Author: Zach Strauss

Trade shows are an ideal opportunity to maximize the impact of your social media marketing campaign. There is a huge amount of branded content you can create based on your trade show materials – from interviews with presenters, to videos of keynote speeches, exhibits and demo videos, and so much more.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best ways that you can integrate social media into your next trade show and maximize the reach of your marketing campaign.

1. Go Live

Facebook Live is a very powerful tool for marketers. All you need is a phone, and a Facebook page to get started. Just go live at the show, and start creating content. You can take viewers on a tour around your exhibition booth, or through the entire trade show. You can also read and respond to comments directly in the app, which is helpful for interacting with your potential customers.

2. Create Plenty of Content During the Show (And Encourage Interactivity)

Do your best to create a lot of content during the show and make posts that are relevant to each day. Scheduling Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter posts is often a good idea. You can come up with posts before the show and automate them so that you don’t have to spend as much time on your social media campaign during the event.

You should also encourage interactivity. Ask customers and followers what they want to see and what they’re interested in! This will make it much easier to make content such as videos and blog posts about the trade show.

3. #Tag #Everything #Properly

You shouldn’t tag your posts with too many hashtags, but it’s a good idea to at least use the official hashtag of the trade show. For example, if you were at CES in 2018, you could #CES2018 in your posts – this will make it easier for people to find the content they’re interested in.

4. Write A Retrospective About the Trade Show

After the show, it’s a great idea to do a round-up retrospective post. You can talk about your own products, demos, and keynotes, as well as everything else that was interesting at the show. This will help position you as a thought leader and give customers an overview of what they missed if they were unable to attend the show.

Use These Ideas to Supercharge Your Marketing Efforts!

These are just a few of the best ways you can use social media marketing to your advantage at a trade show. Got more ideas? Share them in the comments and let us know what you think of our top tips.

When starting a business and working hard to get your name out there, one of the best ways to introduce your brand to a large audience of industry enthusiasts is to have an exhibit at a trade show.

Although, for new businesses, it can be difficult to figure out exactly which trade show would be best for your exhibit to thrive. After all, trade shows can be expensive and time consuming, so you can’t attend all of them. Perhaps you already know you need to be strategic, but you haven’t figured out how to thin the herd and decide which trade show is best for your business.

Here are three surefire ways to ensure you are attending the best trade show for your business.

Determine Your Goal

While that might sound obvious, it’s amazing how many people forgo this vital step.

There are two main types of trade shows. The first is the consumer show. This is where there are outside consumers coming in to buy, possibly get photo opportunities, and meet business owners face to face. This is great for the business who is simply getting their name out to the public.

However, the second option is the true trade show. This is where only people who are serious about the industry show up. This is a networking event and if your exhibit garners attention, it could open some prestigious doors for your company, simply by mingling and showing off your business.

Marketing Madness

At its heart, a trade show is a huge marketing and networking event, while your exhibit is your advertisement. You have a select amount of time to intrigue these people and turn them into leads or business connections, so you can’t bring the whole business. Instead, you must downsize and bring only the essentials for each show.

If you believe you can convert the marketing done pre-show, during the trade show, and after the trade show will generate the number of sales you’re looking for, then this might be a good trade show for your business.

Evaluate the Press Presence

For those businesses that are just starting, putting your business in the line of the press is a good way to garner even more exposure. You want to be everywhere, or at least, give the illusion that your business is everywhere and monitoring trade shows with a high press presence is a good way to accomplish that.

In summation, trade show attendance is highly dependent on trial, error, and personal experience. If you truly believe your business should show face at a trade show go for it. Yet, if you are unsure, of how to figure out the best trade shows for your exhibit, employ these tips to help you weed out the shows that don’t align closest with your ultimate business goals.

Trade shows are one of the best ways to make a splash in your industry, particularly if you’re demoing new technology at a trade show, or about to start the sales of a new product.

Chances are you’ve filled your Rolodex with potential leads after you’ve exhibited your services and products at a trade show. But now, you’ve checked out of your hotel and you’re heading home, and back to the daily routine; what should you do with these leads? Here are a few best practices on how to capitalize on leads gained at a trade show.

1. Start by Organizing the Leads and Contacts

Do this as soon as possible, to ensure that you can still match faces to names. Organize them based on name, phone number, email address, and other basic contact information in a spreadsheet or a paper document. You can also load them into your CRM database, if you have one. This will help you keep track of who you’ve contacted. Writing down a few notes on them will also help you remember your conversation and who they are.

2. Rank Them by Interest in Your Products

You should categorize your leads based on their interest in your products and prioritize the folks who seemed the most willing to buy, and the most willing to share their information. The faster you can contact someone who was interested in what you have, the more likely you are to land a sale.

3. Start Moving Them Down the Sales Funnel

Contact your best leads as soon as you can. It’s best to mention who you are, and where you met them so that they remember you, and your positive interaction.

Then, send another email with an example of how your product works and its benefits. After this, you may be able to give the customer more information about your products, pricing, and other details. If you’ve still got their interest, this is the perfect time to get them on a sales call.

Most importantly, keep these interactions personal and don’t be too pushy. You want to build on the camaraderie that you developed at the trade show, so don’t give your leads the “hard sell.”

Follow These Tips for Better Lead Conversions After Trade Shows

You don’t want to let the leads you made at a trade show go to waste. If you follow these 3 simple best practices, you’ll be able to sell more effectively after trade shows and expos.

Trade shows are one of the best places to gather leads for your company. But gathering leads and following up properly can be a delicate balancing act. How can you make sure you collect great leads without being too pushy or salesy? Here are a few of our top tips.

Be A Person First and A Salesperson Second

Here’s one of the biggest things to realize about a trade show; when someone shows up to your booth, they are probably already interested in your product.

That means you don’t need to be overly pushy. Talking to a person at a trade show is the exact opposite of a cold call. At a trade show booth, your prospective lead is already interested in your products and would like to know more.

That means you should try to connect with them as a person first and a salesperson second. Open up a casual dialogue with them, discuss what you’ve both learned at the trade show, and so on. You don’t have to beat around the bush, being approachable and helpful will go a long way and make them more likely to be interested in your products or services.

Present Your Product as A Solution to Their Problem

Another great trick is to discuss your industry and keep talking until your lead reveals a problem that they have with their business. Then, inform them about how your product can help them solve that problem.

Instead of being pushy from the outset, you can wait until an opportunity reveals itself, which makes you seem less pushy and keeps the conversation natural, even when things turn to the subject of your product.

Follow The 70/30 Rule

Your lead should be talking 70% of the time, and you should be talking 30% of the time. That’s the 70/30 rule and it’s a great way to get a lead to open up and share information about themselves and their business.

You should be asking questions, not parroting bullet points and facts about your product. Ask questions about your lead’s company, industry, and even simply about how their day is going.

Getting More Leads Is All About A Human Connection

When you follow up with a lead after a trade show, they’re far more likely to pick up the phone or answer an email if they remember who you are, which is why creating a human connection is so important at trade shows.

Follow these three sales tips, and get more qualified leads at your next trade show exhibition.

Love them or hate them, trade shows are where B2B companies make connections and sell products. That means as a marketer, you have to be prepared as an exhibitor, and avoid common mistakes at the trade show booth. How? Let’s go over 7 of the most common mistakes made by veterans and rookies alike at trade shows.

Don’t Block Yourself Off

One of the most common things to do at an exhibit booth is place your table lengthwise, parallel with your backdrop. But this is a huge mistake.

When you do this, you’re putting a barrier up between yourself, your demo, and your product. It makes it hard to get up-close-and-personal with customers, which can harm your selling strategy.

If you need a table, place it perpendicular to the booth, running along the side. This lets you have a place to store pamphlets and other such items, without blocking off your booth.

Failing to Define an Objective

If you go to a trade show without an objective, such as “collect 50 qualified leads”, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. If you don’t have a goal, you can’t achieve it. It’s just that simple.

Don’t Stress About Your Budget

Trade shows can be a big expenditure. But it’s worth shelling out extra money for a premium booth. A trade show booth is an investment, and if it’s eye-catching and attractive, you’ll bring in more customers, which will maximize your ROI. Don’t pinch pennies, think long-term.

Publicize Your Presence in Every Way You Can

For your trade show booth to be effective, potential clients have to know you’re there. Sponsor some aspect of the show, use social media, advertise in trade publications, do whatever you can to announce your presence.

Send Veterans

Trade shows aren’t the place for rookie sales and marketing professionals. They’re where your company makes its money and you need to send the best of the best to make sure your investment in a trade show pays off.

Do Your Research (Before the Show)

If you don’t do your homework on a particular show, you may end up signing up and then realizing that it’s not your ideal market segment, and still be committed to running a booth. Ask previous attendees about the show and see if the competition is attending. These are good ways to make sure you’re going to the right trade shows.

Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up

We could write that 1,000 more times. Your trade show leads mean nothing if you don’t follow up with them. Put together a qualified lead contact strategy before the show and follow it to a T afterwards to make sure you maximize your chances of a successful sale.