Is Billboard Advertising Even Relevant Anymore?
I started Art House Creative as a Marketing Cooperative for new home builders and remodelers. Our firm specializes in Marketing and Sales Training, from company branding to preparing sales agents for the field.
I have nearly 20 years of experience in the field of marketing. I’ve put that experience to use for my clients, saving them from wasting time and money by avoiding common advertising pitfalls.
I am often asked this question. Is billboard advertising even relevant anymore? Yes, but not in the way you may think. Instead of advertising on traditional highway billboards, consider switching to internet billboards!
Highway billboards are usually purchased in key high traffic areas in the hope that your customer will drive by and read your message. Billboard marketing relies on the “marketing rule of 7,” which is that a customer needs to interact with your brand 7 times before they are influenced to take action.
The problem with stationary advertising is that people tune it out over time. Motorists may not even recall your message enough times to remember their brief exposure to a specific call to action.
Online digital ads are served directly to a customer through online platforms like social media, search engines, and websites. Ads are delivered to an audience who meets your target demographic when it comes to their online behavior, current searches, and purchase history.
Instead of waiting for the right customer to drive by, you could be serving ads to the right customer right now with traffic online. Homebuilders will see better results from ads that target someone who is already looking to buy or renovate a home, rather than waiting for someone with the right criteria to drive by. Fitness centers can show their ads to people who are shopping online for fitness equipment and reading articles related to health. A new sushi place can advertise to “foodies” who live nearby.
There are many venues online where you can place your digital ad. Social media. Search engines. Mobile apps. and websites that show advertisement messages. Choosing where to start can be hard! Facebook and Instagram are the two most popular sites on which to advertise and are fairly easy to navigate even if you are a novice. Google Ads are also budget-friendly since you only pay per click. A small budget can really stretch with pay per click advertising campaign.
If you are just starting out, I typically recommend choosing a platform and assigning a conservative budget for 90 days to see if your campaign moves the needle. Monitor ads closely. If the campaign is not bringing you the results you want, change your creative, and try again! If it’s still not working after 90 days of trial and error then try something else.
Final Thoughts:
Today’s marketing successes come from online advertising. If the goal of your advertising budget is to connect with your customer in the right place and right time, then take the money you are putting towards highway billboards and invest in online billboard advertising instead.
