Electronic Message Boards: How to Use Them Effectively

While certainly not a new technology, businesses that use electronic message boards in front of their company always look just a bit more up to date than their competitors. Because of the additional costs that go into such a board, of course, they still remain relatively rare. But their effectiveness cannot be questioned. When well maintained, they can last for many years and will often outpace their analog brethren when it comes to looking fresh and relevant after a long time out in the elements. But digital advertising is only as good as the writing that goes into it. Here are some ways to use your sign to your best advantage.

Stay Topical

Electronic message boards thrive in the sports arena world because they can be changed quickly to reflect the events the arena management consider most important. But you don't have to be in charge of a major sports arena to take advantage of this kind of timeliness. Stay topical with your writing. While it doesn't hurt to have your slogan flash occasionally, you'll want to focus the majority of your missives on news. Sales you have coming up, events that will be occurring in the near future. These are time-sensitive and lend themselves well to the digital realm.

Catch the Eye

Don't be afraid to get creative with your writing. Electronic message boards tend to attract the eye even when the writing itself is mundane and unattractive. But you're missing out on a golden opportunity if you don't go the extra mile. Don't just attract eyes that will quickly glance away when it becomes apparent that there is nothing worth reading. Make a joke or two. Try out a clever twist of phrase. With some creativity, you can make your sign the talk of the town. Drivers will go out of their way to look at your sign and see what it says today. If you can make your sign go viral, so to speak, you'll have no problem getting people to read the meat and potatoes of the message.

Inform the Public

You have a sign that people are going to see every day as they drive past. Why not provide a public service? This goes hand in hand with the "catch the eye" section. If people know that your sign is a place where they can learn the time and temperature, for instance, they will make sure they are reading it when they need this information. Once again, you then have a captive audience upon which to unleash your advertising. Electronic message boards work best, obviously, when people are already looking at them. Make them look by providing information they need.