Of course, we’re not here to present a guide to sabotaging your five or six digit investment. Sadly, many business owners could author that guide themselves. An on-premise Electronic Message Center (EMC) is proven to be the most cost effective form of marketing with high ROI potential, but if you don’t use it right by optimizing the effectiveness of your messaging, you are losing money every day. You wouldn’t buy commercial time during the Superbowl without locking in tight branding and a compelling offer. And you wouldn’t run a radio campaign and not change the ad for months or even years on end. So why would you fail to make sure the big, bright sign that’s a beacon to your customers communicates the most compelling marketing messaging possible? When you think about making the most of your EMC, start with the basics. Here’s some quick tips to always creating the best content for your sign:
Let’s talk text
Choose the font and style that fits who you are. Consider your other marketing materials and brand style guide if you have one. Your brand identity should be consistent. So whether it’s a website, a brochure, or your sign, it’s important that a potential customer always gets the same look and feel whenever possible (we say whenever possible because some fonts may not be right for some signs). Be sure not to put too many words on the screen. Remember, people are usually seeing your sign while in a moving vehicle. Other times they are walking nearby and in a hurry to get wherever they are going. Point is, your message needs to be consumable in a glance. Try to get your message across in 5 words or less. Also, make sure your message is at a readable font size. A good rule of thumb is having text fill at least ¼ of the screen. Fonts like Tahoma, Arial Black, Impact, and other san serif fonts are ideal because they’re clean, bold, and easy to read.
Now it’s time for color
You know those little tests that people share on Facebook that hide images within images to test your color perception? They’re fun, right? Well, your sign is NOT one of those! Always use contrasting colors to catch your viewers attention. High contrast color ideas include: dark blue and bright yellow, green and white, black and any bright contrasting colors. If you need to use complimentary colors, it’s a good idea to add a contrasting third color, like a text outline, to bring attention and add definition. One of the best value props of your LED Sign is that it can be seen from really far away. These color combos will make sure your marketing message is reaching its target, even if the target is at a great distance and on the move!
And Now, the Message Itself
Just as your font size, number or words and color choices have a huge influence on the impact or your sign, the message itself can make or break your bottom line. A simple, direct message that is strong and focused on what you want your audience to do is essential. The ultimate goal of almost all advertising is to include a call to action. Think about an automotive store. Let’s say it’s a cold winter day. Would the best use of their sign be to say “Check Out Our Low Prices” or “50% Off Antifreeze. Today Only!”? The “antifreeze” message has two strong things going for it. It’s topical. The shop owner took advantage of the weather to speak to what is on peoples’ minds. It also has urgency. There’s a clock on the offer. The low price message is too general, and frankly, everyone says they have low prices. Of course the shop owner wants to be competitive on price and to sell more than just antifreeze, but that offer will get people in the door and, once there, they’ll see the low prices and all the other products. This speaks to one other key value of your LED Sign. The content is flexible! So if the next day the temperature jumps to 75 degrees, the shop owner could easily switch it up to an offer about a free air conditioning check with any purchase. Of course, those are extremes, but very valid. What about a restaurant that has varying breakfast, lunch, and dinner specials? Point is, keeping your content fresh and up to date is of the utmost importance. If people see the same content time after time they’ll stop paying attention, so keep it fresh and stay top of mind!
So, rather than being able to write a book about a busted investment, make sure you are always thinking about the basics of making the most of your EMC and maximizing your ROI!