that enables you to keep using your favorite cloud workflows but be able to drag them onto a canvas to share, highlight, and annotate.  

Directly sharing app content and data on a board canvas from multiple devices makes presentations more fluid and reduces time spent organizing notes. And when done, there’s no need for physical storage space. Instead, the annotated content is saved to the cloud, again on your favorite storage app, to use your choice of a connected device later.

That is all done with software and is the real power behind smart whiteboards.

Support Existing Meeting Platforms

Smart whiteboards can connect all your hybrid participants on a shared canvas, as a standalone collaboration app, across all your connected devices with audio and video supplied via any device you want, including video conferencing technology.  

You can also run a smart whiteboard session inside Zoom or Google Meet, with the main board on camera and a shared screen.

A New Way To Engage Remote Teams

Smart whiteboards are a clever combination of technologies, but they are really valuable because they increase engagement for virtual meetings. 

Zoom fatigue has set in.  You can google hundreds of articles about this.  Smart whiteboards are a great way to inject new life into remote meetings.  

A smart whiteboarding session boosts collaboration by bringing teams together to share ideas, ask questions, and develop solutions openly. A smart whiteboard allows all participants to think creatively and contribute in a no-judgment environment.  It’s far less likely that someone will check their email during a meeting if asked to contribute visually.

Everyone working around a smart whiteboard, whether in-room or online, gets a morale boost by seeing the real-time value of every member’s ideas and opinions. 

Smart whiteboards engage teams to work together to resolve problems or increase productivity. Collaboration is the most effective when every member feels supported and heard.

Related content:  The Vocabulary of Remote Work

Examples of Smart Whiteboard Uses:

Group note-taking. Encourage teams to work together by having everyone jot down notes on the canvas. Most smart whiteboard apps will translate written text into a computer font.  You can then publish the document as a PDF.

Interactive training. Get employees excited about learning by getting them more engaged with touch input. Look for professional development opportunities that could benefit the whole team during a training session.

Split-screen and spotlight features help focus your audience as you work through a presentation.  

Examples

• A sales manager can pull up salesforce.com pipelines and have every rep in the remote meeting highlight their deals while talking about them.
• A product manager can run a brainstorming session with developers on the next set of features to transform user experience.
• A marketing manager can show a Google Adwords campaign and have the team annotate and highlight what’s working and what’s not.
• IT Manager can offer remote support via annotated screen sharing and can direct users
• Finance can review the latest numbers with mark-ups and comments
• HR can review resumes and highlight areas where to focus for the remote team

Smart Whiteboard Mistakes To Avoid

Smart whiteboarding isn’t a recipe for success all the time. Without proper planning, the board can create confusion, constrict ideation flows, and even lead to your great ideas getting erased out of existence. Thankfully, the fixes for these problems are usually pretty straightforward.

Here are a few instances where smart whiteboarding can become a hazard, along with easy solutions to remedy the situation:

Focus Not Defined Before The Start

Productive meetings focus on a specific purpose with an agenda that defines and drills into key specifics relating to the meeting’s purpose.  This is true whether you use a whiteboard or not.

Whiteboarding sessions need a prepared facilitator to guide everyone toward an established goal. Before starting brainstorming and problem-solving, your facilitator should define what problem you’re resolving before the session and set an itinerary for the meetup.

Write the purpose of the session at the top of the canvas as a reminder. 

Divide the whiteboard into a problem space where your team can define and analyze the problem and a solution space where you solve the problem.

Another valuable way to keep everyone on track is to set up a “parking lot ” on your whiteboard. This space is where valuable ideas outside the current session’s scope can wait for later discussion. That way, people feel like they are heard—and their ideas don’t get lost in the mix—while everyone stays focused and on task.

Ideas Cluttered And Disorganized

When whiteboarding sessions are flowing with ideas, sometimes the board can become cluttered and disorganized. A digital whiteboard enables you to create logical categories by dissecting the canvas and easily ‘swiping’ ideas into a more meaningful structure. This way, you don’t have to stop the flow and narrow where you want to steer innovation.

You can take an idea from one board and create a new board around the idea to drill down on details. Think of it like creating a hyperlink on a webpage: Good smart whiteboard software can segment and create high-level ideas with links to other boards that go into greater detail. This strategy organizes your thoughts and makes them easy to digest.

Handwriting Isn’t Legible

When people can’t read what you write on the whiteboard, the power of the exercise is lost. 

Often, bad handwriting is the result of poor spacing. Standard whiteboards would quickly fill up with ideas and diagrams, limiting the space available for new ideas. 

Fortunately, most smart whiteboards are great at handwriting recognition and take someone’s scribbles and convert them to a readable font.

If your smart whiteboard has an infinite canvas, it can help eliminate the old whiteboard habit by some facilitators of cramming letters together to save space.

Use the entire canvas to make the most of your whiteboarding session.

Key Tips for Better Smart Whiteboarding

Erase at Will

Traditional whiteboarding always created some amount of clutter as people unload their brains. Smart whiteboards are the same way.  But, it’s just part of the process. During a session, not everything written on the board will create value. We don’t hesitate to remove an idea when it no longer fits into the picture.

Send Ideas ASAP

At the end of the meeting, erase or move any ideas that don’t contribute value to the session’s driving purpose. Then, when you save the whiteboarding session, send the most relevant details via email to keep your team members working toward the most productive ideas.

Integrate Your Existing Workflow

With good smart whiteboard software, you can easily use app integrations that connect to your existing workflows to tag colleagues and remote workers for review.

By integrating your workflow and task management with an interactive whiteboard, you’ll be able to share the session with key contributors who may have missed the meeting. They can pick up where you left off and add new notations. 

Pause for Inclusiveness

Whiteboarding can break down power dynamics in a collaborative setting and allow less assertive people to contribute their ideas equally.  Take a moment to let people review the board so everyone can have a say.  This also makes tracking ideas and recognizing people for their contributions easier for facilitators.

A smart whiteboard offers even more inclusivity because everyone controls the ability to draw on the board instead of passing the marker on a traditional dry erase board. By nature of giving everyone the right to add to the board, you’re demonstrating that each person’s opinions and ideas bring value to the session.

Have some fun!

There’s more to whiteboarding than just work, work, work. Whiteboards tend to become hubs for inside jokes, workplace graffiti, even games. All these can be part of a productive day, and creative facilitators can even use this joyful approach to whiteboarding in guiding their ideation. With whiteboarding, the sky’s the limit when it comes to creativity.

With a digital whiteboard, these creative moments and jokes can be captured and saved as images to share among teams and the organization, fostering a positive work environment.

Smart whiteboards with app integration can use ‘consumer’ apps like YouTube, or Spotify can as a fun way to make a point with a short video or song.

Get Things Done

We now know that smart whiteboards are a great way to get remote, collaborative work done.  Here are some ways smart whiteboards can be put to use in everyday business scenarios.

Want templates to let the ideas flow?

Get planning templates for Vibe Board’s Canvas here .

Project Planning

Project planning is one important aspect of your business. It’s at the core of how all departments function. You want to find solutions that keep everyone informed of vital deadlines, budgetary restrictions, and more.

Ideation

Collaborate with team members on the canvas.  List objectives, problems and solutions, create flowcharts and connect ideas to your company’s goals, all on a large, infinite idea space.

Brainstorming & Building

Visuals and shared spaces are major assets in team project planning.  The design team can use a smart whiteboard for a myriad of activities, combine multiple elements (sketches, screenshots, tables, annotations, etc.) all on the same canvas. 

You can refer back to your brainstorming canvases at any time to keep your goals in focus. 

Related content:  How to Use a Whiteboard to Lead a Great Brainstorming Session

Roles & Responsibilities

Assign individuals to specific roles in the project in a collaborative way. Use your preferred cloud-based project management app on a smart whiteboard to help with this part of your project plan.  For example, you can have a RACI template on the canvas.  Everyone in the meeting would have access to drag names and assignments around until all participants agree on the final outcomes.

Presenting

Have a presentation saved on your computer? Wirelessly screencast to your board, and use the stylus to annotate your presentation as you go.  Audience members can add their own apps or annotate along with you.

Scheduling

Use a smart whiteboard and project management apps to detail the timeline and resources to complete a task and any information that is vital to managing the team. 

Risk Assessments

Complete a risk assessment with your remote team using an infinite canvas where team members can list all potential risks such as the project’s scope, failures in communication or technology, resources, and unexpected delays

Communicate & Share

During project planning, regular communication among teammates is key.  When it’s time to share your progress you can use your preferred apps (like Microsoft Teams and Slack) to share canvases to any device via a secure URL generated by your board’s software.

User Experience Research

Whether you’re a designer, marketing professional, or tech guru, UX research is vital to the success of a product. Ensuring your team has the right technology to collaborate on during the research process is just as important. 

Innovative teams use smart whiteboarding to research, brainstorm, present ideas, visualize complex problems, and stay connected in a remote workplace.

User interviews

Meet with users one-on-one, wherever they’re located, to learn about their wants, desires, and pain points. 

Focus groups

Hold a remote group conversation with people from your target audience to uncover unique perspectives and experiences. 

Usability testing. Let users interact with your product to determine if it’s intuitive and user-friendly.

Kanban boards

Organize initiatives and tasks onto a kanban board to keep your team organized

Decision Matrix

Use a decision matrix to prioritize research methods and relevant tasks and make a plan for carrying out the design process.

Flowcharts

Create a flowchart to map out the user’s experience, document the design process, or chart research strategies

Annotate PPT

If you are going to use PowerPoint it can focus prospects if you are highlighting and annotating slides.  Often, prospects can get lost on a slide and disengage.  By guiding people where to look, you can keep their valuable attention.

Multimedia & App Integration

Make your presentations dynamic by integrating images, videos, screenshots, and tools you’re already using – making your sessions immersive and interactive.

Engage Your Audience

Don’t do another sales pitch using just Zoom.  With a smart whiteboard, you can conference in participants from any remote location, mark up images in real-time, make notes, and share screens. 

Share

Save the session and generate a URL you can share with team members or even the prospect.

Training & Coaching

Integration

Easily integrate your existing training templates and tools into your smart whiteboard sessions, and bring your sessions to life with multi-media aides, participant collaboration, and the ability to save each session for later review.

Interactive Training

Make notes, jot down questions, and mark up images – all in real-time.  Have participants share files with you directly, easily incorporate activities that facilitate knowledge retention, and make training sessions engaging.

Self-Guided Training

Use your best, saved sessions as the basis to train participants in self-guided mode.  They can add their notes and questions for you to go back and answer or start a new, live session on the same canvas to continue the training.

Entertainment

Take a break from business and turn your smart whiteboard into an entertainment center . Today, most smart whiteboards are 4K and will support the major video and music apps such as Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, and Spotify.  Or surf the net and catch up on your social networks with a giant, hi-res monitor.

Product Comparisons

The major smart whiteboards available today are:

• Vibe Board
• Google Jamboard
• Microsoft Surface Hub
• Samsung Flip 2

Microsoft Surface Hub 2S (50″)

Microsoft is one of the originators of digital whiteboard technology, and their Surface Hub is a popular choice in this space. Surface Hub 2S features a responsive touchscreen display and robust integrations with Microsoft applications. With its collaboration-focused custom version of Windows and video conferencing capabilities, the Surface Hub 2S makes hosting meetings easy.

However, the Surface Hub 2S does have some significant drawbacks. Offices that don’t run predominantly on Microsoft software will find connectivity to be a challenge because the Surface Hub is heavily reliant on the Universal Windows 10 application ecosystem. For example, connecting via Skype requires an Exchange Server or an Office 365 for the Business account along with Skype for Business. This means that calling non-Skype users — e.g. most of your freelancers and remote employees — isn’t easy.

The Surface Hub costs nearly $3,000 more than its closest competitor, coming in at just under $9,000 per unit.

You can learn more about Vibe as a Microsoft Surface Hub alternative on our comparison page .

Google Jamboard

Google launched Jamboard as a direct competitor to the Surface Hub. It’s been successful in mimicking much of that device’s functionality, but with some downsides.

On the plus side, the Jamboard features a vibrant 4K display with touchscreen capabilities for easy whiteboarding. Using Android and iOS apps, users can access whiteboard content on a range of personal devices. Jamboard has also become popular with educators, thanks to its intuitive design.

However, the Jamboard offers a limited suite of integrations with Google-only apps, which could mean adjusting workflows to work with many off-site. Additionally, some reviewers have reported glitches in the software.  

It doesn’t have an infinite canvas.  When you run out of space you need to ‘flip’ a new page, which causes the ideas on the screen to disappear.  

The Jamboard costs just under $5,000 per board. 

Samsung Flip 2

The budget answer to the more powerful Jamboard and Surface Hub, the Samsung Flip 2 is a bare-bones smart whiteboard for small- to mid-sized businesses. It comes with an attractive price tag and features real-time whiteboard capabilities on its UHD 4K touch display. The Flip 2 works wirelessly with Samsung mobile devices (as well as other manufacturer’s products using an app, though with more limited functionality).

The Flip’s most visible feature (and the one that gives it its name) is that its 55-inch screen can pivot on its stand (sold separately), going from horizontal to vertical in an instant.

The Flip 2 doesn’t come with a full-featured operating system. While you can share whiteboarding sessions with remote users, there’s no app ecosystem so you can’t share your favorite cloud apps with your remote audience.

Vibe Board

A relative newcomer to the space, the Vibe Board was designed from scratch by an independent technology company to fill a gap left behind by Samsung, Microsoft, and Google. Its competitors have similar capabilities, with manufacturer-agnostic app integrations and a more competitive price tag to boot.

Vibe users can whiteboard their ideation/collaboration sessions while sharing the screen via video conference applications (like Zoom, GoToMeeting, and Skype). Vibe also supports screencasting from computers and mobile devices to the board, regardless of the device manufacturer.

With a robust suite of built-in integrations that includes Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WebEx, Asana, and more, users will find that Vibe slots in nicely with existing workflows.

Vibe is also a powerful multitasker that seamlessly shifts between apps. Compatible with many USB webcams, Vibe allows teams to video conference with 3rd party apps and share the whiteboard screen in real-time. This could be a game-changer for remote teams.

One of the big selling points? The price. At $2,999.00, Vibe is almost half the price of the Google Jamboard and one-third of the price of the Surface Hub 2S.

Related content:  Compare All Smart Whiteboards

Why You Should Consider Vibe

Different smart whiteboards are designed to suit different business needs. Finding the right smart whiteboard comes down to balancing features and capabilities with a budget.

That being said, Vibe’s modest price tag, endless canvas, and simple workflow integrations are likely to suit most users, especially small- to mid-sized marketing and design agencies, startups, and tech firms.

With Vibe, sharing ideas with collaborators — in-house, across town, or around the globe — has never been easier. Vibe is the perfect addition to any collaborative workspace. For companies that thrive thanks to a network of remote collaborators, it’s a must-have device.

Another less obvious (but extremely valuable) advantage Vibe has over its competitors is its small production and development team. Vibe offers white-glove customer support, and their team consistently makes changes to VibeOS based on user requests.

“Overall, we’ve been very impressed by Vibe and the team behind it,” says Vibe user Peter Parker, Director of Advanced Analytics at Attunix. “They’ve been super receptive to our feedback and have incorporated suggestions and requests, both big and small, into the product. We’re often finding new ways of integrating Vibe into our everyday work to make us all more productive and efficient.”

Conclusion

If you have a company with remote employees, all virtual, or a hybrid, you should consider a smart whiteboard as the best way to get them all in the same space. 

Interactive smart whiteboards should connect with all the apps you use daily. All participants will have the same access to the same canvas, so it’s like everyone is right there, even if they’re thousands of miles away.

Standard whiteboards only give you a certain amount of room to work. When you’re done with a note, you need to erase it to make space for more. The same isn’t true for smart whiteboards. They are modern, cloud-connected devices with an infinite canvas. 

 You’ll never run out of ideas or a place to put them.  If you’re the type of person who likes to juggle 15 ideas at once, smart whiteboards are a wonderful way to get all of your thoughts out without accidentally losing information. Canvases can be saved and accessed at any time.

Due to COVID restrictions, many of us had to find a place to work at home. And, many of us ended up liking this arrangement. But, sometimes you need to make big changes to figure out the best ways to communicate as a team. 

It’s possible that standard meetings were a little stale before 2020 hit, and the pandemic suddenly made you focus on how you’ve been organizing staff. In a smart whiteboard remote-first ecosystem, you can teach yourself a brand new way to communicate, engage, and work together. 

“The Vibe Board has been a game-changer in how we communicate with clients, both in-person and virtually.”

Karen L. Brady Estate Planning Attorney, Arvada, Colorado

FAQs

What is the point of a smart whiteboard?

Smart whiteboards allow you the feeling of face-to-face collaboration and communication, from anywhere in the world. You can brainstorm with your team, give presentations to clients, host planning sessions, and run a coaching session, all from a Vibe Board.

Do interactive whiteboards need a computer?

No! The Vibe Board IS the computer. It can access the internet, easily email work to your colleagues, and integrates with your most-used apps for collaboration.

Are smart whiteboards beneficial?

Absolutely. As a global team at Vibe, we run all of our meetings on the Vibe Board. It helps us to feel connected, even when we’re separated by time zones.