How can you attract and engage your target audience with pre-show marketing?

1 Define your goals and metrics

Before you start any marketing activity, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, schedule appointments, or drive traffic to your booth? How will you track and quantify your results? For example, you can use landing pages, email campaigns, social media posts, or QR codes to capture leads and monitor conversions. Having SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals and metrics will help you align your pre-show marketing efforts with your overall trade show objectives.

2 Segment and target your audience

Not everyone who attends a trade show is your ideal customer. You need to identify and focus on the segments that are most likely to be interested in your products or services, and tailor your message and offer to their needs and pain points. You can use various criteria to segment your audience, such as industry, job role, location, or previous interactions with your brand. You can also use different channels and formats to reach them, such as email, social media, video, or direct mail. The more personalized and relevant your pre-show marketing is, the more likely you will attract and engage your target audience.

3 Create a compelling offer and call to action

One of the most important elements of your pre-show marketing campaign is your offer and call to action. You need to give your audience a reason to visit your booth and interact with your brand. Your offer should be valuable, unique, and aligned with your goals and audience. For example, you can offer a free consultation, a product demo, a discount, a giveaway, or a contest. Your call to action should be clear, concise, and urgent. For example, you can ask your audience to register, sign up, book a meeting, or scan a code. Make sure your offer and call to action are consistent across all your pre-show marketing channels and materials.

4 Build anticipation and excitement

Another way to attract and engage your target audience with pre-show marketing is to build anticipation and excitement for your trade show presence. You can use storytelling, teasers, sneak peeks, or countdowns to create curiosity and interest. You can also use social proof, testimonials, or influencers to showcase your credibility and authority. You can also use gamification, quizzes, polls, or surveys to stimulate interaction and feedback. The more you can make your audience feel involved and valued, the more you can increase their loyalty and trust.

5 Follow up and nurture your leads

Pre-show marketing does not end when the trade show starts. You need to follow up and nurture your leads before, during, and after the event. You can use email, phone, or text messages to remind your leads of your offer and call to action, confirm their attendance or appointment, and provide them with useful information and tips. You can also use social media, blogs, or podcasts to share your insights, updates, or highlights from the trade show. You can also use automation, CRM, or lead scoring tools to segment and prioritize your leads based on their level of interest and readiness. The more you can stay in touch and add value to your leads, the more you can move them along the sales funnel.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?