Trade shows and exhibitions provide you with an unparalleled opportunity to promote your business. Along with being exposed to attendees during the actual event, there are also plenty of other opportunities for you to engage.
This is especially true when you harness the power of social media. When used correctly, social media can help you bring more people to your booth. It can also help you grow your online audience.
Put these tips to work for your business to make the most of social media the next time you participate in an exhibition or trade show:
Prior To The Show
- Learn the official hashtag of the trade show at least a month before the date of the show and begin following it. During this time, pay attention to any recurring themes and familiarize yourself with some of the main people associated with the event.
- Make a hashtag of your own that is specifically related to your business. Choose something simple that is easy for people to remember like #YourCompanyAtExibition
- Start following other businesses that are exhibiting at the event. You may also want to start following people who are actively talking about attending the show.
- Let people know about your participation in the trade show by using both your hashtag and the hashtag for the show on Twitter.
- Create videos showcasing any new products or services using FlexClip that you are planning on introducing during the show. Post these videos on sites like YouTube so that they can easily be shared before and after the show.
- Place your hashtags and social media details on any exhibition banner printing or other similar items.
- Take eye-catching photos of your booth, your products, or prizes that you plan on giving away to encourage people to drop by.
- Invite people you are connected to on LinkedIn to attend the show.
- Make a page on your site specifically for the trade show or event. That way, you can consolidate information in one place on your site so that it is easy for attendees to find. It also makes it easier to track the number of online visitors who are interested in learning more about the show.
- Assign the responsibility of updating your social media accounts to a specific team member so that they can provide regular updates throughout the duration of the show.
- Let people know about any show-related events that you are sponsoring or any appearances you will be making as a guest speaker.
- Reach out to contacts within your industry through social media networks like LinkedIn or Twitter to let them know about new products or services that you are going to be offering at the show. Try to schedule a time to meet while the show is taking place.
- Promote any special events or activities that you plan on doing during the show through Facebook by building an event page.
While The Show Is Taking Place
- Once your stand is set up, take a photo of your team members standing near it. Upload the photo to all of the social networks where you are active.
- If someone is praising your products during the event, ask them if you can share their story as a testimonial. You can either do it through video or by taking a photo and supplementing it with text.
- Use photos to help people who can’t attend the show feel like they are still part of the experience.
- If you or one of your team members are planning on speaking at the event, make sure to take high-quality video so that it can be uploaded to the Internet at a later time.
- No matter how busy it gets at the show, always set aside time to monitor your social media accounts and interact with people attending the event.
- Keep an eye on your booth during the event, snapping photos when it is particularly busy or when other ideal photo opportunities present themselves. Upload these photos to your social media accounts using relevant hashtags for the show.
- Hold a contest to attract more people to your booth. Make sure to actively promote the contests through social media to get more people to drop by.
- Make sure all of your displays include relevant website addresses or QR codes. You can also post this type of information on social media.
- While you are at an expo, you should definitely ask others which social media marketing companies they trust?
After The Show
- Connect with anyone who gave you a business card or contact information during the show through sites like LinkedIn or Twitter. Send them a direct message to remind them about your business and to let them know that you remember them.
- Check the show’s hashtag on Twitter to see all of the tweets that were posted before and during the event. Look for people who used the hashtag that you can follow or interact with.
- Create a blog post about the show. Try to give the post an interesting spin so that more people will want to read it.
- Send out emails to any people that you connected with during the show, letting them know that you are following up. Make sure to add links to your social media accounts.
- Upload videos of any speeches that you made during the event and share relevant video clips through your social media accounts.