In the past decade, Instagram and other social media platforms have completely revolutionized the way businesses can interact with their customers. Social media is one of the most powerful advertising tools since television, and not only does it provide a unique window for you to reach out to the people who frequent your business, it also allows them to reach back.
Giving your customers something worth posting about drives interest and business to your store and convinces other people to come check out not just whatever they saw online, but the rest of what you offer as well. Additionally, encouraging customers to post and tag your business’s Instagram account can make it easier for you to interact with your customers online directly, something that makes them feel acknowledged and appreciated. If you can create a sign that is completely Instagram-worthy, you’ve done a huge amount of work promoting your business with comparatively minimal effort. If creating an Instagrammable sign seems like a tall order, don’t worry! At Bartush Signs in Schuylkill County, PA, there’s nothing we know like signage, and we can help you make your vision a reality. Here’s some helpful guidance on creating an Instagrammable sign.
Pick a Good Theme
Unfortunately, there’s no one style or aesthetic that’s going to hit all the right buttons required to go viral. Eye-catching neon wall signs, artsy murals, and vintage sandwich boards are all on equal footing when it comes to stylistic appeal online. What’s really important is picking the right theme for your individual business and keeping it consistent.
Choose something that’s both visually appealing and conveys what you offer. For instance, a small baby boutique would do well with lots of light pastels and cute but minimalist details in their sign, whereas a futuristic technology store would get a lot of mileage out of silvery chromes and cool colors with clean, swooping lines. Colors and visual components that mesh well with your brand and tell a story about who you are as a company will do a lot of the work for you.
Emphasize Lighting
All the filters in the world can’t fix a picture that has really bad lighting. If you’ve ever tried to take a picture with some friends in a dimly lit bar or restaurant, you know this firsthand, so when you’re working on the sign that you want to be extra appealing in online photos, make a point of optimizing the lighting for pictures.
Natural light always gives the most accurate color payoff in photos, so if you can situate your picture spot by a big window, you’re already off to a good start. For outdoor signs, try to avoid things that will cause shadows, like telephone poles or untrimmed trees. If you aren’t able to get away with just sunlight for an indoor sign, make sure to avoid overhead spotlights and harsh fluorescent lights that can cast bad shadows or alter the way your colors appear.
Take Your Own Pictures
How do you know if your sign is going to photograph well? Simple: photograph it yourself, a lot. Take pictures of the sign by itself, from different angles at different points of the day. Take selfies in front of it. Take group photos of your employees in front of it. Hold up your products in front of it and take pictures of them. This will help you to gauge what’s needed to help compose an Instagram-worthy shot. If the pictures are lacking texture and visual interest, try throwing a few plants or other props into frame. If the shadows are off, try adding some nearby ambient light. You might even notice small but glaring issues that will kill your customers’ pictures, like dirty windows. Plus, you’ll probably be able to use a lot of those pictures you took on your company Instagram. Bonus!
Encourage Tagging
A picture of your sign could go viral across the whole world, but it won’t do you a lot of good unless it’s easy for people who see the post to find you. Encourage people to tag your location and your business’s Instagram if they post photos taken of your sign. You can do this by prominently displaying your Instagram handle in several places around the store (by the register and on the front door tend to be good places to start) and even by acknowledging the selfie-takers yourself. A quick “Pictures always come out so great by that sign, make sure you tag us!” is a positive customer interaction that will make sure that your Instagram is on the brain, and allow other people who see their post to check you out easily.
Make it Your Own
Above all else, people on social media are always searching for something new and exciting. The best thing you can do to make your signage Instagrammable is not to copy what’s already been done, but to make a sign that’s totally unique to you and your business.
Bartush Signs can help you there. As the premier display signage company in Orwigsburg, PA, we can help guide you through the process of making a one-of-a-kind, completely Instagram-worthy sign. Contact us today to get started!
