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Health & Fitness

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Incorporating Social Media with Your Signage

The rapid growth of social media has given businesses no choice but to set up shop on various platforms. It's no wonder why brands are marketing their social media through printed materials.

The rapid growth of social media in the last several years has given businesses no choice but to set up shop on various platforms.  After all, some of the best places to market your business are the ones where people are spending a lot of their time.  So it’s no wonder why brands are not only using social media platforms, but also marketing their social media presences through their printed communications.  You now see social media links and QR codes on billboards, signs, window graphics, business cards, and brochures just to name a few.  When you’re creating these visual communications for your business, try to avoid these 5 mistakes:

1.  Promoting a social media logo of your invisible social media presence

It may seem harmless to showcase a logo of Facebook or Twitter on your website and signage without actually creating a presence on those sites, but don’t do it.  These days, people do actually click things and research brands when they see those logos.  If you’re promoting those sites, they expect you to have them!  If they can’t find you on there, it will not reflect well on your business.

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2.  Promoting just a social media logo

Let’s say you actually do have a presence on a social media site.  By all means promote it on your marketing materials, but don’t just promote the logo.  For example, next to your Twitter logo, put your Twitter handle right after it.  Make it easier for people to find you by providing them with clear information.  When you have to use either the logo or the handle, go with the handle. 

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3.  Jack of all social media trades, master of none

It’s easy to get caught up in all the hype and create profiles on every single social media site out there.  Don’t spread yourself too thin and do a poor job on lots of sites.  Rather, establish a strong presence on 2 or 3 social media sites and incorporate them with your website, signage and other marketing materials.  Then focus your energy and resources on maintaining, connecting with people, and showing them why they should do business with you.

4.  QR codes that don’t work

QR codes are great to use in your marketing.  That is, if they work!  Often times you can set up a QR code, link it to your website, and for some reason the code breaks.  You can avoid the hassles by investing in a service that provides a professional QR code generator that allows you to have a dynamic QR code.  You can then correct broken links and even point users to a different link.

5. The best QR code locations

Although you may have notices a QR code on a billboard, on the outside of a bus or train, or vehicle wrap, those are probably not the best places to put your QR code.  People need time to take out their phone, load their scanning app, and finally scan your code.  Driving down the highway at 65 mph will not be ample time to scan the code.  Instead, place your QR codes on your signage in places such as storefront windows, hallways, next to sidewalks, and anywhere else there is pedestrian traffic.

 

 

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