Trade shows are an excellent way to promote your business in the real world. With numbers of attendees on the rise again, you'll want to make sure that your booth is one of the busiest on the floor. The only way to do this is to use social media for pre-trade promotion. With high volume traffic and social promotion on your side, this year will be your best trade show ever.
Before The Trade Show Begins
Facebook - Set up a Facebook event and invite as many people as you can to the trade show. Use an incentive to get them there, like a free offer when they pitch up in person, or a discount of some kind for the day. Sink some money into a Facebook ad campaign, and target fans of your niche in the area.
Twitter - Establish a specific Twitter hashtag that you'll be using on the day - as a real-time event. Promote this tweet and make sure that your community is aware that there will be live updates on the day. If you're one of the few businesses doing this, invite fellow trade show companies to use your hashtag.
LinkedIn - In your LinkedIn group, inform your community that you'll be live at a trade show via your email list. Invite these people personally with a friendly email, and add incentives to the mix. For example - for LinkedIn members only, get 20% off a specific product or service when you attend the trade show and tweet about it.
Blog - Announce the trade show on your blog, and do some background pieces on what the show is all about, where it is and who else will be there. Sweeten the posts with incentives, like you've done with your other social media pages. Make sure each incentive is different, and vary the sizes.
During The Trade Show
Facebook - Commit to at least 4 updates that you'll do from your laptop or mobile phone, while at the show. Take at least ten unique photos specifically for your Facebook page community. You could also announce time sensitive offers here during the show. This will get more people coming in and heading towards your booth.
Twitter - While at the show use the hashtag you've created to tweet about the event. Get other vendors to use your hashtag and comment on the atmosphere, your booth, even their own businesses. Your goal is to keep the conversation going. Space these tweets 15 minutes apart to prevent flooding your Twitter community with real time posts. Take at least ten 'action' photos of your booth with visitors and other businesses.
Additional: Make sure you take a minimum of 50 photos. Some of them can be unplanned, but be sure to compose the images specifically to personalize your brand and enhance your presence at this event. Post these images on your Flickr, your blog or Google+ pages. Don't repost the images from Facebook and Twitter her e, you want people to see unique things on each page.
If you have the time - shoot a promotional video as well. It's always a nice addition to your Youtube and video marketing pages. Do this, and you're bound to get some great traffic to your booth, and even more to your social pages afterwards!
How do you promote your trade show booth? If you have any great methods that have worked well for you in the past, share them with us here!
Trade shows are an excellent way to promote your business in the real world. With numbers of attendees on the rise again, you'll want to make sure that your booth is one of the busiest on the floor. The only way to do this is to use social media for pre-trade promotion. With high volume traffic and social promotion on your side, this year will be your best trade show ever.
Before The Trade Show Begins
Facebook - Set up a Facebook event and invite as many people as you can to the trade show. Use an incentive to get them there, like a free offer when they pitch up in person, or a discount of some kind for the day. Sink some money into a Facebook ad campaign, and target fans of your niche in the area.
Twitter - Establish a specific Twitter hashtag that you'll be using on the day - as a real-time event. Promote this tweet and make sure that your community is aware that there will be live updates on the day. If you're one of the few businesses doing this, invite fellow trade show companies to use your hashtag.
LinkedIn - In your LinkedIn group, inform your community that you'll be live at a trade show via your email list. Invite these people personally with a friendly email, and add incentives to the mix. For example - for LinkedIn members only, get 20% off a specific product or service when you attend the trade show and tweet about it.
Blog - Announce the trade show on your blog, and do some background pieces on what the show is all about, where it is and who else will be there. Sweeten the posts with incentives, like you've done with your other social media pages. Make sure each incentive is different, and vary the sizes.
During The Trade Show
Facebook - Commit to at least 4 updates that you'll do from your laptop or mobile phone, while at the show. Take at least ten unique photos specifically for your Facebook page community. You could also announce time sensitive offers here during the show. This will get more people coming in and heading towards your booth.
Twitter - While at the show use the hashtag you've created to tweet about the event. Get other vendors to use your hashtag and comment on the atmosphere, your booth, even their own businesses. Your goal is to keep the conversation going. Space these tweets 15 minutes apart to prevent flooding your Twitter community with real time posts. Take at least ten 'action' photos of your booth with visitors and other businesses.
Additional: Make sure you take a minimum of 50 photos. Some of them can be unplanned, but be sure to compose the images specifically to personalize your brand and enhance your presence at this event. Post these images on your Flickr, your blog or Google+ pages. Don't repost the images from Facebook and Twitter here, you want people to see unique things on each page.
If you have the time - shoot a promotional video as well. It's always a nice addition to your Youtube and video marketing pages. Do this, and you're bound to get some great traffic to your booth, and even more to your social pages afterwards!
How do you promote your trade show booth? If you have any great methods that have worked well for you in the past, share them with us here!
Image: Courtesy of tradeshowmarketing.com