5 Ways To Get The Attention Of Attendees At Trade Shows

There is a lot of preparation that happens for exhibiting at trade shows, conferences and events. One piece of preparation that will give you a high ROI on your time and money is forming a communication strategy for each specific event. Too often we lie to ourselves, saying we do not have the time to address how will we connect with our ideal consumers at trade shows, conferences and events.

Many companies continue to use the same old prep outline and outreach from years past. It’s not working, and I hear exhibitors on the floor say things like, “We do our best with what we are given.” The truth is, we cannot afford to miss this critical piece of outreach, which can make or break the company’s spend to attend target rich face-to-face environments like industry events. It would be a disservice to only give you the five points with only a line or two. Instead, we will give you the five points, then follow up with a post on each point together with actionable advice.

5 Simple & Effective Ways To Gain Attention At Trade Shows

1. What is your message in their terms?
2. Talk about the problems you solve.
3. Think about who is your company’s connector type.
4. Integrate your message with multiple channels.
5. Be the Macy’s of the event and share the content of others.

Too many times we try to talk to people at trade shows in our own language, expecting them to adjust to our vocabulary and speaking styles. It has been proven time and time again that you capture the most attention by using the consumer’s own words.

What Does This Look Like In Social Media?

By using Twitter to listen with keywords, marketers can tune into the consumer’s own words which they can then use to effectively communicate with them at trade shows (this is one way you can leverage this platform). This has a positive trigger effect on their brains. It tells them, “Yes, they get me, they are truly listening.” Set up a Twitter page for your company now, if you don’t already have one. Even if you only use Twitter to listen in order to take more effective actions with your communication strategies, you will be winning.

Monitor Linkedin. Pay attention. When do people mention the problems you solve? When are they sharing those types of blog posts, giving you a door into your first meaningful conversation? You can tell many times when someone is reading a book about a specific topic (peruse reading lists – some of us use that feature) that they are either learning about how to solve a problem (that is your expertise), or they are expanding their knowledge (where you can help them). Asking that person a question about their interests in your “wheel house” (when they are already sharing content that relates to your topic of expertise) can uncover a gold mine of information which will help you to see the situation from their perspective – helping you re-frame your own language used on the floor at trade shows.

When you’re on the exhibit floor, you are in a target rich environment to prospect with your ideal customer. Integrating your digital media marketing with an effective event communication strategy will accelerate your ability to reach that “right person.” Will you be pulling them in with your message or turning them off – forcing them to walk right passed you?

Image Credits: [delphwynd / flickr] [BlogWorld & TBEX events / flickr]