Why The SBA Ranks LED Signage as #1 for Any Small Business

The Small Business Administration was founded in 1953 as a cabinet-level federal agency dedicated to providing capital, counseling, resources, and representation for small businesses.

Way back in 2001 they conducted a study and prepared a report about the emerging trend of digital signage -- then commonly referred to as "electronic message centers" using LED technology. Within their report they stated, "no other form of advertising comes close to matching the efficiency and cost-effectiveness, dollar for dollar, of an electronic message display."

Digital signage today greatly surpasses the EMCs of 2001 in terms of power and versatility, yet even at that time digital signage was out performing all other advertising options. Most of which are still commonly used by businesses today. Let's unpack the SBA's reasoning as to why this is the case. Businesses often select their advertising mediums and messaging based upon the cost per thousand exposures or impressions (CPT or CPM). For example, if a specific website publisher charges $4.00 CPM, that means that anyone that would like to host an ad on that website must pay $4.00 for every 1,000 exposures of it's ad. In radio and print it's calculated based upon the average readership and the cost of the ad space. At time of this article's publication the average CPM for a TV ad ranges between $10 and $25/ per thousand viewers. Radio ranges between $8 and $16. YouTube ads are $7.50 CPM on average. What's the average CPM for an outdoor LED business sign? Fifteen cents or less. That's right – $0.15. How is that possible? The SBA puts it perfectly. It's all about the lifespan of the medium. For example, let's say you spend $45,000 on an outdoor LED signage system and that it's lifespan is rated at around ten years. The daily cost of the sign would equal about $12.32 per day. Let's also say that around 20,000 vehicles pass your business each day. That brings the CPM of your sign to $1.62. However, once you factor in that not every vehicle has only person inside of, especially public transportation, and not only drivers will be seeing your sign. The CPM dramatically lowers even more!

When we add into the equation that the majority of those impressions are a localized audience, the return on investment tends to skew much higher than other advertising mediums. Business owners that choose to use an outdoor LED sign typically see an increase in business of 15% to 150%. It is not uncommon for a business that is already using a variety of media advertising without a digital sign to divert some of those advertising dollars to an investment in a digital video sign, greatly increasing exposure, business volume and customer acquisition – all without spending additional revenue in their advertising budget.

CLICK HERE to read the full white paper. Liquid Video Solutions (LVS) is a full service digital signage firm serving the greater Cincinnati area using high-resolution LED technology to provide the most attention-grabbing advertising options for businesses and organizations looking to increase awareness and revenue. Built upon years of research and commercial system integration, LVS is becoming a local market leader by changing the way small and large business think about using digital signs. Their dedication to innovation has produced solutions across a broad range of products such as outdoor LED signs, HD indoor displays, digital menu boards, 3D laser projections, totally custom multimedia solutions, and much more. LVS empowers business owners to expand their messaging influence and more easily achieve their goals using smart technology. Visit www.liquidvideosolutions.com for more information.