13 Tips on Using Social Media During Trade Shows and Fairs

We love social media, don’t we? Being able to reach information with a simple tap of our fingers, getting the most recent updates in our interested area the moment they are available in the online world is truly a blessing. In addition, it has been long time now since we learned it is not only for sharing status updates and photos; social media is also one of the most effective ways of conducting business and it is here to stay.

Today it is common for brands and businesses to have social media accounts and use it effectively to reach their audience. Leave the private investments and brands aside, even the governmental organizations and institutions make use of this online world to let people know what they are doing. In every part of our life, we come across a mean of social media use whether by companies or brands.

This social media magic is also an efficient way to promote what you are doing in the world of trade shows and fairs, too. The way these events are carried out may be traditional however the tips and tricks to make the most of your trade show or fair attendance now put the social media use as a priority. It is a great, cheap and effective way to tell your audience about your product or business during a trade show and the outcomes may be surprisingly better than you’d expect.

I can hear you are asking “how to make use of the social media during a trade show or a fair?” Well, there are bunch of ways to integrate the means of social media to your business while you have the chance be co-present with your target customers or business competitors.

We can list the ways of using the social media during a trade show or a fair in three groups. The ones you should do before the event, during the event and after the event. Read on to discover the most popular ways of using these and start your trade show or fair ahead of your business competitors.

How to use social media before trade shows or fairs?

Make sure you have the necessary tools

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + and LinkedIn. Each of these is a great way to establish online communication with your desired audience. Make sure you sign up with user names that are related with your company.

Learn how to use them effectively

All of these mediums are great; but in their own way. Instagram may not be the greatest way to tell your audience about the features of your new product whereas you can tweet a 140 characters long, intriguing tweet including the relevant hashtag to invite people to your booth. You have to know for what purpose you should be using these mediums.

Do you think photos, tweets and status updates are not enough? Try videos!

You have to accept that we now have more tendency to watch something rather than reading a 300 word description of it. Open up a YouTube channel, record videos about your product, brand, booth or whatever you think that it is worth to record a video and upload them to your channel. Don’t forget to promote your channel by using your other social media accounts.

Make use of Maps

Do you know the size of the venue you are going to exhibit at? Probably not. Do you know how many look alike booths are going to be there? Nope, you don’t think so. Then make sure you create a landing page of your booth location and share it with the visitors online. This way, they can find you easily during the show.

Create an Event

If there is going to be a special thing in your booth, such as an introduction of a new product, create an event for that on Facebook and promote it. All you have to do is to promote the event make sure people click on that little “attending” button. They’ll be reminded just before it starts and you booth will be filled up with curious visitors that want to know what is going to happen.

Write a blog post

As a blog writer, you didn’t think I’d skip this step, did you? Blogs may not be the most economical way of spreading information since they are actually piece of writings that aim to inform the reader on a certain topic. However, this may be a great way to tell your prospect visitors what you want to say in advance to the fair or trade show. Don’t forget to answer the comments on the blog posts you shared since this will strengthen the relationship between your company and the target audience.

How to use social media during trade shows or fairs?

Live stream or tweet

Live streaming your booth online or tweeting about what is going on are great ways to promote your attendance in a trade show or fair. However, you have to make sure you are not over sharing, meanly, you are not being irritating in order not to make the people consider taking you off their following list or unfriend you. Make sure you are using the relevant hashtags since people at events have tendency to follow hashtags more than they are interested in individual companies.

Share Photos

If you meet a visitor that wants to try out your product or interested in your business in general, ask if you could take a photo of them while using the product or checking your booth. If they let you, share it on your social media accounts. That way, people will know be curious about what attracted other people to your booth and will want to come and see for their selves.

Contests and raffles: best ways to attract attention

If there is something better than organize a contest or a raffle during a trade show or a fair, then it is to promote it online. Twitter seems to be the best medium to that since people check their feeds more often when compared to their other social media accounts and because Twitter is more organic and more up to date. Again; using the correct hashtags is vital while tweeting.

Use QR Codes

QR codes are the easiest and one of the most efficient ways of distributing information online, without causing avoidable money loss as well with being nature friendly. If you are to give some brochures, you can prepare a QR for visitors for a downloadable brochure or any sort of document you’d like to hand out to people that visit your booth.

How to use social media after trade show or fairs?

Connect with people

You are not only offer business cards but also collect a bunch of those during a trade show or a fair. There is no better time to get in touch with the people who visited your booth once the trade show is over. Add them on LinkedIn and add their e-mail addresses on your mailing list. The sooner you do this the greater the chance that people will remember you and your company.

Write your evaluation of the trade show or fair

The best way to share your ideas and the outcomes of the trade show or fair you have attended is to write a blog post about it. If you want, you can also include some statistics as well with a summary and your company’s opinion about the whole event. Don’t forget to promote the blog post on your social media accounts to increase the user engagement.

Share what you have presented

If you have presented a workshop or your company has sponsored one during the trade show or the fair, sharing the information of them is a good way to promote your company after the event. Actually, if you have got any sort of educational material that you have presented your visitors, you can share these online after the show.

Main Image Credit: peterras