As the most populated city in Minnesota, Minneapolis is the go-to advertising hub for small businesses and online brands based in this beautiful state. But aside from online ads and TV commercials, what else can you use to advertise your company?
What about Minneapolis billboards? In fact, Minneapolis billboards – when leveraged correctly and positioned in the right places – can be majorly successful for your marketing goals. If you’re not sure whether Minneapolis billboards are right for your company, read on.
Understand What Billboards Do
First and foremost, don’t make the mistake of thinking of billboards as the same type of marketing vector as other advertising strategies. When you advertise on TV, for example, you deliver a story and message directly to your target audience through the television format. You can have an advertisement of around 30 seconds on average; that’s plenty of time to make an impression, especially if your advertisement is carefully crafted by expert marketers.
Billboards do not have that luxury. In most cases, billboards have to do many different things in just a few seconds:
- Capture the attention of a target consumer
- Convince them to view the ad in its entirety
- Convince them to convert to a customer, either in the moment or later down the road
That’s a tall order! But billboard advertising has been used for decades for a reason. They are effective when positioned and crafted to resonate with your target audience.
If you want Minneapolis billboards to work for your company, don’t treat them like online ads, PPC ads, TV advertisements, and other marketing materials. Billboards are a unique way to reach out and grab your target customers.
Can Billboards Be Effective?
Yes! In fact, billboards can be effective for small and large businesses alike. However, you have to keep a few things in mind when making billboard advertisements that are likely to resonate and convert people into customers for your brand.
- Good billboard advertisements are bold and eye-catching. That’s why many of them use bright colors or large fonts for their letters; they’re designed to capture the attention of people who see them by being dramatic and awe-inspiring
- Good billboard advertisements are also short, sweet, and to the point. Remember, most billboard ads only have a few seconds to convert viewers into customers; therefore, you should not crowd your billboard ads with tons of extraneous information or words
- Billboard ads are most effective when positioned properly. For example, a billboard advertisement positioned in a crowded downtown area could be effective if most of your target audience and graphics are comprised of working professionals who labor in white-collar professions. The reverse is true if your target audience members are rural people instead. So you should consider where your billboard ads are placed very carefully
Are They Right for Your Audience?
Similarly, you need to determine whether billboard advertisements are correct for your audience and its interests.
For example, if your target audience is primarily Gen Z or Millennial professionals, you need to face a hard truth: billboard ads aren’t as effective on these people as they are for older generations. That’s partially because younger people usually have their noses buried in their smartphones or similar devices! They simply don’t look up often enough to take in all the billboard ads around them.
However, if your target audience is comprised of older individuals, like Gen X workers or parents, you might have a lot more success. Billboard advertisements are classic forms of advertising and can capture the attention of people who are out and about during their days.
Bottom line: your advertising should be tailored toward your audience, rather than expecting your audience to bend to your advertising campaign’s format or limits.
Consider the Costs of Minneapolis Billboards
Lastly, carefully consider the costs of placing Minneapolis billboards before committing to a marketing campaign like this. The average Minneapolis billboard costs $2800. Many of them cost more, although you can also find billboard spots for significantly cheaper. Most of the price for billboard ads is contingent on position and the complexity of the ad you want to place.
With nearly 300 total billboard locations, you have many different spots in which you can advertise to your target audience. However, you should calculate your overall marketing budget and how else you market to your target audience before committing to too many billboard ads. In essence, you need to determine whether using Minneapolis billboards in your campaign is worthwhile when considering what you already spend on marketing.
At the end of the day, Minneapolis billboards can be right for your company, but only if you use them smartly. When leveraged in conjunction with other marketing efforts and materials, the right billboards can bring more people to your company than ever before!