10 Ways to Drive Engagement With Outdoor Signs

Business signs on the side of the road and on or near your building can be a great way to increase your brand awareness and connect with your target audience.  In some cases, a sign may be enough to prompt potential customers or clients to take action. Of course, signs are everywhere, so to get yours noticed, you must be strategic. We’re going to look at 10 ways you can make street advertising signs more engaging so they do more to help your marketing efforts.

1. Keep Messages Concise

It can be tempting to try to include as much information as possible on your sign, but a rule of thumb you should always abide by when designing signage is to keep messages concise. This rule is especially critical for road advertising signs since people walking or driving by will likely only glance at your sign for just a moment. More specifically, research suggests six seconds is the length of time a motorist has to read a billboard, so the message should consist of six words or fewer.

2. Connect With Your Audience

Connecting with your audience is key, no matter what message you’re trying to get across. This means first understanding your target audience — what they’re looking for and what matters to them — so you can factor that understanding into your sign’s design. When you have to be concise, understanding your audience can help you choose the right words to quickly make a connection. You can also choose visuals that appeal to your target audience so they relate to your sign and remember it.

3. Go Big for More Impact

The saying “go big or go home” certainly applies when it comes to outdoor signage. When you want to effectively get people’s attention and communicate with them, you need a large sign. Small signs are bound to go unnoticed by passersby, even ones on foot. If you’re trying to capture the attention of people driving by, you’ll need to make your sign even larger. Make sure your sign is large enough to accommodate lettering that is at least one inch tall for every 20 feet away your viewers will be.

4. Use Easily Readable Fonts

Size isn’t the only important aspect of the lettering on your signs. The font, or typeface, you choose is also crucial. There are countless fonts you can choose when designing a sign, but you can quickly rule out many of these fonts because they are too elaborate and intricate. Readability is the most critical thing to look for in a font. Once you limit your choices to easily readable fonts, you still have plenty of options to choose from, and you can use fonts that match your branding, as long as they’re legible.

5. Stay Consistent With Your Branding

When you’re designing your sign, make sure nothing clashes with the brand you’ve already established. Your branding should be consistent across all marketing materials. This consistency helps create stronger brand recognition among your target audience and can help you create the identity and reputation you want to be known for. Part of branding is visual, so look for ways to incorporate your signature colors, fonts, logo and other graphics. Branding is also about messaging, so make sure the message on your sign makes sense for your company’s voice.

6. Use Contrast to Make Text and Graphics Pop

Contrast is key if you want images or text on your sign to pop from the background. Generally, this comes down to either having a light background with dark-colored text and graphics or a dark background with light-colored text and graphics. Consider the lighting where you plan to install your sign since this can make a difference in which of those two options is best. Graphics or text that are of secondary importance can be lower contrast in relation to the background, but the main message of your sign should pop.

7. Strategically Choose Your Sign’s Location

As you’re designing your sign, don’t forget about the importance of your sign’s placement. Where you put business signs can significantly impact how effective they are. A great sign in a poor location where very few people see it isn’t worth much to your company. Do your research to determine the best spot to place your sign, and ensure you have any necessary permits or permission to install your sign there. Common locations for outdoor signs include along the highway and on or near the business itself.

8. Consider Employing a Sign Spinner

In some cases, you may want to think about hiring a sign spinner, also called a human billboard, to hold your sign outside. This tactic may seem pointless or old-fashioned, but many companies continue to employ it because it has shown to get the attention of drivers and passersby. In a world of distracted drivers, in particular, people are usually more likely to notice a person than a motionless sign, which can help them notice your sign in the process. This strategy works especially well for certain industries and for special promotions.

9. Use Quality Outdoor Materials for Durability

When you’re installing a sign outside with the hopes that it will continue to attract attention for weeks, months or even years, you have to think beyond how it looks today and consider how it will look in the future. When you find cheaper prices from some companies, that may be because the signs are made from lower-quality materials. With higher-quality materials designed to stand up better to the elements, you’ll notice they maintain their vivid appearance over time while cheaper signs deteriorate.

10. Trust Experienced Signmakers to Bring Your Vision to Life

Finally, when you want to create business signs that stand out, you need to work with experienced signmakers you can trust to guide you through the process and create something you’re proud of. Make sure signs are the company’s only or primary focus and not just one thing they do. Look for reviews, and see what other business owners’ experiences have been like working with a sign company. You want to make sure you find the best of the best so you can get the most out of your marketing budget and efforts.

Create Engaging Outdoor Signs With Integrated Sign Associates

If you want to reap the rewards of a successful street sign marketing campaign, you need to partner with signage experts. Integrated Sign Associates is the expert you can trust to help you create roadside signs for advertising or any type of outdoor sign that helps you engage the public. Contact us today to learn more about how Integrated Signs can help you create effective, high-quality signage for your business.