Creating a buzz at the biggest trade shows in your industry is no easy task, whatever your business sector. Faced with attending a show with thousands of other exhibitors – many of whom are often your direct competitors – your presence needs to stand out and make a lasting impression.

Thanks to the rise of social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, taking social media to industry trade shows is now widely practiced by exhibitors and attendees alike.

At Drupa 2012 (the print industry’s largest European exhibition) we decided to use social media slightly differently by using our very own social media experts to help and educate potential customers.

We created a dedicated social media space for visitors who wanted to learn how social media could help their business and demonstrated this benefit in a relaxed and confidential way. The result: a veritable hub of status updates, tweets and photo sharing!

Through our social media café (home to an eye-catching, conversation-driving 72” plasma ‘Tweet Wall’ where visitors could relax, have a coffee and learn more about social media with our experts) and social media clinics (hosting one-to-one sessions with attendees advising on business value and simple engagement and implementation processes) we helped customers with their social media strategy, and got people thinking how social media marketing can profit their own businesses – a great success for corporate social media, by any standard.

Sharing and engaging in social media best practices at events like this is a great way to attract and help potential customers, whilst displaying these theories in practice. In our case it lead to Xerox being the undisputed leader in Drupa’s social conversations ahead of all our key competitors – we hope the following advice can help you achieve the same, impactful results at your next show.

What we recommend

Just like everybody else, we’ve learnt from experience. So, if you’re considering taking those first few steps into the world of show-led social media we’d suggest you:

Check venue Wi-Fi. It’s essential for the venue to have good Wi-Fi access (and believe us, some don’t!) In order for visitors to participate, they must be able to practice social media on the show floor, not when they go back to the hotel.

Keep sessions short and sweet. Social media is designed to be quick, easy and immediate. Replicate this practice in any discussions you hold – make sure they’re free-flowing and unrestricted. Social media conversations work better when they’re not limited to a specific time.

Choose one channel. Focus your efforts on a particular social media channel. From our own learnings, we’ve noticed that Twitter is the most used channel when compared to networks such as Foursquare, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram, but this could well change across industry sectors.

Take pictures. Creating photo opportunities in and around your exhibition stand is a great way to attract visitors and achieve real-time audience interaction. Not only is it visually exciting, making you memorable in return, it’s the perfect way to increase your social media profile during the show.

What you need to know

Before you dash out to register for the latest and greatest industry trade show it’s worth bearing a few things in mind.

Start small. Begin at smaller shows, with a modest budget, and learn from your experiences. This will provide you with the confidence to go to the next level develop more advanced and engaging programmes and become your pass to success at major industry events.

Create credible content. As with every other customer relationship channel, your content must be clear and valuable to your audience. You wouldn’t promote something of little importance to them via traditional channels, so the same goes for virtual networking. 

Be visible. You know how busy these events can be – make sure you don’t get lost among the crowd, and that they don’t lose you. Be clear when letting visitors know what is going on, where (and when) it’s happening, and what you are offering them is key to engaging this ever-fleeting audience.

 

By Darrell Minards, Head of Marketing Communications at Xerox Europe. 

 

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