I recently participated in a webinar by Bartizan Connects on this topic and I did learn a couple things that should be shared for all of you who work at trade show marketing BEFORE the event occurs!!

First of all - did you know that LinkedIn provides a listing of TRADE SHOW EVENTS?  They allow you to RSVP that you are attending an event and then you can actually contact prospects on the list and invite them to your trade show booth!!  What a concept!

Check it out - go to http://events.linkedin.com/ and then you can search on events in a specific industry, place, venue, etc.  We strongly encourage that you look up any event that you are participating in and RSVP.  Then provide some informational comments on what your goals and objectives are for this event - so that if a prospect is interested they connect with you.  Setting up and marketing yourself before you show up at your trade show display - is money and time very well spent.

This webinar provided a lot more tips that you can use when on LinkedIn like sending an invitation to your prospects inviting them to your booth. To learn more - you can visit the Bartizan Connects site - or http://learn.linkedin.com/.