If you’ve been paying attention at events, you’ve probably noticed it: brands and businesses showing off their trade show presence on social media, and showing off their social media presence at their booth. Networking channels like Facebook and Twitter, and visual channels like Instagram and Pinterest are all popping up in trade show booths, and with good reason.
These social platforms are so much a part of brand marketing and brand image today, it makes sense that businesses would rely on them at events to connect more in a general way (communicate brand personality) and in a specific way (communicate with specific leads). These are 3 ways you should be using social media to turn up the volume at your next trade show:
- Keep Up on Twitter
Twitter is the place to be if you want to stay on top of trade show social media – before, after and during the event. Almost all events now have their own hashtag, so your first steps are to find out what it is, use it in all your related tweets, and search for it to connect with others. Many events even have their own Twitter handle!
Tweet about your event experience (setup, preparation, workshops and sessions, great conversations, best booths, best swag, best cup of coffee, etc.). Connect with and tweet at other attendees who are talking about the same things, and definitely mention the event itself by its Twitter handle. If you retweet or respond to the event’s tweets, they will often retweet your tweets in return. It’s a great way to connect with attendees and other businesses.
- Use Photos and Video to Reach More and Connect Better
It pretty much goes without saying that brands that use visual channels like Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc. should jump at any opportunity to capture video or photos at an event, because otherwise you’ve got nothing to post. But there are specific advantages to using video and photos on Facebook, since statistically Facebook’s algorithm that picks out “interesting” content for users really favors these two mediums over others, and serves them to many more users. This is especially true for native Facebook video (i.e. when you upload your video directly to Facebook) but not YouTube videos, which you would be linking to instead. This type of video can seriously increase (think hundreds) your post reach – just try it!
So get your own photos and videos, and watch your social media reach increase. Document behind the scenes stuff like setup and staff members, and take advantage of moments when visitors are engaged with your samples or watching a demo.
- Use Social Media to Nurture Your Cold Leads
Ease tentative leads into getting to know your brand, your business style and your products or services by connecting with them on social media. After all, you’re going to meet an awful lot of new leads at your trade show, but very few of them are really ready for the hard sell. Tweet at new leads and follow them to solidify the connection after the event, and Like their business page on Facebook. This instant feedback will often prompt them to Like and follow you back. You can also scope out and connect with leads you might have missed at the event by searching Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms for key terms and that event hashtag.
Anything you can do to connect with a larger pool of people, and connect more with the leads and fans you have, is going to be smart marketing – and social media is an easy (and largely free!) way to do that. Shouldn’t you be taking advantage of these channels to amplify your message at that next event?
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: The 3 Best Ways to Connect on Social Media at Trade Shows
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