After several years of shifting focus from in-person events and tradeshows to digital marketing efforts during the pandemic, it is exciting to see tradeshows make a comeback in 2022 in a big way. We don’t know about you, but we’ve sorely missed the human connection and engagement that can only happen live and in-person. But just because we’ve started to shift from behind the screen to in front of the booth doesn’t mean that there aren’t key digital marketing insights that can be applied to your physical presence at a tradeshow and lead to, well, more leads!
Gone are the days when a table and a branded linen were all you needed to stand out. Today’s tradeshow attendees are savvy, and businesses need to continue to innovate and deliver unique, unexpected and relevant ways to stand out (sometimes literally) from the competition. Trade shows are often expensive, not only the cost of attending the conference and purchasing a booth, but travel and lodging for attendees, décor and signage for the booth, and any promotional or giveaway items you have as well. It’s imperative that you use all the resources at your disposal to ensure a valuable return on your tradeshow investment.
Below, we break down our favorite tips and insights to help you maximize attendee engagement at tradeshows. Although the tradeshow itself is the primary lead-generation element of attending a tradeshow, we find it helpful to view a tradeshow like an event in how we organize our marketing strategy, looking at the guest experience engaging with us at the tradeshow through the entire life cycle, from before the tradeshow, during and after. As such, we’ve broken down our tips into these three sections to give you some inspiration to take your tradeshow to the next level, digitally! From low-effort ideas like social media posts to creating viral, shareable moments at the tradeshow itself, there are a myriad of ways to use digital marketing to enhance your tradeshow story, and here are a few of our favorites.
Before the Show
Before the tradeshow, your primary goal is to generate buzz that you’ll be attending, and entice potential clients to want to visit your booth while they’re at the show. Social Media is a great way to cast a wide net to your casual followers. Rather than simply advertise that you’ll be in attendance, incentivize the engagement by announcing a giveaway or highlighting a product you’re showcasing or personnel that will be attending. It’s an easy way to create rapport with potential clients by offering a small preview of what they’ll discover in-person. Your blog is another great tool- write a conference preview story of hot topics and things to do in the conference host city.
We also suggest creating more targeted marketing communications, like emails announcing the tradeshow and your booth number, location, and tradeshow times to your newsletter subscribers. A great way to create a drip campaign is to highlight a different piece of information in each email, for example, focus on the tradeshow times in one email several days out, then an email with booth location the day before the event so it’s top of mind. You can also create a landing page on your website or link website to continue spreading your narrative. If applicable, create a virtual appointment system where guests can book time to speak with you and your team one on one.
During the Show
While the tradeshow is happening, leverage your digital marketing tools to supplement your in-person tradeshow experience wherever possible. Scan conference badges or snapshot business cards to use for follow-up marketing post-tradeshow. Use social media to both generate organic content to use for external clients not in attendance, and to direct customers that are attending to visit your booth. For a more targeted approach, consider using geofencing to place ads on social media sites like LinkedIn that target users within a specified distance from your booth.
Perhaps the best way to use digital marketing during a tradeshow is to use it to create engaging experiences either initiated virtually or in-person. Use social media to post about a pop-up happy hour for the first 50 clients in an hour or announce a giveaway to the next 10 badges you scan. This both drives traffic to your booth but also ensures that you can receive the contact info for all the potential clients that visit you. Alternatively, use digital marketing to enhance in-person activations at your tradeshow. Create an engaging photo op with scenic pieces or props, and encourage attendees to share on social media with pertinent hashtags. Incentivize their engagement with giveaways for tagging your company in posts or utilize photo equipment for your activation that allows attendees to email themselves a copy of the photo (and you to capture their email!).
After the Show
After the show, it is important to follow-up with leads in a timely manner to make sure you stay top of mind. It is highly likely that many other companies in attendance have this same thought in mind, and attendees will likely have their inboxes flooded with emails from your competitors before they have even checked out of their hotel. Instead of emailing right away, try to initially focus on social media, recapping the conference for your followers that were not able to attend. And to generate content that can be used to enhance email communications and set you apart. After a few days, an email follow-up to attendees that you either scanned their badge or received from conference organizers helps continue the experience from tradeshow back to office. In addition to an email with more information about your company, it is important to incentivize the email as well. Easy ways to do this are to include copies of relevant social posts and recaps of the tradeshow, galleries of photos taken, or information about giveaways that were either announced during the tradeshow or that are exclusive to emailed subscribers.
Attending a tradeshow involves a lot more than just attending the tradeshow itself, but if properly executed, they offer multiple ways to engage potential clients before, during and after the tradeshow, increasing your odds of converting a lead and acquiring new customers. It is important to think of your pre-tradeshow content generating buzz for the tradeshow, as well as the tradeshow generating content for the digital marketing pieces you send out afterward. By bridging these three steps in the tradeshow digital marketing process, you will be able to convert more leads and turn your tradeshow experience from a singular occurrence to a campaign that will continue to give valuable returns.