It’s our observation that Social Media is a great fit to promote events: it’s a focused time-frame; social media is extremely mobile (something like 70% of tweets are from mobile platforms) which fosters on-site interaction; and tweets and Facebook page posts can bring people to your booth in real time for contests, plugs, etc.
Putting a strong Social Media Plan into place can help you:
- build your opt-in marketing lists
- get on the list of ‘must-see’ show booths
- create product awareness
- create buzz around new products
- add to the company’s sales leads
- identify your company’s brand champions
- accelerate the sales cycle
- deepen the relationship with customers
You may recall the e-book I put out earlier this year “Twittering Your Way to Tradeshow Success.”
With minimal promotion (read: no budget) and nearly 500 downloads later, I’m ready to take a whack at updating the book to include all Social Media, not just Twitter. We’d want to include at least the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and a good argument could be made to include Flickr and YouTube.
Thanks to a suggestion from a recent social media compadre I met, Steve Farnsworth, I’m launching a mini-contest to get some of your ideas for how you have used Social Media to promote your appearance at tradeshows, events or conferences – and thanks to Steve’s generosity we’re teaming up to offer an hour of consulting on how to get your Social Media plan together:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gubDZEL32wo
So…here’s the deal: submit either an idea or anecdote you may have on how to use Social Media to promote your appearance at an event, conference or tradeshow. Easy to do: either post the idea as a comment below, or join my Facebook Page and make a post there.
Then, once we close the mini-contest down on the night of Thursday, November 5th, I’ll put all the names of the submitters in a hat and draw a random winner for a one-hour consulting session.
You would be able to consult with me on a number of things:
*Any aspect of tradeshow marketing: planning, booth design, staff training, etc.
*Social Media: marketing, setting up a blog, podcasting, video blogging, how to best use Twitter or Facebook, setting up a Facebook company ‘fan’ page, getting traffic, what to Tweet about, etc.
And yes, I look to include many of these ideas into the re-vamped e-book. Naturally we would include your name and links back to your company or blog.
So…what’s your best story or idea on using Social Media with Tradeshows, Conferences and Events?
Leave a Comment below, or zip to the Facebook page and post an idea there.
Kevin Andreassend ,
We are combining Formula One Simulation, Twitter feeds and blog updates for the expo for Event organisers. http://www.nzcee.com The SimDeck race car is a full size open wheeler F1 car with the amazing daytime ICE screens which creates a life size and very life like race experience. Bandwidth will determine how much video and graphics we can upload. Video streaming would have been nice…oh well next time
Tweets will be as follows – providing a driver’s company web site and their times. We will also be displaying occasional messages as well.
the tweets will appear displayed on site, http.tweettwins.wordpress.com http://simdeckracing.wordpress.com
We see many opportunities for this activity and iterations …racing starts Thursday 9am New Zealand Time Thanks to http://www.simdeck.com for the Formula Race car.
Steve Farnsworth (@Steveology) ,
I would use social media prior to the show to understand what my customers and potential customers want their experience to be, e.g., product information, workshop, demo, consultation, other. From there I would use social media channels to help create and customize that experience.
Andy Saks ,
I’ve begun harnessing web video in a brand new, unique and powerful way: Trade Show BubbleTweets.
BubbleTweets are 30-second videos that are linked to your Twitter account. The video pops up in a little bubble on your Twitter profile page, plays through, and pop away. There is no charge to use it and you can upload unlimited videos.
I’d already been hired by AT&T to give their booth presentations at the Educause trade show (November 4-6, Denver). To generate awareness of AT&T’s presence, curiosity about its products, and incentives to visit the booth, I created an AT&T-branded BubbleTweet video. It teases our booth presentations, and mentions a special “Twitter code word” that people will yell at the end of the presentation to win a prize. The video is posted here:
http://bbltwt.com/xghh2
This promotional BubbleTweet has been viewed over 400 times in less than three days by Educause attendees and exhibitors, and will boost attendance, buzz, and leads at AT&T’s booth. Moreover, because the Twitter code word is AT&T’s Twitter ID, when people shout it during the presentation, they’ll be strengthening awareness of AT&T’s Twitter presence, and thus increasing AT&T’s Twitter following.
I’m now working with other clients on BubbleTweets for their upcoming trade shows. Some will feature other booth attractions, some will highlight special events and contests, and some may even be shot and posted from the show floor during the event, featuring interviews with booth staff and clips from my theater presentations.
I’m so excited to be having so much success with BubbleTweet videos. You can see the rest of my BubbleTweet videos here: http://www.bubbletweet.com/channel/chiefsparkler.
Thanks for your consideration Tim!
Andy Saks, Spark Presentations
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChiefSparkler
Tim Patterson ,
Andy – thanks for the submission. I love Bubble Tweets. One of my favorite users of Bubble Tweets is “The Expert” (okay, a friend of mine) http://twitter.com/theexpert so I’m glad to see more people using them, especially in conjunction with tradeshows!
Kim Dunaway ,
Thanks for mentioning BubbleTweet. I hadn’t come across it before but it looks like a fun and effective way to gain attention. I’m going to create some shortly and hopefully get some positive feedback.
Dasha Bushmakin ,
As you may know, TSNN (a division of Tarsus Group plc) has been the most widely-consulted event database on the Internet since 1996 – with proprietary data on more than 19,000 trade shows, exhibitions, public vendors and conferences, and over 5,000 page views daily. We were hoping to let you know about our social media efforts.
We include social media in our marketing campaigns for our new and existing clients. This allows for better exposure for TSNN and also generates qualified leads for TSNN in the process. TSNN.com invites all event industry professionals to join our new group to network and share for mutual benefit (TSNN.com – The Trade Show News Network): http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=94524, with over 2,000 members, and follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TSNN_com_US, over 700 followers.
We also use “real live tweeting” during shows, in which attendees or those interested in the shows but unable to attend, may still have an opportunity to participate. With Tarsus Group plc, we recently held MTO Summit and OnRec, hashtags such as #onrec and #mtosummit were used. We have also used the opportunity to use Twitter to spread awareness about Stephen Nold’s E-4 Tech Panel (http://www.mtosummit.com/page.cfm/Action=Seminars/CategoryID=2) In the past, we have also used Twitter and LinkedIn to create publicity about our webinars, such as Susan Friedmann’s webinar which had over 700 registrants worldwide.
Dasha Bushmakin
TSNN, Tarsus Group plc
http://www.tsnn.com
Dasha Bushmakin ,
As you may know, TSNN (a division of Tarsus Group plc) has been the most widely-consulted event database on the Internet since 1996 – with proprietary data on more than 19,000 trade shows, exhibitions, public vendors and conferences, and over 5,000 page views daily. We were hoping to let you know about our social media efforts.
We include social media in our marketing campaigns for our new and existing clients. This allows for better exposure for TSNN and also generates qualified leads for TSNN in the process. TSNN.com invites all event industry professionals to join our new group to network and share for mutual benefit (TSNN.com – The Trade Show News Network): http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=94524, with over 2,000 members, and follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TSNN_com_US, over 700 followers.
We also use “real live tweeting” during shows, in which attendees or those interested in the shows but unable to attend, may still have an opportunity to participate. With Tarsus Group plc, we recently held MTO Summit and OnRec, hashtags such as #onrec and #mtosummit were used. We have also used the opportunity to use Twitter to spread awareness about Stephen Nold’s E-4 Tech Panel (http://www.mtosummit.com/page.cfm/Action=Seminars/CategoryID=2) In the past, we have also used Twitter and LinkedIn to create publicity about our webinars, such as Susan Friedmann’s webinar which had over 700 registrants worldwide.