How to Increase Your Digital Presence with Traditional Signage
By Lilach Bullock
If you are skim reading
Bottom line: Traditional signage still drives digital results when you connect it to your online presence through QR codes, social handles, and clear calls to action.
It’s a bit of an oxymoron: increasing your online presence, traffic, and even search rankings with traditional, offline signage. But smart and digital marketing savvy business owners know that offline and online marketing strategies have real and direct influences on each other. Good, prompt customer service translates into better online reviews, higher search rankings, and more calls. Good social media engagement and interaction with your customers online translate to more informed customers at your place of business. Every year, the line between offline and online marketing seems to blur even more, and you can take advantage of that as a business owner.Here are 3 ways to use traditional signage and stickers to enhance your online presence and reach new audiences, and in turn, get more calls, sales, and customers in your place of business from online marketing.
1. Review Signs, Stickers and Placards
These are starting to pop up more and more now, and you can see them in windows, on the doors, and even at the tables of local restaurants. They may be in the most unusual places, even your neighbour has a garage on the garage door openers. Pay attention to any little things. They may be asking for reviews on Google, Facebook, or Yelp. But it’s important that your satisfied customers have an outlet to rave about you on social media. And while it’s ideal for all your reviews to be 5-star positive ones, social media reviews can even be a good way for you to address quieter customers’ complaints and help them become happier and repeat customers.“We have made customers review signs, stickers, and decals for Facebook, Google, Yelp, FourSquare, even MerchantCircle,” says Rick Debus, CEO and Founder of Signazon, one of the biggest signage companies in the world. “Local businesses who have a digital marketing strategy often separate their digital from their physical marketing efforts. That’s a mistake. Search engines and social media platforms want to see them be one and the same.” Indeed, a customer who is happy with her service at a local restaurant will leave a good review on Google or Facebook. That review will get seen by both users and search engines. Potential customers will see that you have good food and service, and search engines will award you with more online visibility and higher search rankings the more reviews you have, which means more new customers at your (physical) doors. According to Moz’s 2018 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, an annual survey of search engine optimization strategists specializing in local SEO, Google reviews were the #1 most mentioned ranking signal when SEOs were polled about 2018’s biggest and most important local search ranking factors. Getting online reviews from your customers is difficult enough as it is. The best way to remind them to review you online is to put a review sign right in front of them while they try or buy your product.
2. Selfie Signs and Stations & Instagram Frames
There are few better and more authentic ways to get some free marketing then to get your customers talking about your product, service, or venue on social media, and what better way to get people mentioning your brand than with selfie stations, the photo booths of the digital era?Turn your customers into brand promoters and influencers with selfie stations, selfie signs, and Instagram frames. There are reasons why influencers are so sought after and paid so much money to do sponsored posts and pictures about your product, and that’s because it’s a way to get people other than your actual company telling a story (literally in the case of Instagram and Facebook) about your product. And getting your customers to take selfies at your venue or holding your product is a great way to organically reach new audiences and exponentially increase your engagement rates.There are a lot of different ways and strategies to use signage to get your customers to take selfies at your venue or location. You might have seen Instagram frame signs at movie theatres, theme parks, escape rooms, restaurants, dance clubs, and even wedding venues. A lot of customers, especially Millennials, can’t resist an opportunity to take a selfie, and a “Selfie Station” is a great excuse to get them taking a selfie advertising your venue, service, or product. You can further tempt your customers to take a selfie at your selfie station or backdrop by offering props into the mix. You can add to the chances of people using your selfie stations by offering them at promotional or social events – many younger customers want to be seen on social media at the “in” event or venue.
3. Follow and Check-In Signs
While “Follow us on Instagram” and “Check-In Here on Foursquare” signs and decals have been around for years, social media signage is still arguably the best offline way of increasing your social media following and reaching new networks of people via your customers. Restaurants and airports have been using “Follow us” and “Check-In Here” signs consistently since the dawn of social media, but virtually any company and industry can take advantage of these tools to grow your online audience.“Follow Us” and “Check In” signage can be taken advantage of just about anywhere. Doors, windows, cash registers, terminals, kiosks, anywhere offline that your customers eyes are likely to converge, you can remind them to follow you online as well.
Bottom line: Traditional signage still drives digital results when you connect it to your online presence through QR codes, social handles, and clear calls to action. Think of physical signs as an offline entry point into your digital funnel, not a separate channel. Businesses that link the two consistently see more website visits, social follows, and reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Can signage really impact my digital presence?
Yes. Signage placed in high-traffic areas can direct people to your website, social profiles, or review pages using QR codes and short, memorable URLs. It works best when the sign gives people a clear reason to go online, such as a discount or exclusive content.
What type of signage works best for driving online engagement?
Storefront signs, vehicle wraps, and in-store displays tend to perform well because they reach people at the moment they are already paying attention. Adding a QR code or a simple, easy-to-remember handle increases the chance they will follow through online.
Do I need special tools to track signage results?
Basic tracking tools help a lot. Unique QR codes, dedicated landing pages, or custom short links let you see how many people scanned or visited from your signage, so you can measure what is working.
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How often should I update my signage to keep it effective?
Refresh your signage whenever your branding, offers, or contact details change, and review it at least once or twice a year. Outdated signs with old handles or broken links can hurt trust rather than build it.
Forbes Top 20 Social Media Power Influencer. 21 years of marketing experience. Currently obsessed with AI implementation done well. British AI and marketing consultant working internationally, writes a weekly newsletter that 15,000+ founders read on Sunday mornings.
