TOP 5 PROBLEMS WITH DIGITAL SIGNS

Instead of using the same message all the time, try to create the same message in a different way or targeted to a different audience.

Example: a Tire Store could create an ad that will appeal to senior citizens concerns, another version to parents of teenage drivers, and another to young parents. All are concerned about safety, but in different ways. This is a good way to get more traction (pardon the pun) for the same general message.

Change every Seven Days if possible.

Keeping the same content on your sign for longer than 1 week is wasted on local traffic as once they have read your message three or four times in their daily commute their eyes wander to something new and fresh. Of course if you are along an interstate and not worried about local business then this rule does not always apply.

If you feel you don’t have much to put on your sign, instead of using a different level of concern address your target audiences concerns.

Stating the obvious such as a bank that has “Free Checking” or “ATM” on your led emc sign- those are items that are a given. Tell your audience WHY they need to STOP IN NOW – don’t just tell them that.

The bottom line when coming up with ideas: What makes you better than your competitor? That is it – Period. Now create that for your target audiences.

Using the stock graphics that came with your sign. How many times we drive down the street and see many signs playing the same message? People are just becoming numb to signs because of this. Yes, your sign came with a million fun graphics. None do your business any good. Sorry. They don’t work.

So many times I go by a sign and overloaded with details. A few things that you should consider:

The Year: Unless that is important. But if you are advertising an event in the current year,  just the date it fine.

W’s! Do you know there is no where else you will go if you do not type WWW you will wind up in exactly the same place! PLUS you save the space on your sign – allowing for bigger characters which translates into people being able to start reading your sign farther away. There is not other internet… Ws are not needed – ever. Try this: have the first letter in each word in your URL captialized:  SignProgrammers.com  vs. www.signprogrammers.com is so much easier to read and comprehend as you drive by and you can increase your font size because you left out the www.

Time:   8:00 can be simple: 8am  (no space not dots – it is a sign). Being overly proper on a sign costs valuable real estate. It is not less professional if laid out correctly.

Phone numbers– I am not a huge fan. Not sure who writes down phone numbers from sign as they are driving by. Can the Google your business and get the phone number? Most people will if your ad is enticing enough. If you are on interstate and have a number that is not easy to remember – leave it to Google.  Same with email address. Unless it is like Sales@MainBiz.com but if it is S.J.Unusualname829@yahoo.com  don’t try it. You wasted valuable sign real estate.

I don’t see this much – a remnant of earlier signs of the 90s, but occasionally the dreaded scrolling text effect. If you must ..just scroll the 1 word that is too long..and make sure you take off hold time so it scrolls all the way thru and doesn’t hang there and kill the rest of the message. (many people weren’t taught that in sign software training). As a sign software trainer, we make sure to train on that usage.

That is just a few. I have a lot more, you can get if you subscribe to Tips N Tricks of Sign programming we put out monthly.

Overuse of the sign software’s effects. They are fun at first. But quickly are annoying, create disgruntled citizens which in turn create ordinances against digital signs. This happens a lot.

Subtle effects are the best. Learn your software and how to use timings. I have a great series on this on how to get attention without being annoying or overly distracting. There is a line you really need to not cross or it can hurt you.

Overuse of colors of more than 4 colors is generally too many.  To get a clean look without being unprofessional, at least with font colors. And no more than 3 font styles per ad.

Try not to use competing colors..strong red with strong blue…a dark background with pastel hues on the fonts is good. That gives a good contrast and easy on the eyes. Again, sign up for our “Tips” and you will get more extensive information on this subject.