There are various advantages to utilizing LED technology to advertise business. When compared to traditional fluorescent signs, LED displays are ultimately less expensive to maintain, the lighting lasts longer, and you could have ads appear as text, images, or video. LED signs can also be installed in a variety of locations and different surfaces. It is already known that a well-designed sign can boost revenue and lead to your business’s success. According to studies conducted by the Small Business Association, with LED signage, businesses increase from 15% to 150% within the first year. However, no one wants a generic, static sign outside their establishment (yes, LED signs can be used the incorrect way). If done correctly, your LED sign can have attention-grabbing power that will immediately draw the eyes of passerby.

Here are some marketing tips to ensure that you gain maximum visibility for your business.

Marketing Basics

As with any advertising or communication medium, the rules of basic marketing apply with LED signs too. When it comes to marketing, knowing your audience is key. Learn what stimulates your customers to buy your product, then modify your advertising messages to spark those motivations of your audience. For example, you may be opening a new family diner in town, and recognize that all types of customers would be coming in to eat. Try to display different types of foods that may appeal to those customers (like kids meals for children or foods that may appeal to the elderly for example) so you can spark more interest in the larger group of families with people of different ages. Always keep your customer's interests in mind as you decide what messages to communicate with them using an LED sign.

It's important to keep message simple. This marketing rule you are almost forced to follow with an LED sign since the text displays are usually short. In addition to that, repeat your messages often. It is easier to repeat that message for your audience when it's simple, short, and sweet.  By repeating the same message you help the audience remember what it is you want to communicate.

Tips on How to Use an LED Display for your Small Business

The technology of LED displays allows you to showcase types of advertisements in a continuous slide show, so keep in mind the recommendations below when you program your sign.

Business Hours

Customers do not want to waste time to approach your building and find out that you have already closed. You have to go beyond the small sign on or near your door that displays your business hours. Place your hours on your LED sign instead so visitors know beforehand whether you are either open or closed. Placing special hours for holidays would help a lot as well.

Popular Product or Service Advertising

Does your business have a particularly popular product or service? If so, showcase that offering on your LED signage. This advertisement will reinforce the reputation you already have for providing that service or product and draw more attention.

Sales and Special Deals

If there is a sale at your business, provide onlookers pictures of discounted items and include the special price for each item. If you have multiple items on sale, give each product its own slide to avoid overwhelming potential customers with a lot of information.

New Products, Services, or Incentives

Your LED sign gives the perfect opportunity to announce new offerings. Also, if you want to communicate to your customers about new incentives or benefits you offer with each of your services, display those bonuses on your sign as well.

Duration

Even though it is easily overlooked, duration plays an important role in calculating the impact your ad has on the audience. The time outdoor LED displays are approximately ten to twenty-five seconds. Content longer than that is not effective as the audience might see the end and they miss the beginning or vice versa.

Resolution of LED Display

It is extremely important that the resolution of your LED sign is good. The size of the LED sign has a direct impact on its resolution. Outdoor LED signage seemingly has an inverse relation with the resolution. The greater the LED size, the lower its resolution. So, it is important to ensure that the content is pixel-perfect to the digital signs of physical resolution.

Contrasting Colors

Be mindful of contrasting colors. In the digital signage era, the principles of color theory still holds true. To make your text stand out, you will need to use contrasting colors. Some examples would be yellow on black, black on white, white on black, black on yellow, white on blue, green on white, yellow on blue or white on green, etc. Avoid using similar colors such as pink on red for example.

Do’s and Don’ts of LED Display Marketing

There are some golden rules for marketing on your LED display, no matter what you decide to display.

• Put a call to action within your message. A call to action makes the message bold, whether it calls for passersby to come eat at your diner or come in for a legal consultation.
• Change your content depending on the time of day. For example, if you own a restaurant, you could advertise breakfast specials in the morning, lunch in the afternoon, and special dinner deals in the evening.
• Do not have your messages scroll. Drivers would not be able to read quickly while passing by. Keep it short and simple to where the whole message can fit on the screen.
• Do not put text in all capital letters or all lowercase letters. Instead, you could use title case so passersby can read your sign more easily.
• Use fonts that are clear and easy to read. Drivers only have a quick second to glance at and read your sign, and will not slow down to translate fancy lettering. For example, sans fonts like Tahoma or Verdana are easier to read compared to serif fonts like Times New Roman or Courier. Serif fonts can be distracting to read at times so using sans font eliminates that distraction to make the text appear clearer.