If you want to get the right billboard placement and content, you need to understand the advertising billboard industry's language. Most billboard terms are familiar, as they overlap those from other genres--"copy" is the text portion of the billboard, for example, and "bleed" refers to the portion of a vinyl billboard that wraps around the back of the sign.

Advertising markets are expanding as quickly as technology and human imagination will allow. In order to stay current with billboard companies' language, therefore, get a general overview of the industry jargon first, then review key terms for particular billboard applications. A quick review of billboard advertising key terms will allow you to:

1. Apply basic billboard agency terms to specialized markets like mobile billboards.

2. Identify three jargon-heavy, traditional types of billboard advertisements still in use.

3. Catch up on tech-talk from billboard agencies that are pioneering in the digital realm.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Master basic billboard agency terms

What do 'A-frames,' 'video trucks,' 'scrolling billboards' and 'tri-vision trucks' have to do with billboard advertising? They're all common types of mobile billboards.

I recommend: The Federal Highway Administration offers a complete guide to outdoor advertising language, which is intended to help standardize outdoor advertising (billboard) jargon. Once you have the general jargon down, you're ready to move on to TruckAds, which gives you visual and text examples of many of the common mobile billboard terms.

Take a good look at traditional billboard ads

'Poster panels' for billboards are printed on paper and glued to a metal sign; they're also known as 30 sheets, papers, paper bulletins or junior posters. 'Vinyls' work similarly, with the vinyl facing either hung or adhered to the billboard, and are best suited to displaying complicated graphics. 'Bulletins,' 'posters' and 'junior posters' all refer to essentially the same traditional billboard format, in diminishing sizes.

I recommend: Adicommco Outdoor Advertising offers examples of 30 sheet advertising from successful companies. Magic Vinyl Printing does custom vinyl billboard printing and showcases an example of what this effective advertising medium looks like. The final "traditional" billboard medium you're likely to encounter is painted or "paint bulletin" billboards, such as those still produced by BPS Outdoor Advertising.

Hook up with high-tech billboard ads

LED, LCD, digital and video billboards are all basically gigantic screens that display, depending on local regulations and technical considerations, anywhere from static slide-shows to broadcast-quality animation or video content.

I recommend: The WireSpring Blog gives a good rundown of the pros and cons of digital billboards and a rough overview of regulations that affect them. Much of the jargon you're likely to encounter is most likely already familiar from general electronics and computer use; the field develops so quickly as technology progresses that most jargon is likely to spin off from brand names, like "SideTrack" as featured in a CNet article about billboards in subway tunnels.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Many specialized types of outdoor billboard advertising, such as tri-vision truck technology, can be applied to stationary billboards as well.

Billboard advertising is a bold move for a small business. Companies generally place these large boards along high traffic roads where hundreds or thousands of people drive by them a day.

These highly visible signs allow your company to make a statement with photographs and text with a medium that consumers can't toss aside or thrown away. Billboard advertisements have changed through the years but continue to remain an effective form of business, product and service promotion.

Incorporate outdoor billboard advertising to your marketing campaign to:

1. Increase the traffic to your business by placing billboard ads in areas close to your location.
2. Raise brand awareness by placing ads along busy highways and downtown intersections to get maximum sight.
3. Show your business's creativity by giving commuters something clever to discuss when they get to work.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get the best billboard placement

Consider which locations will work best for your billboard advertisement. If you have a bed and breakfast inn, placing your ad along the highway may pull drivers to stop at your establishment for the night. Placing the same ad outside a downtown line of hotels might have completely different results.

I recommend: Think outdoors -- billboard advertising companies often sell ads for outdoor banners, transit systems or golf courses. Look for billboard advertising companies like FastSigns, Gateway Outdoor and Golf Ads USA. Work with agency representatives to decide which part of town has the highest traffic for your business type so the right people see you.

Choose the right type of billboard advertisement

Billboard agencies offer more than just static poster or freeform options. If you want more, and have a higher budget, consider other types of placements.

I recommend: Ask about alternatives such as EMC Outdoor's rotary and digital billboard signs, which cost more but make more of a statement. Gateway Outdoor's static traditional or freeform billboards, which vary in size, have been the traditional way, but necessarily the best way.

Use truckside billboard advertising

Whether you paint your logo and business message on your own delivery truck or rent space on the side of that of a billboard agency, consider this to keep your message on the move. Wherever the truck goes, your message goes with it -- so parking outside a large event or sending a driver through busy streets means more people will see your name.

I recommend: Contact billboard advertising companies about truckside advertising. Add Drive-By Broadcaster's broadcasting to your truck and advertise the radio frequency while combining sight with sound -- this is especially useful when drivers sit in traffic and need a distraction. Keep advertisements fun and light so listeners will tune in and tell friends and co-workers about the unique experience.

Work with a billboard agency in the local or national area

Local billboard advertising works well for small businesses that have a local customer base. If you want to grow your business, consider widening your promotion to include statewide or nationwide areas.

I recommend: Price local billboard advertising rates for the cheapest options. Go over the available areas with an agent and discuss a plan. Buying billboards in a certain region or choosing multiple regions are important decisions, however the type message and frequency of change are just as vital. Review a media kit and price list like the one offered by Montage Billboards before signing a contract or committing to a specific plan.

Design a clever, funny or memorable advertisement

Drive by other billboards and make a note of the ones you like; think about why you like them and whether you will remember them the next day. Make sure your own billboard advertisement has all the things you loved about the ones you saw.

I recommend: Work with the company's design staff or hire your own to create an uncluttered, effective message that consumers drive by, read quickly and remember later. Billboard companies should have examples of designs they have created and be ready to help you with the creative and business ends of the project.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Test a billboard's effectiveness before renewing your contract. Ask the billboard advertising business for traffic reports and conduct surveys asking if your customers noticed the ad.
• •  Make sure to change the billboard as periodically. If you require a new message every certain number of months, keep on top of the billboard advertising services schedule and have the new picture proofed and ready for publication.

Mention "billboard ads" and many people think of huge signs on lonely stretches of highway. While it's true that this is a popular use of billboards--long distance drivers being a captive audience, as it were--you will also find billboard advertisements on the sides of large buildings, or even on mobile trucks and trailers.

No matter what the billboard placement, the basic principle of billboard advertising remains the same: Get a memorable visual statement in front of potential customers. Getting the right statement in the right place is critical to billboard advertising success. Mastering the billboard advertising basics will help you to:

1. Know where to find billboard advertisements (and thus where to locate your own ads.)

2. Identify who your billboard advertising is most likely to reach.

3. Locate billboard advertising companies and billboard owners.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn what goes into billboard advertisements

Billboard advertisements come in two main categories: stationary, typically located near a busy street or highway or possibly on the side of a large building; or mobile. The field of mobile billboards is constantly expanding as advertisers find new ways of attaching advertisements to anything that moves.

I recommend: Mustard Seed Marketing offers a run-down of roadside billboard sizes, mediums and ad rotation. Traffic Displays offers a detailed listing of various mobile billboard options including ad trucks, trailers, bikes, boats and even aerial ads.

Choose billboard companies that target your potential customers

Roadside billboards tend to target more affluent consumers in the middle- and upper-classes, as they're most likely to have the time and money to be out on the highway. Building advertisements, especially if located near a public transit center, are more likely to attract a wide variety of viewers, and mobile billboards give you the option of moving your advertisement to the places your target consumers are most likely to see.

I recommend: MobileOutdoorBillboards.com gives you the option of choosing a custom route for your mobile outdoor advertisements, which helps you reach your target audience whether it be at a concert, sporting event or on a particular crowded thoroughfare during rush hour. Work with media and marketing intelligence firms, like Navigauge, to identify where you're most likely to find your target audience.

Track down the right billboard agency to advertise your business

In order to advertise on a billboard you must first locate its owner. Since many billboards are owned by individuals or small businesses that may be hard to track down, specialized websites and services have cropped up to help connect advertisers with billboard owners.

I recommend: Companies like OutdoorBillboard.com and Billboard Connection specialize in helping you find billboard owners; the former offers a free no-frills directory and service option, while the latter charges for a more comprehensive service.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Outdoor billboard advertising is strictly regulated by most state governments. If you're interested in purchasing a billboard placement outright or creating a new one, review outdoor advertising regulations, usually through the state in question's Department of Transportation, before finalizing the purchase.