Show advertisements vs own marketing?
Nearly all trade shows offer their own marketing (and therefore advertising) services as it is a great way to automatically gain the eyes of the attendees! However, this comes at quite a hefty cost.
We at Elaine Ball Ltd are here to discuss other methods which might involve a bit more time and effort, but could save you £££!
Let’s look at our top 5 marketing tips to look into as well as considering the shows marketing packages:
1- Make use of the stages!
Have you thought about joining a panel discussion with industry colleagues to discuss a topic that is important to you/your company, or even relevant to the industry as a whole?
Have you previously hosted webinars to teach potential clients about your companies latest venture? Why not put that forward to present on one of the stages at the trade show? Attracting those who are intrigued by your
2- Conversation starter
Although this one is a bit of a slow manual process it is definitely one of the most rewarding… starting conversations on LinkedIn with industry friends you are already connected to. Of course these people need to be carefully selected to ensure they may actually be eligible to be approached by your company. Then you can do one of the following:
-A hot lead ‘Hello…, thought I’d mention that I’m heading to… next month. Will you be there? It would be great to link up for a coffee to discuss…?’
-A warm lead ‘Hello, are you attending … this year? I’ll be there at … stand and it would be great to chat to you, we have … (something interesting on your stand to hook them in)’
-A cold lead/ brand new connection who you’ve seen is attending the show ‘Hello, great to connect. I see that your company is attending … will you be there? It would be great to see you at … (more details about the hook from your stand)’
Always add a note when inviting a new connection. Its friendly and warm! Who wants a cold caller!
3- Stand out from the crowd
It’s no lie that conferences are packed full of different companies all trying to attract similar attendees and potential clients. This is where you have to THINK about what your company really wants to get out of the show. Can you make your call to action FUN? Or could you even make it interactive?
Your stand needs to aim to INTRIGUE attendees who pass by. Build curiosity!
They should look at your display boards and want to know more.
Your display hooks them into starting a conversation. You want to get this person into your network.
(note how I say network and not sale… the key here is to not force your product/service as they are still a relatively cold lead having just discovered your company).
4- Tailored social media campaign
Don’t just wait until you are at the event to begin posting about it. You should be prepping a couple of months in advance to try to target as many possible attendees as possible. Find the best #’s that reach the correct people who are going to the event. Usually the organisers will signal these in the ‘media pack’ that you get beforehand. This pack should include some graphics which you can use on socials and tailor to fit your logo/branding too!
5- Make use of free marketing options
There are usually allocated slots to write about your company or submit PR style articles to. This gives the organisers content to post and also helps to boost your company’s name. Often these emails requesting content like this gets pushed to the back of your to-do list (yes- I see you!!) but try to shift your mindset… it could be really beneficial.
If your company is associated with certain industry associations try to target them too. They could pop a little snippet in their newsletter, or post a little blog about your attendance. All good to boost the visibility of your company, with clear branding this can be even more obvious to repeat viewers.