Insider is surprised how many small out of home companies don’t have a website. A website is a great way to establish credibility with landowners. It’s also an effective way to generate leads. Insider talked with John James, Director of Business Development at The Nine about out of home websites.
John, what’s your background in out of home?
I worked for almost four years at one of the “Big 3” out-of-home companies. I really enjoyed my time there and had the opportunity to work with some great people in the out-of-home industry who I learned a lot from.
What are some qualities of a good out of home website?
Great question. I believe every out-of-home company, whether it’s the small, independent operator or the ‘big guy,’ has a unique story to tell. That story needs to be told in an engaging way. This means the design of an out-of-home website is everything. Are you focusing attention on a direct phone number to one of your friendly sales reps (not a robot)? Do you have an inventory map that advertisers can navigate to find the perfect location that fits their needs? Do you have professional-looking photos of your inventory (not pictures taken using a cellphone) that you can highlight as content on the site? The goal is to have a website that makes someone WANT to call you instead of calling the competitor in your market. Think of your website as your digital salesperson working hard for you 24/7/365, just like a billboard.
What kinds of services can you provide to an out of home company which doesn’t have a website?
The Nine is a custom-built website design company that works with clients from start to finish. We’re not going to build you some templated “one size fits all” version that’s being used over and over again by everyone in the business. We’ll design your site to be used across desktops, tablets, and mobile devices, as well as integrate your site with your social media accounts so they work together. We will also create an easy to use contact form so that advertisers can fill-out the information you will need to follow-up and give you an interactive map so advertisers can navigate inventory and download ride-sheets to breakdown the value of a specific billboard. This would be just the basics, so if you have a vision for what you want your website to be able to do, please call me, and we’ll tell you if we can build it.
What sort of costs or time commitment are involved?
Well, since we are a custom agency, every client is different based on their requests. For an average-sized project, we could have something built and delivered to a client for use between 6-8 weeks. Plus, once you become one of our clients, we have a 24/7 tech support department ready and able to assist you along the way to make changes to your custom website.
Anything else you want our readers to know?
I would challenge readers to go search in Google, and type the keywords “billboard” and then the name of the city/market that they operate or live in. For example, “Billboard Memphis.” Look at the search results on the first page. Is your website listed? Are your competitors’ websites listed? In my opinion, new advertisers are the lifeblood of an out-of-home company, and these new advertisers are using Google to search for advertising options in their market. We need to make sure you have a seat at that table for a chance to win their business. Something to think about!”
