The digital movement continues to have an enormous impact on outbound marketing strategies, including trade shows, events and conventions. Previously, expo marketing teams used to only concern themselves with strategies for face-to-face interaction. Technology has now given marketing professionals the ability to reach their target audience simultaneously, manage their sales or marketing pitch throughout the show effectively, and measure the overall effectiveness of their trade show marketing campaign more accurately. Get in sync and modernize your trade show displays with these 5 digital trends for trade shows:
Build Hype Online
Yes, the actual trade show booth design is the main draw, and there is no denying that building strong hype leading up to the event will create awareness and elevate the experience for attendees. Exhibitors never fail to inform their target audience of their own participation through personalized email marketing, appropriate website banner advertising, traditional press releases and definitely through social media outlets. For B2B social media marketing, your top performing channels will usually be Linkedin and Twitter. However, Facebook and Instagram are much more than just trends these days. Social media marketing has grown tremendously in just the past couple years, making online social marketing campaigns more often than not, very lucrative for the B2B marketing outlets with image and video marketing quickly becoming as equally important as blogging and other forms of traditional digital marketing. B2B promotional video marketing (as long as the content makes sense for your audience) has become very popular in the past 2 years. For a more extensive approach, event team managers can tap into many vendor resources who specialize in traditional (old school) face-to-face marketing. However, many event managers and expo marketers are embracing the power of collecting “Big Data” on each customer and prospect, through social media marketing campaigns that deliver tailored personalized experiences. Companies now analyze social media data in order to collect valuable user insights, allowing them to fine-tune their targeting to create engaging content that resonates deeply with their target audience, gaining the engagement and ROI boost they’re looking for.
Tech Accessories as Promotional Products
Door gifts for attendees are a staple in trade show marketing trends. The power of leaving attendees with functional mementos is widely recognised and utilised, and tech accessories seem like the perfect choice. It could be something as simple as a plastic cable winder or a power bank. The trick lies in finding the right product that fits the brand and message you want to bring across to the recipient. On the whole though, well-made modern tech products are seen as inherently valuable and useful by most, thus making them a viable choice.
Cell Phone Charging Stations/Kiosks
With cell phones come the constant need to keep them full of power at all times. Portable cell phone charging trade show kiosks have thus made a much needed emergence in the trade show repertoire. Attendees will heave a sigh of relief when a charging kiosk comes to the rescue just as their phone’s or tablet’s battery is running out. If your branding is all over the display booth kiosk, the attendee could positively associate your brand as a helpful and ever-ready one. They might even refer their friends or colleagues to your life-saving charging station, which in turn means more visitors to your exhibit. Cell phone charging stations are now available as portable kiosks, meeting tables and branded coffee tables.
Some aluminum and laminate modular kiosks can be utilized even in small booth spaces as an accessory combination to 10′ x 10′ Displays. Smart event marketers understand the value of purchasing a portable display system that’s versatile and can seamlessly integrate into a standard display booth layout or can reconfigure or resize to create a fresh look for each exhibition. Modern versatility that modular expo hardware features, allows the guest attendee to easily setup a unique and engaging exhibit layout no matter the floor space size given to them.
Custom Mobile Apps for Attendees
Another burgeoning trend brought about by cell phones are mobile apps built specifically for trade shows, expos and conventions, such as GuideBook. This handy event management tool allows users to easily create apps for events, conferences, trade shows and meetings. Marketers like using Guidebook because of it’s user-first app building platform. Exhibitors can provide event agendas, send push messages to and even gather live feedback from attendees on the trade show event. The versatility of mobile application programming means that the app can help you achieve specific targets and obtain the right information about your exhibit attendees. Apps are stilfl considered a novelty, but can be an excellent way to engage and entertain your convention attendees.
Trade Show Management Systems
Increasingly, event planning managers have been searching for suitable I.T. systems that provide seamless exhibition management experiences. Currently, a host of event marketing, event management and lead retrieval solutions have emerged. Some notable providers of these Systems include CompuSystems, iLead and Pathable. These range from specialized one-function apps to multi-faceted systems that can raise efficiency and give helicopter views and information about the event, often in real-time.
Used the right way, these 5 tech trends can be powerful tools to interact and engage with attendees, sponsors and other stakeholders on a much deeper level. Give any one of these options a try for your next event or trade show and be prepared to see positive results!
