Using Social Media at Trade Shows

Posted on May 10, 2013 by kathyb
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Using Social Media at Trade Shows

When marketing new products to consumers it’s easy to become overwhelmed with all the different marketing techniques and new technology available to us to get the word out. The new technology in and of itself is a major task to keep up with. How does a new marketer choose how to spend their time wisely before, during and after a trade show pertaining to social media marketing? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Social Media Options:

Social Media for Trade Shows can pay off.

Social Media used at trade shows pays off!

  • Twitter – Use twitter in an effort to connect with your customers and let them know you have an event coming up. Decide on a per-determined hash tag: example #seeusinHuston and then use it throughout the show to let people know what’s going on at your booth. Also, be sure to tweet out your hash tag before the show to make sure your followers are aware of it. And of course make sure you let them know the booth number. After the show you can tweet out what happened at the show and ask questions of the followers that attended. Try to engage with them about what they liked best and what they would like to see from your company in the future.
  • Facebook – If you are not using facebook, you should be. People log on everyday to follow their friends and favorite businesses in an effort to see what’s new and upcoming. If you don’t have a lot of followers yet you can advertise at a reasonable rate in an effort to get more followers or to advertise your event. Like twitter, let people know in advance about the show location, booth number and dates. Let them know your focus of the show. During the show, post pictures of the activity at your booth and encourage visitors to come by. After the show, share parts of the show with your followers and let them know how much you enjoyed seeing them.
  • Pinterest – Crazy, right? Pinterest now has business accounts and people are on this newer social media outlet looking for anything and everything. You can post your products, sales, videos, etc… whatever you want consumers to see. This is an image based social media site so you will need to have nice images to post here. Before the show you can create images that have your show hash tag, date and time and place of the show. After the show you can post lots of pictures taken at the show. These images need to be directed to your web site.
  • Google+ - I know some marketers are still dragging their feet on Google+ but I wouldn’t advise that. Google+ is making improvements all the time and more and more people are using this in their arsenal of social media outlets to get the word out about their products and upcoming shows. You can have a personal and business account (like facebook) on Google+ but I would only use the business account to advertise to your customers and use the personal account for, well, personal stuff. I would use Google+ in about the same manner as facebook. They are very similar in their platform.

There are many more social media platforms you can use, but I think you can over do this and become burned out trying to be everywhere. Build up your customer base in the larger platforms and keep them informed about what you’re doing and what’s coming up. And always follow up after the show!

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Using a Money Machine at Trade Shows

Posted on February 12, 2013 by kathyb
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Using a Money Machine at Trade Shows

The biggest challenge many businesses encounter when it comes to promoting themselves at trade shows is attracting people to their booth. This can be a huge problem. Your success at the show depends on people stopping by your booth, learning about your company, and taking the time to sign up for your mailing list. You owe it to yourself to use any gimmick that you think will attract a mass amount of people to your booth.

One such method includes the use of a money machine.

What is a Money Machine?

At first glance, the money machine won’t seem like anything more than another display. They actually resemble a telephone booth from days gone past. However things change fast once the machine has been turned on. Once activated the machine spits bills, the denomination of which has been determined by you, into the booth for the lucky person that has been chosen to participate.  Free money is a powerful lure, and it’s sure to attract people passing by. And before you know it there will be a line of willing participants wanting a chance at the money machine.

 

Get Permission Before the Show

A money machine can be a great way to draw a crowd to your booth. But be careful to have good planning because some trade shows won’t let you use the money machine. This always needs to be included in your planning stage so you can make the right connections with management running the event where you’re showing to make sure it’s allowed.

Create Rules

Another thing you need to take into consideration when you decide to use a money machine at the trade show, will be what you plan to do about the traffic that it attracts. While many business owners have found that the money machine did indeed attract a high volume of people to their booth, the milling crowd waiting to catch one of the flying bills also made it very difficult for individuals with a genuine interest in your company to make it to your booth. They have to fight their way through a large crowd of people. Be aware of this potential problem and have a solution on hand if this should become a problem for you.

How Much Money?

You need to spend some time thinking about how much money you want to put into the money box. Even though some companies do use large denominations, there’s nothing that states you can’t also fill the machine with ones and fives. You want to have enough money in the machine to get your through the trade show, but not so much that you have a hard time recouping the loss.

The money machine can be a very effective crowd attraction tool, but you want to make sure you’re using it in a way that will provide you with the most benefit.

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QR Codes: A Trade Show Asset

Posted on October 7, 2012 by kathyb
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QR Codes: A Trade Show Asset

The world is changing at an alarming rate, marketing tactics that were successful five years ago might not work at all, and things that people never even imagined just one or two years ago have suddenly become all the rage. Trade shows haven’t escaped the evolving times. Businesses that regularly set up at trade shows will quickly tell you that they’ve had to rethink not just the types of shows and events they attend, but also how they promote their attendance, and the things they have to do in order to draw a crowd to their booth. One of the things attendees and trade shows have started to develop an interest in are QR codes.

The TradeShow Display Store QR codeIt seems like in the past few years, QR codes (Quick Response codes) have started popping up all over the place. Not only have businesses started incorporating them while exhibiting at a show, but restaurants and other companies have started to use them as well. Realtors have even started to place QR codes on their for sale signs and home flyers.

The reason the general population has fallen in love with QR codes has to do with the fact that the codes tap into the growing need most people feel for immediate gratification. The codes provide the average person with a way to gain immediate access to relevant information. By posting a QR code somewhere on your trade show display you make it possible for your visitors to gain access to all kinds of information about your business that you were unable to include in your presentation.

The simplest way to understand QR codes will be by thinking of them like barcodes.

They work about the same way. The biggest difference between bar codes and the QR codes will be that anyone can access the information, and the QR codes hold a lot more data than the bar codes ever could. Many businesses have found that the QR codes provide the perfect way to connect prospective customers to the business social media sites. Plus, the QR codes look more attractive.

The great thing about the QR code will be that nearly every visitor to your trade show booth will be able to access the information right away.
The only tool they need will be a smartphone with a camera, something everyone seems to have these days. They can scan the information, read through it, and if they have any questions they’ll be able to ask the staff manning your booth right away. It’s a great set up.

Make sure everyone is on board with the information installed on your QR code before the show. Also, make sure your staff is knowledgeable about how the QR code works so they can explain it to attendees if need be. Knowing the exact information that attendees to the trade show will have access to makes it possible for the staff to prepare answers to questions in advance, decreasing the chances of them getting blindsided, and looking less than professional.

QR codes can be used in very creative ways to promote a brand or sale. So, have fun with them and give your new prospective customers something to remember!

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What’s New?

Posted on September 17, 2012 by kathyb
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What’s New?

Trade shows and expos are the place to show off the latest and greatest and dazzle new prospective clients with whatever will cure their problem. People travel far distances to attend specific shows every year.  Some because they just love being in the same place with other enthusiasts that share their same passion (hmm..  star trek comes to mind) and then the business crowd that goes to see the new product lines coming up. They want to get the newest gadgets as soon as possible for their customers.

NEW Trade Show Display imageSo, whatever the reason you are exhibiting at a few shows this year remember to have your newest product front and center in your booth with the lime light shining brightly on it. This may seem like common sense to some exhibitors but for some new to the trade show scene it may not be as obvious. For a newer company without a big budget and an expert on hand to point out every little thing that should be done or not done, it’s easy to miss a few things that veteran exhibitors automatically know should be done.

Give me details please!

  1. No matter how large or small your exhibit booth is you should always have a main focal point. A place in the front of the booth is usually best so attendees are sure to see it as they approach your booth. That’s where you want your newest product(s).
  2. Lighting is also important. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have proper lighting for your display. It can make or break a great presentation.
  3. Have someone on hand to properly display how your product works. Even though some items are obvious in nature as to how they work, you still need someone there to let people know the different ways in which your product will make their life easier.

 

Give a sample if possible

Depending on your product, give samples if possible. This is in no way possible for many products and a hand out will be all they can take with them. If you are a trusted company in the marketplace already, a nice quick presentation and a handout will be fine usually. However, if you are new to your industry and looking to break in with impact, give a sample (again, if this is in your budget).

So, put your best foot forward and your new product forward!

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Maximizing your Floor Space at a Trade Show

Posted on August 27, 2012 by kathyb
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Maximizing your Floor Space at a Trade Show

The first thing you’ll discover when it comes to trade shows will be that you have a very limited amount of floor space to work with. The goal of the trade show organizers will be to cram as many trade show booth’s into the building as they can. It’s up to you to decide what you can do to get the maximum amount of use from your tiny corner of the trade show.

trade show booth questionsThink About Traffic Flow

First thing to check off your list will be looking for a way that you can encourage traffic to flow smoothly through your booth. By setting things up so that there’s a constant and steady flow of traffic through the booth you’ll make it possible for everyone who attends the trade show to learn about your business. You should also have a corner of the booth set up in such a way that you can pull anyone who might have questions or who would like more information about your company to talk to you on a more intimate level. You don’t want to have this conversation in a place that will stop traffic. A small area with a table and a few chairs would do nicely if your space is big enough.

 

Keep an Open Floor Plan

In addition to arranging things so that traffic can flow smoothly through your booth, you also want to set things up so that your overall area seems roomy and spacious. While you might be tempted to cram things together so that you can show off more aspects of your company, this can make people jumpy. By filling your booth with too much stuff, you could be causing anyone who steps into your area to feel jumpy and claustrophobic. This isn’t the impression you want to create. If necessary you should make arrangements to rent two sections of floor space, side by side, instead of trying to cram everything into one section.

Keep Things Bright

In addition to making sure you don’t try crowding everything into a very small area, you should also avoid dark colors. The more light you allow into your trade booth, the more open and inviting it will feel, and the more willing people will be to stop by to ask questions about your business.

Use Your Walls

Don’t get so obsessed about setting up the floor area that you lose sight of the walls. These can be a huge asset when it comes to your booth. You shouldn’t hesitate to do as much as you can with the wall. Keep in mind that the material that tends to make the biggest impression on your visitors will be the information that has some really nice graphics. Make sure that any information printed on your hanging literature features large enough print that it can be easily read even when someone is standing two or three feet away from it.

Go Up High

When setting up your booth, the only real limit will be the ceiling. Many businesses have found that not only will hanging a large flag or banner high above their trade show display create a talking point, but it also makes it very easy for people to locate the booth. Attendees will be able to see your booth from many points in the convention hall when all they need to do is look up.

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Tips for Keeping Your Staff Motivated when it Comes to Trade Shows

Posted on August 20, 2012 by kathyb
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Tips for Keeping Your Staff Motivated when it Comes to Trade Shows

While setting up a display booth at trade shows may provide you with an excellent marketing opportunity, they can take a toll on your staff. To encourage maximum participation and attendance, most trade shows take place during the weekend, meaning that instead of hanging out with their friends and family, your staff will be working. On top of having to give up their free time, even the most social employee will feel stressed and tired after working with people all day. The average day at the trade show can be really long. Not only does your staff have to be at the show during the regular hours, they will also have to get there before the show to set up the display booth, and will stay late tearing it down after hours. It’s easy for the staff to burn out.

As an employer, it’s your responsibility to keep them motivated and enthusiastic.

Don’t put yourself in a position where you only have a couple of staff members who can attend the trade show. The more people you have trained to manage the booth, the more you can change things up, and decrease the odds of your staff losing their motivation.

Make things happen at trade showsLearn What Makes Your Staff  Tick

You need to take some time to get to know the staff that you’re sending to the trade shows. Get to know a little bit about each person you plan to send to upcoming trade shows and find out what’s going on in their life. By taking the time to learn what makes each member of your staff tick, you’ll have a better idea about what you can do to help motivate them should they get burned out. You’ll also find that you can use this information to decide which trade shows will be a good match for a particular staff member.

Pay Attention

Pay careful attention to the staff members that you send to the trade shows. You’re looking for indicators of fatigue. As soon as you get the impression that an employee has started to burn out, you’ll want to pull them off the trade show rotation for a few months and give them a chance to recuperate.

Listen to Their Thoughts and Opinions

The employees you send to the trade show put in a huge amount of time and have to be upbeat and enthusiastic the entire time they’re at the trade show, this uses up an incredible amount of energy. They have earned your respect. When they come home from a trade show and approach you with ideas and thoughts about what can be done to improve your trade show presence, you owe it to the staff member to listen to what they have to say. Not only does this prove that you do respect your staff, but that they’re also an important part of your promotional team.

Sometimes You May Need Outside Assistance

If you find that your entire staff seems to have lost their motivation when it comes to going to shows and promoting your business, it’s possible that the time has come for you to seek help from an outside source. There are a surprising number of consultants who specialize in the field of trade show motivation. This person will be able to meet with your staff and light a fire underneath them, triggering their enthusiasm for upcoming shows, and once again making them an effective marketing team.

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Dressing Your Staff for an Upcoming Trade Show

Posted on August 8, 2012 by kathyb
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You’ve invested a large amount of time, money, and effort into getting ready for a trade show. Not only have  you spent a great deal of time and effort into preparing a trade show booth that you think will appeal to the visitors, but you have also put an enormous amount of effort into making sure the staff your sending to the show are properly trained and motivated about the show.

Now that the date of the show is approaching fast, it’s time to start thinking about the appearance of your staff while they’re at the show.

Trade Show Display Booth Staff MemberIt should go without saying that your staff needs to have a clean and professional look while they’re working the event. When a person walks up to the booth and meets with the members of your staff, they should immediately trust that they’re speaking to a person who has the ability to take care of all their interest. While you want your staff to look competent and organized, you don’t necessarily want to send them the show dressed in business attire.

The first problem with requiring your staff to wear the same clothing they would wear to church or a company meeting is that while they look professional, they won’t appear to be very approachable. You want people to feel comfortable when they come up to the display booth. It’s very important that your staff look friendly.

Another good reason you should reconsider sending your staff to the trade show in nice dress clothes is the excellent advertising opportunity. A trade show provides you with an opportunity to turn your staff members into mini-walking billboards promoting your company. Instead of allowing your trade show staff to select from their own closet when choosing the clothing for the trade show, you should have your company logo and name printed up on shirts for the staff. If t-shirts seem more casual than what you’d like, think about having the design printed onto some collared polo shirts that will look very professional. Best of all, people who encounter the members of your staff will be able to quickly look at the shirt and know exactly what company they represent.

You need to make it very clear that as long as they happen to be wearing clothing that show the company logo, they will be expected to represent the company.

It doesn’t matter if they happen to be working the booth, or if they’re just walking around the trade show and checking out the action. The members of your trade show staff need to be ready to talk about your business whenever they’re approached. If the member of your staff needs a short break, they need to bring along a jacket so that they can cover up the logo branded clothing.

Not only will the shirts you’ve had designed for the trade show make it possible for your staff to look professional, you can also use them to attract people to your trade show booth. The best way to do this will be by giving away your logo branded shirts away as part of a drawing. The idea that they might get something for free will draw people to your display booth.

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Roaming Can Be an Important Aspect of Trade Show Promotion

Posted on July 18, 2012 by kathyb

Roaming Can Be an Important Aspect of Trade Show Promotion

Trade shows provide businesses with a unique opportunity to really connect with prospective clients. Not only do you have a chance to use literature and presentations to educate everyone who stops by your trade show booth and show them what you’re really about. When a person leaves your booth they should know exactly how your company can improve the quality of their life or business.

And to extend the persons knowledge about your company make sure you offer the option for them to be on your company mailing list. It’s also good practice to follow this action up by sending each person who signs up for your mailing list a nice thank you note a few days after the completion of the trade show. The thank you note will help confirm the connection you made when you met.

Let’s get moving.

Most business owners instruct the employees of the trade show to stay within the booth at all times. It’s easy to understand the reasoning behind this type of instruction. The owner wants to make sure that every single person who stops by the booth will have someone to talk to. The last thing any business wants is an empty booth, which creates a really bad first impression.

Handshake at a Trade Show or ExhibitBut, roaming is not always bad either. In fact, some don’t realize that taking time to roam around the show can be just as effective, and sometimes more so, than hanging out in the booth all day. As long as things can be arranged so at least one person mans the booth, it would be good to have another staff member leave and roam around the show.

Exploring the trade show does two different things.

Your reasoning behind being and exhibitor at any particular show lends to the fact you will find your target market there. It’s safe to assume that you won’t be the only business to have come to this conclusion. It’s likely that your competition felt the same way.

  1. By taking the time to explore the trade show, you’ll be able to check out exactly what you’re competition is up to, and will be able to formulate a plan to rebut their marketing program.
  2. Exploring the trade show lets you see what other businesses have done to help attract people to their booth.

This exploration will benefit your trade show marketing a great deal. You’ll develop firsthand knowledge about what types of trade show booths seem to attract large crowds, and which ones don’t. By the time the event concludes, you will have all sorts of ideas about what you can do to help improve your own booth before the next show.

Roaming around the show provides you with an opportunity to connect with people who haven’t made it to your booth. You need to take advantage of this opportunity to walk up to people and strike up a conversation and let them know that you have a booth at the show and encourage them to visit. Each time you step away from your booth, check to make sure you have a pocket full of business cards you can pass them on to everyone you meet while you roam the floor. Oh, and a smile.

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Tips for an Appealing Trade Show Display

Posted on June 25, 2012 by kathyb
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Tips for an Appealing Trade Show Display

Attending a trade show and setting up a display booth can be a valuable marketing tool. You’re going to be hard pressed to find a marketing trick that puts you in contact with more members of your niche market. Not only will you be exposing a mass amount of people to your company name, but you will also be taking advantage of an opportunity to really connect with them on a personal level, something that seems to have gotten increasingly difficult to do in recent years.  Being an exhibitor at the trade show will only be part of turning the event into a success. Your trade show display will also play a big part in your overall success.

Most likely, it will be the overall look of the display you set up, more than your company name that will attract people. You want to make sure you do everything you can to make it comfortable and inviting.

Have a Goal

The biggest mistake that many business’ make, especially when they first start attending trade shows tends to be that they try to do too much with their display. They fill it with more information than anyone can hope to process during one quick visit. If this happens to be a mistake that you’ve made, the best thing you can do will be tearing the whole display down, and starting over. When you recreate the display, you should have a plan. Are you using the display to provide visitors with general information about your company? Do you want to use it to promote a new product or service? Do you want to use the trade show display to create a long term relationship with folks, or do you want to make some immediate sales? Once you’ve come up with a plan, you can redo your display so that your goal remains the central focus. You’ll find that the display has just become much more efficient.

Don’t Underestimate a Good Table Presentation

You need to set up a nice looking table presentation. This should be near the front of your trade show display. A good table presentation encourages people to stop and browse, providing your staff with the perfect opportunity to talk to them. The most effective table presentations will be the ones that encourage visitors to take something such as a hand out or brochure. Giving away free promotional pens, stickers, and even candy will help draw people to your trade show display. You should have a signup sheet at one end of your table that invites people to sign up for your official mailing list.

Use Bright Colors

The most inviting trade show displays tend to be the ones that use a lot of bright colors and good quality graphics Not only do these attract the attention of a passer by, but they also create an energetic and cheerful environment the average person finds quite appealing.

Create the Best Trade Show Staff

The most important aspect of an inviting trade show booth will be your staff. It will be the staff, more than anything else that will draw people into your booth. You want to make sure that you have taken the steps to ensure the staff running the display aren’t just educated about the business, but also have up beat personalities, fantastic smiles, and enjoy socializing and meeting new people.

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Giveaways Boost Trade Show Effectiveness

Posted on May 22, 2012 by kathyb

Giveaways Boost Trade Show Effectiveness

If you are a new exhibitor, you’re probably happy that you managed to get a trade show display put together and gather some literature that you can pass out to anyone who expresses interest in your company. This is a really good start. However, one of the things you are likely going to notice once you start walking around the exhibit hall is that some of your fellow vendors aren’t just passing out free literature. They are doing full-fledged giveaways.

The reason so many of your fellow trade show vendors are doing giveaways is because this is a very effective form of trade show marketing. It’s a very good way for the vendor to make sure they will stand out and be remembered by the attendees long after the doors have closed at the trade show.

Another great thing about a giveaway at a trade show is that it is a great way to really connect with the people who swing by your booth. You’ll be able to make direct eye contact with them, and at least offer them a greeting. These connections might not seem like they should be a big deal, but they often mean the difference between that person calling you instead of your competition.

Even though a giveaway at a trade show isn’t a bad idea, there are several key elements to a good trade show giveaway that you need to take into consideration.

The Cost

The first thing you will want to really think about is what you can afford. Even though the giveaway might be something you can write off at tax time, you still have to think about your current  financial situRaffle Ticketation. One of the ways some vendors are able to give away large, fancy things is by having a raffle. The raffle might not cover the entire expense of the giveaway, but it does help. You also need to check in with the trade show manager and make sure that having a raffle is going to be okay with them.

You don’t want to give away just anything. It has to be something that the average person at the trade show is going to want. It should also be something that should somehow be connected to your company. One of the things you should really consider is giving away one of the products you are promoting at the show. You already know your products/services will likely appeal to the attendees because they are your target market.

Have a Sign Up Sheet

Make one of the conditions to being entered in the competition that individuals have to fill out a contact sheet. When the trade show ends, you will be able to use this signup sheet to help you follow up on leads after the trade show ended. The giveaway signup sheet is a great tool for helping you expand your mailing list.

Before trying to set up your own trade show giveaway, you should watch how the other vendors handle their giveaways. By watching you will not only get some really good ideas about how to do your own, but it is also likely you will see some techniques that are best avoided.

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