August 2019

Using Car Magnets to Advertise Your Business

If you operate a company with a fleet of vans motoring all over town or simply use your personal vehicle to make deliveries or visit clients, displaying your logo on vehicle magnets is low cost, highly visible, and a great way to get your company name out there. Every day, you or your crew move around in front of different potential customers and company vehicles are like mobile business cards.

The world of car magnets is divided into two distinct categories—Magnets and Sign Magnets. The former refers to magnets of smaller size typically purchased in bulk and offered as customer promotion at live events, included in purchases, or sent in the mail. You’ll often see smaller magnets like these on the trunk or rear bumper area of cars, like the old bumper stickers of past years. In fact, this style of magnet is commonly called a bumper magnet and they are popular with local companies, non-profits, and home-based businesses.

Sign magnets are the larger versions commonly seen on vehicle door panels. They are market-driven tools typically promoting a regional company and its services and often include the company’s name, phone number, brief description of service, and a license number in the case of contractors or similar.

Magnetic Mobility

Creating a custom car magnet for your business is easier than ever, with intuitive online tools and high end-product materials that will add company pizzazz to your company’s four-wheeled billboards. Here’s what’s great about vehicle magnets:

• Low cost—Designing and making vehicle magnets is one of the most affordable marketing strategies and with the final product in hand, there’s no monthly advertising cost or other additional expense. You get high visibility every time the vehicles hit the road.
• Mobility—Traditional signage is rooted in one place. It’s great for delivering a message to that particular piece of geography but what about customers across town? A real estate car magnet, for example, is an excellent way to generate leads where you need them most.
• Flexible—If you run Sarah’s Beach Bonanza three days a week, you can display the magnetic signs in the heat of the action and simply remove them whenever you want.
• Business branding—One of marketing’s fundamentals is a great logo is the face of your brand. Short of meeting every potential customer for coffee every day, your logo becomes your calling card. As a bonus, your high quality work, or that of your crew, is directly reflected back to the company. For example, contractor truck magnets are roving endorsements of your crew’s incomparable talents.     

Magnet Application and Size

When it comes to applying vehicle magnets, common concerns are will they stick and will they ruin the paint? Regarding the former, business magnets for cars will stick to any flat metal surface. They will not stick to fiberglass panels.

As far as damage to a vehicle, car magnets will not damage paint or leave scratches or scuffs and in fact, help shield the paint from fading. However, it is wise to remove car magnets intermittently to allow some natural sun exposure.

As a general rule, the most popular vehicle magnet sizes are 12×18 inches for passenger cars and 12×24 inches for SUVs and pickups. Larger trucks or trailers have best visibility with 18×24-inch magnets. Square and rectangular sign magnets are the most popular but round and various other shapes are used as well.

What to Include

Designing a car magnet of any size involves many of the same elements as other marketing efforts. Contact information should be the easiest text to read on your sign and displayed in attention-grabbing font style. Someone driving by only has a few seconds to read your magnet so stick with short, clear phrasing and/or a catchy tagline.

Color combinations of course are a major design component and can make a big impact in attracting potential customers. Dark backgrounds with lighter text are catchy and easy to read, as well as company-specific graphics in complementing colors that really set off your business vibe.

Naturally, keeping your magnets and magnet signs clean and in good condition is very important. Vehicle magnets are strong and durable and will generally last a very long time, but a little TLC goes a long way in ensuring that happens. Wipe off that dirt! A bright and shiny sign is your first step to new customers. Make your first mobile impression the best it can be.

How Big a Yard Sign Should My Contracting Business Have?

It’s like planting a flag to stake your claim on a new land. A sign for your contracting business might seem insignificant in the grand marketing scheme, or even an afterthought to some, but the power of a professional contracting sign cannot be underestimated.

Many contractors including plumbers, painters, home remodelers, and landscapers rely heavily on word of mouth advertising and while this is very effective it is not foolproof and only applies if your business generates a consistent buzz.  High profile contractors or those fortunate enough might have their name amply displayed on a job site building to show off to the world, and many contractors have vehicles advertising their services. But a roving vehicle can’t direct a potential customer’s attention to a specific job. How can you shout out your company’s talents and reputation while making the most of your marketing dollars?

The Understated Power of a Yard Sign

It’s amazing what sticking a business sign in the ground can do. On that sign you can display most anything related to the work you do, such as contact phone, license number, website, business logo, and color photos of a project. The sign can be in a traditional square or rectangle shape.

When the neighbors stroll by or other people drive, bike, or run past; they will see your business name in bold font and bright, catchy colors. If you or a crew is on site, a custom yard sign can also serve as a welcome for what you do and an invitation to potentially talk with you on the spot. Curious neighbors might be in need of the same type of work and this is your chance to share details of your talents with a new audience.

We live in a digital world, for sure, but print marketing remains a highly effective option for everything from sales and real estate to home improvement and political office. More than likely, you have walked through the door of a business or at least called or perused their website after seeing a yard sign or advertising poster. Best of all from a marketing budget point of view, with a little creativity and strategy you can score affordable signs and generate a significant return on a modest investment.

How Big Should I Go?

After you’ve decided on a customer-captivating font, colors, and graphics for your business sign; now it’s time to choose a size. Just how big is best? A little 8×10 postage stamp blurb probably won’t attract the crowds to your door and a humongous mural draped from the eaves is a bit much.

First thing’s first—know the rules. Check local regulations regarding temporary signage. You certainly don’t want to break a law or raise the hackles of important people in city offices. Not only that, signs planted where they don’t belong stand a good chance of being unceremoniously removed and discarded, and there goes your marketing investment.

Choose a sign large enough for people to see when they drive past. You only have a few seconds to capture their attention so combine adequate size with bold colors, easy to read fonts, and a contrasting background. If your “under construction” sign at a high-profile job site is small and hard to read, it doesn’t do much good to have it out there in the first place.

Make it Sturdy and Unique

A larger, robust sign also garners attention and will not be bothered by gusty winds or a storm. Use wooden posts or similar whenever possible to keep your sign in place, and incorporate an attractive design that reflects your company’s personality.

People remember things that aren’t the same ol’. Don’t be afraid to push the limits a bit and use unique materials and shapes to catch the eye of potential customers. That one little detail could mean the biggest job of the year.

Information is Power

Make use of your sign space and include strategic, customer-focused information that is easy to access. Consider including a mobile-friendly QR code about your company or the specific project where the sign is placed. The traditional “mailbox” attached to the sign filled with brochures is always a good bet as well.

Within the sign space, focus on advertising just one or two services. People won’t have time to read your company’s entire repertoire so use the space wisely. Include a specialty and highlight accordingly. And don’t print on both sides; people aren’t traveling behind the sign. Save on print costs and make larger signs for the best results. 

What Information Should You Include on a Real Estate Yard Sign?

Table of Contents

• Seven Seconds
• Keep it Simple, Make it Count
• Toppers and Riders
• Sign Placement
• Bonus tip

Today’s world is packed full of amazing technological tools for everything from learning ABCs to ordering groceries to stealthy satellite surveillance from space. Yet in spite of all those hi-tech gizmos, the humble yard sign remains one of real estate’s oldest and most effective ways to build a reputation and attract leads. A prospective client might never engage with your listings on Zillow or turn on your Twitter feed or bookmark your website, but they will drive by the house with your for sale sign on the way to work every day.  

They are simple in appearance and made of only a thin sheet of wood, metal, or plastic but a well-made sign very effectively plants your name in people’s minds. They see the same eye-catching sign on tidy front lawns all over town and pretty soon they are familiar with you and/or a particular real estate company. “Hey, there’s Lisa again on that sign over there. She must be selling another house.”

That’s great branding at work—the more recognition you have for your personal logo and colors, the more familiar they become with you, the agent; the business you do; and they naturally associate more and more with your specialty market and neighborhood areas.

Seven Seconds

In a job interview, first date, or your custom real estate yard sign; you have roughly seven seconds to make a first impression and you want it to be a good one. You need to be sure your sign does as good a job attracting buyers as the home itself. If you are a seasoned real estate professional or working on your first listing, connecting with buyers is the most critical element to success. Your sign in the yard must simultaneously invite them in the door while inspiring confidence in your skills as an agent.

And you have a space of about two feet wide and a foot and a half tall in which to do that. That is the size of an average real estate sign but of course, they can vary and be larger. Bigger doesn’t always mean better but when it comes to real estate signs, potential customers need to be able to clearly read from the road what you are presenting. Small, cramped text in decorative fonts might look good on paper but detracts from your intended goal in the field.

Keep it Simple, Make it Count

A real estate For Sale or For Lease sign is your first chance to make a memorable sales pitch. You want your information out there big and bold, in a way that reflects your personal and company branding. Include the most important information about the sale, telling potential customers who you are, what you have to offer, and how to reach you.

To catch the eye of a buyer, include the following on your sign:

• Personal and/or brand or brokerage logo
• Your name and contact phone number
• A quality photo of you
• Website address

The simpler the main body of the sign, the better. You can share details with buyers later. But your sign can be used for multiple purposes. Think of it as the Swiss Army knife of real estate, starting at the top of the sign.

Toppers and Riders

Aptly named, “toppers” are smaller signs communicating additional information about the sale such as:

• For Sale
• Sale Pending
• New Listing
• Open House
• Price Reduced
• Asking price

“Sign Riders” are signs which often hang from hooks below the main sign panel. Some verbiage includes:

• Your cell phone contact
• Specific home features
• Texting options
• Co-agent contact

Sign Placement

Your real estate sign must be easily visible from the street, preferably in a place that stands out in a yard or complements the property’s existing look. Naturally, you want to avoid posting the sign in a place blocked by parked cars, giant telephone poles, or thick foliage.

It is typically more approachable to place signs closer to the street than right up next to the front door; signs can blend in with a home’s paint color and make them difficult to read. If selling a corner house, take advantage of the natural advertising space and post signs on each adjoining street. Homes in the country on secluded streets don’t see much traffic and in these cases, it is wise to post directional signs in appropriate locations.

Bonus tip

In addition to traditional real estate signage, some agents use cheap bandit signs to attract leads. Bandit signs are low-cost marketing signs placed in various locations to increase spontaneous client leads. Their effectiveness varies but always be sure to check local regulations for posting.