Does Social Media Add Value to Your Trade Show Promotion?

Today, social media is an exceptional communication channel. However, for event planners, it has a special significance; it helps them to execute their marketing plans to reach out to prospects in the shortest possible time. If you are planning to organize a trade show shortly, consider including social networking platforms for promotions in your marketing toolkit.

Trade shows offer a great platform for face-to-face marketing, networking, and selling, thus helps in building relationships. Integrating social media in your marketing strategy can definitely give your trade shows a significant boost in terms of attendee participation. Work on pre-show promotions and post-show follow-up strategies, to make your trade show the success story of the year.

Here are a few tips that can help you to explore social network at its best during your trade show promotions.

1. Create an interesting message on Social Media

Do you know what sets your company apart from the lot? What is going to be the theme of your show? Focus on these points while posting any update on the social media sites. Let people know the 'x' factor of your trade show. In this way, you can engage and connect with prospective clients.

A great way is to participate in a BoothTag at your next trade show or provide a QR code that links to a landing page of a contest. You can spread your message before the show, through popular social media channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. Thus, encourage your followers to participate in your show through innovative marketing tactics. Keep it simple, interesting, and have a little fun with it.

2. Try to be relevant

The message you create for the social media campaign should be relevant to your brand, theme and other trade show initiatives. It is likely to convert your attendees into qualified leads. For example, a software integration firm mostly offers people a free assessment of their systems software. However, it is difficult to entice people by this activity as it is a common industry practice. So what can you do instead? Create a persuasive message and offer a free assessment via a fun contest. To engage people you can even offer a favorable chance to win an iPad. Thus, a perfect promotion in social networks can help you get more sign-ups for your event in a limited time period.

3. Maintain your individuality

Maintaining your individuality is a great way to make the most of your social media promotions. Being informal in your communication with your social media followers can be of great help. Keep in mind, social media is actually not a promotional platform; instead, it offers people an opportunity to connect with lucrative prospects. Social networking helps you share news and updates, which are exclusively your own. Thus, you need to learn how to maintain it, if you want to attract the right crowd.

Social media is a communication channel and a tool for marketing. Once you know how to use sit, it can add a positive value to your trade show promotions.