What are the most effective ways to use trade shows to improve your digital marketing strategy?

Think of your trade show landing page as a digital handshake – it's the first interaction attendees will have with your brand. Ensure it's engaging and informative, offering a snapshot of what to expect at the event. Track visitor data to refine your approach, making every landing page a powerful tool for conversion. Pro Tip: Combine it with a LinkedIn / Instagram Live-Stream before starting, before the highlight keynote speech and before the after-event. Bring in the buzz in the digital sphere and move it over to the offline trade show.

Transform trade show connections into digital momentum. Craft a landing page as your virtual booth—showcase highlights, exclusive offers, and a seamless signup. It's not just a webpage; it's a gateway to post-event engagement, converting handshakes into digital handshakes that extend the impact of your trade show presence in the online arena.

Before hitting the trade show scene, whip up a sleek landing page on your site. Promote your event, spell out the perks, and reel in registrations. ?? Track your campaign, tweak for conversions, and make every click count.

Using trade shows to enhance your digital marketing strategy involves leveraging these events for content and engagement: Content Creation: Capture photos and videos at the event for social media and blog posts. Live Updates: Share live updates or stream sessions to engage your online audience. Networking for Collaborations: Connect with influencers and potential partners for future digital collaborations. Gather Testimonials: Collect video or written testimonials from clients or partners at the event. Email List Building: Use the opportunity to grow your email list with booth visitors. Post-Event Engagement: Follow up with contacts and leads after the event via digital channels.

You should utilize a social media strategy that incorporates content pre-event, during the event, and post-event. Time and time again, many campaigns fail because they neglect to properly plan their strategy. Pre-event examples: announcement, keynote teaser, event countdown, and testimonials. During event examples: daily highlight reels, attendee interviews, sponsor highlights, and live streaming. Post-event: show highlight video, speaker interviews, attendee testimonials, save the date teaser, and joining email lists for updates for next year. All of these ideas help foster brand loyalty, keeps your event at the forefront, and drives value to stakeholders.

And to get people to contribute to your data, a great looking stand or eye-catching displays will help them to be attracted to you. So many exhibitors overwhelm visitors with too much information or cluttered brands. Sometimes less is more.

Make some noise before the show! ?? Announce, tease, and invite using social media. Share behind-the-scenes glimpses, live stream activities, and feature your booth and team. ???? Don't miss out on hashtags and tags! Engage with your audience for a show-stopping experience.

As an exhibitor, one of the best ways to justify the cost of a stand is to collect as much contact information as possible. QR codes, NFC tags, or mobile apps are now the preferred way of collecting this information yourself. A faster way to a similar result is to negotiate access to ALL visitor data as part of the cost of your stand. Many organisers will be open to this, and it will go a very long way to adding value to something that is a huge investment to many companies.

If there is one unforgivable act that I see a large number of companies doing, it is not following up on leads generated at trade shows! Seems crazy, right? But it is more common than you might think. In most cases, it boils down to not having an automated funnel for nurturing these opportunities. Beit Email, SMS or LinkedIn invitations, without a strong funnel linked to your CRM, many of these opportunities go cold, when they could have produced sales and/or referrals with the right system in place. A reminder that you met, reiterating how you solve their problem, some free advice or just staying front of mind until they are ready to buy is crucial to justifying the cost of exhibiting or visiting these shows.

Coffee breaks at events are networking gold! You can use the 15-minute break wisely, and don't hesitate to initiate a conversation. Generally, those conversations lend themselves to becoming leads by the end of the conference.

There is one tactic that I use at trade shows that I hardly ever see on any lists. The coffee rest area! This is the place where people come to rest and recharge. It is also the best place to strike up a conversation! Most trade shows, rightly, have a no-sales policy for visitors. By striking up a conversation with anyone who comes to sit at your table you can generate a very large number of leads, grow your network or even make new friends! It works a charm for me, give it a try at your next show!