Social media – everyone’s doing it. Ever since Facebook took off over a decade ago, the internet is where you go to keep tabs on the people you love (and those from high school you barely remember). It’s grown so popular that not being on social media means not being in the loop – if you don’t log in regularly, you risk not knowing about your friend’s new baby, about your cousin’s new job, or about Aunt Sally’s continual (and vividly described) bout with gout.

Not all of this is a good thing (see aforementioned “gout”). But it is if you’re in advertising.

For one thing, social media is a marketing goldmine – people are already on the internet, they may as well shop too. But the benefits aren’t limited to the digital. Billboards and other Out-of-Home advertising can also increase your social engagement.

Why? It’s simple – if people are engaged with your product offline, they’ll engage with it online as well.

More specifically, a good OOH ad campaign can…..

Direct people to your social media page: A simple call to action (i.e., Follow us on Instagram) on your billboard can direct people to your social networking (don’t pass go, don’t stop at MySpace, just like us on Facebook!).

Using Social Media with Outdoor Advertising

Make an offer they can’t refuse: One of the best ways to use a billboard to increase social media engagement is to make an offer that the consumer can’t refuse – create urgency and immediacy. This is important because people forget and they forget fast. But people are also armed with mobile technology – everyone is so attached to their smart phones that they start growing a phantom one the second they leave there’s at home. Use this to your advantage and aim to encourage people to follow you or otherwise engage with you on social media as soon as they see your advertisement.

Entertain: Whether the consumer is stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic or they’re standing outside a nightclub wanting to get in, no one likes to wait. A billboard that entertains the idle human is a billboard that works magic. Make your billboard entertaining and you’ll make it memorable and actionable. You’ll also increase the chance that someone will snap a pick, post it on their social media, and share it with their friends.

If you’re interested in billboards and other types of marketing, contact us today and www.TheAdFocus.com.