Promote Your Exhibit in 140 Characters or Less (Your Guide to Social Media)

July 26, 2016

Social media is nothing new. Many popular sites have been around for a decade or so by now. Yet few exhibitors are using these tools to their advantage.  One of the best aspects of social media tools is that they open up the lines of communication far beyond your own individual circle of influence. By using the various tools, you can reach not only your clients and prospects, but also industry thought leaders and members of the media. After all, one of the top reasons attendees come to shows is to discover new ideas or solutions – give them a reason why they should come see you! Here are a few tips to help get your social media strategy in place.

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Find out if the show has an official hashtag (as in #ABCexpo), then begin using it when you mention anything about your presence at the show. Share behind-the-scenes planning and perhaps some sneak-peeks into what they can expect.

Post an open invitation for people to come meet your team and see whatever it is you're featuring. Make it intriguing with some kind of teaser (think movie trailers) that gets their curiosity going. You can also tweet out links to news releases, videos of your products, blog posts about the upcoming show, etc. (Don't forget to use a link shortener to save characters in Twitter.)

And no matter where you're sharing your posts, be it in your blog, on Facebook or Twitter, or with a photo on Instagram, be sure to include your booth number so they can find you onsite.

Use LinkedIn to personally invite your contacts to meet you at the show, either in your booth or elsewhere. And if your team has the time to coordinate it, invite people to a "TweetUp" in your booth or a favorite spot after the show floor closes for the day.

But don't make every post about you! Listen to what's being said (following that hashtag) and be generous with retweets, likes and shares of other people's posts. Offer to be your audience's eyes and ears at the show (i.e. "Follow us for updates on what's hot at #ABCexpo") and curate great ideas and tips.

During the Show

Trade shows are a visual smorgasbord. So take advantage of that by posting photos of not only your booth and people interacting with your products, but also other activities around the show floor. Film videos of attendees who are enthusiastic about their experience with your company (with their permission of course). And don't forget photos or videos of any team members who are presenting educational sessions.

Guest Blogger: Exhibit marketing strategist Marlys Arnold teaches exhibitors and show managers how to improve booth traffic and the number of qualified leads through workshops and consultations. Drawing on her unique perspective as both an exhibitor and a show organizer, she is the author of Build a Better Trade Show Image, host of the Trade Show Insights blog-cast, creator of the ExhibitorEd Success System and founder of the Exhibit Marketers Café. Request access to her free video series, "7 Mistakes Exhibitors Make (and how to avoid them)" by going to www.exhibitmarketerscafe.com/7mistakes.

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