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How to Leverage Social Media Engagement at Your Trade Show Booth

A few decades ago, when technology like teleconferencing and internet chat was rising, many people theorized that trade show events would slowly wither away. What happened instead was that trade shows became a focal point for all the new forms of digital media. Webcasts, social media posts, content releases and all sorts of other forms of digital engagement have interwoven with the trade show scene. These elements occur in a steady cycle, peaking during the first few days of a show and tailing off during the long wrap-up period after everyone goes home. The likelihood is, is that some people who are attending a trade show would be using an instagram scheduling tool to ensure they remain active on social media whilst they are engaged at the trade show. Could they ensure all of their content is relevant though? That’s for another post.

Infusing a social media strategy within your trade show appearance has become par for the course. For those who don’t incorporate social media in their strategy, they may notice their competition interacting with customers more and building brand loyalty. There’s no excuse to not use social media in exhibitions, and even if a business doesn’t know how to run a successful social media campaign, freshcrowd and other social media marketers would be willing to help. Exhibitors wishing to generate more attention for their brand during and after the event must, therefore, leverage social media platforms to get the most out of their attendance. Here are some strategies you can use to engage people with a social-friendly trade show booth design and posting schedule. Using creative social media marketing strategies such as automation tools can help to keep trade show visitors updated and engaged in what is going on via your booth. If you’re struggling to find a social media growth service, companies similar to Bountii, inc compares them so you can find the best one for your business.

Start Early With a Pre-Event Rollout

The most important purpose of your pre-event social media postings will be to build hype for your trade show appearance. You will want industry attendees to know that you will be exhibiting at the event and exactly where to find you. You also want to direct industry attendees to your social media pages for important updates and general coverage.

Start by setting expectations early. Announce your appearance and tease some of the things you will be doing or talking about at the show. Utilize your trade show booth graphics scheme in social media postings, content and other marketing channels to develop brand cohesion. Craft a custom hashtag, like #InitechAtCES2018, so that followers can be guided towards your posts using a simple search. Since marketing is a big part of any trade show, you may want to get in touch with a marketing agency similar to this marketing agency colorado company or a marketing company more local to you.

You can build extra hype through a countdown or slow drip campaign. For instance, if you have a new product launch, you can create a mysterious silhouette of the new logo to bathe its release in mystery. If you have something fun in mind for the show, like webcast coverage or a pie-eating contest, count down the days to build anticipation. Anything you can do to generate attention early on can pay off during the show.

Target important attendees who you hope to reach through promoted posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other priority platforms. You can create custom audiences based on industry, job position and other factors to ensure that the right people see that you will be at the event.

Post Regular Updates During Your Attendance

Sporadic posts of unexpected things happening on the event floor are part-and-parcel of the trade show experience, but so are steady updates. Set your posting to a schedule to ensure that you have at least one update in the morning, one in the evening and a few more spread out throughout the day.

If you can, give these regular posts structure, such as writing them like a diary or a news digest. The more you can lend an air of professionalism and reliability to your social campaigns, the less everything feels thrown together.

Have Some Form of Social Engagement Within Your Trade Show Booth Design

The absolute best way to generate attention during a trade show is to incentivize booth visitors to post photos of your booth and tag themselves. You can have something simple to accomplish this, like a prop-filled photo booth or a head-in-the-hole cutout to poke your head through, which encourages shares.

You can also request some form of user-generated content, like letting people draw their own heartfelt messages to family as part of a campaign or letting them customize stickers and post them on a graffiti wall. People who are proud of their creations are nearly guaranteed to share them.

Other ideas include celebrity/influencer photo ops, mascot photo ops, at-booth performances, and Instagram-worthy trade show booth designs and graphics.

Afterwards: Wrap Up for Everyone, and Follow Up With a Few

After the trade show, your brand will want to do two things: wrap up its appearance, and make personal contact with people who left their information at your booth or who engaged directly with you online. Enter any contact information you obtain into your CRM system, and ensure that identities can be matched across channels like social and email.

By engaging with these users, you can develop a new league of brand loyalists and maximize the returns from your trade show appearance. If you want any guidance on creating a social buzz-worthy experience at your next event through a social-ready trade show booth design, then do not hesitate to contact us for a free quote on custom trade show graphics and booth design.