TradeshowGuy Blog

Tag: Twitter

  • Is Foursquare the Next Killer App for Tradeshow Marketing?

    The year: 2016

    The scene: a busy tradeshow floor in Chicago

    Scr000029
    The situation: almost half of the exhibitors at the show are welcoming visitors to the show, who are ‘checking in’ via Foursquare (or some similar app – who’s to know what will survive that long). After then check in at the booth, they’re rewarded with a couple of spiffs. Maybe a free download just for show visitors, a store discount, or a chance to win something cool. Maybe they get a free one-on-one with the CEO. Doesn’t matter, could be anything of value. By checking in, they also automatically are asked if they want to opt-in to receiving special offers via text message or old-fashioned e-mail.

    When visitors check the stats in Foursquare they see that hundreds of visitors have also checked in at the booth, as well as many others. There’s a thriving online community of people who are also connecting face-to-face thanks to location-based-marketing apps. It could be Facebook, could be Foursquare or any other of the LBS (location based services) apps that are thriving in the new, increasingly connected world. With the deep personal profiling that has grown in the past few years, it’s easy to connect with people who are interested in the same things, or have certain characteristics in common, such as location, similar job titles, or even off-job interests like golf or skiing. Meetings are arranged either by users or companies who have an interest in bringing these small groups together. Kind of like a Tweetup on steroids.

    The scene is not that far from reality. Location based marketing is exploding. Mobile marketing is right behind. Some people are already starting to use the mobile and GPS tools to great effect. Sarah Perez writes on Read Write Web that the key to success for your location-base app is to find a way to reward people for their activities. So what’s your reward?

    Indeed. Give something of value to a group of people that are hungry for that item and you’ve started opening the door to a new client-customer relationship.

    While Lopez refers to a recent study by Forrester Research that shows ‘only 4% of U.S. online adults have ever used location-based apps such as these, and only 1% out of those that use them do so more than once per week’ – just think back to the middle part of the last decade where people were just getting excited about podcasting and blogging, both of which are now well established. Web 2.0 was the new buzz. Since 2005, the incredible growth of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has been the focus of countless media spotlights.

    The world is going mobile, and GPS-related services and location-based marketing is poised to take off big time. There’s huge potential there for the masses. And even now, as the Forrester research points out, the current small group of users of Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, MyTown, Brightkite are all very influential. People look to them for opinions and leadership. Friend ask what they’re up to and who’d they buy from.

    It may not be the time to jump into location-based marketing quite yet for a tradeshow, but if you did you would not be too far ahead of anyone.

    Creative Commons License photo credit: abulhussain

  • Are You Using Twitter to Drive Traffic to Your Blog and Event?

    Now that the first quarter of 2010 is officially in the books, I was curious how the viewership on this blog went. And since I can sometimes be a stats geek, I thought I’d post a few numbers.

    With Google Analytics and a WordPress stats plug-in, I can access just about anything I want. But all I want to share is an insight (not a big one) that if a post link gets re-tweeted a few times, it’ll end up in my ‘top views.’

    For starters, the two most re-tweeted posts came in as the most viewed (as you might expect):

    23 Pre-Show Marketing Promotions, Tactics and Ideas and Twittering at #ExpoWest. They were each viewed around 100 times in the past three months. Maybe not much if you’re Google, but for a li’l ol’ niche-oriented B2B blog, I’m pretty happy with those numbers (the three listing above the two most-viewed posts are pages, not posts).

    top posts on TradeshowGuy Blog first Q 2010
    In the past seven days, two other highly re-tweeted posts have been moving up the viewership list:

    27 Un-Boring Things to do At Your Next Tradeshow and How to Find the Right Tradeshow for Your Company. Both were posted this week and thanks to the Twitterverse re-tweeting them a number of times, the readership climbed quickly. I suspect the ‘list’ approach for the ’27’ post had a lot to do with getting the re-tweets; that the the subject of ‘un-boring’…both of which serve to create interest and draw listeners, both done by design.

    top posts on TradeshowGuy Blog last 7 days

    If you’re a blogger, you should be using these tools to drive traffic. After all, if you write a post, you want people to read it, don’t you?

    One thing I do is use HootSuite.com so that I can schedule tweets ahead of time; this gives me a chance to post the link 6 – 8 times. Each time it picks up another tweeter who re-tweets it, sending more readers to the post.

    I think there is a limit to scheduling tweets though, and I’m not sure where to draw the line. I’ve seen people post links and have them scheduled to go out hourly for several days. Yeah, spammy, I know. But with what I feel is a good post I would like to maximize readership. And the great thing about Twitter is that your community will tell you what’s good – what hits their buttons – and what is not.

    One more item: back in February I did an online webinar on ‘Using Social Media to Close More Biz at Tradeshows’ and used nothing but social media and e-mail to drive traffic to the sign-up page. When all was said and done I had a lot of support from the tradeshow community (see screenshot of a handful of re-tweets below), and over the nearly three weeks leading up to the webinar it was interesting to see the numbers:

    • 880 click-throughs to the sign-up page
    • 125 sign-ups for the free webinar
    • 58 attendees

    Given that my budget was literally zero – just an investment of time and the ability to use the social media tools – I was more than pleased with the outcome.

    Social Media-Tradeshow Webinar RT's

    If I wanted to use traditional media to drive traffic (direct mail, postcards, radio, print, etc.) it would have been a huge undertaking and would have taken months to get everthing set up and implemented. And it would have cost thousands of dollars. With social media all it took was a YouTube and Twitter account, a Facebook page and the ability to create video promos and write posts about it….and the time to make it happen.

    If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m sold on social media for its cost-effectiveness and ability to spread useful information to a lot of interested people quickly. And get them to take action.

  • Skiing and Social Media Tradeshow Marketing (Seminar Coming!)

    What does skiing have to do with using social media to market your tradeshow booth? Very little. Okay, it’s a biiiiig stretch! But nonetheless, earlier this week I managed to get up to Hoodoo Ski Bowl in central Oregon to do a little skiing…and daydreaming about using social media, Twitter and…well, you’ll just have to watch the video:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HshK8roKLrU

    And yes, I am planning a live/local seminar (wow, I sound just like a local TV newscaster –Live, Local!) coming up on April 8 here in Salem, Oregon. Are you in the area? Can you come? Find out more by clicking here.

    Early bird registration is still underway, which means you save $10. And IF you manage to read the fine print, you’ll see that you are actually getting my whole Social Media Tradeshow Marketing Bundle AND the live seminar…for ten bucks less than the current price of the bundle. Hmmm…is this a clever marketing ploy, or just plain stupidity?

  • Social Media Tradeshow Marketing Survey – Final Results

    twitter logo vampire gothTwo dozen people responded to my short survey last month on how companies use Social Media in their tradeshow marketing. Admittedly, the results are not scientific. But I feel they are telling. Even with a couple dozen people you start to feel the pulse of how people are incorporating social media into their event marketing efforts.

    Creative Commons License photo credit: Catherinette Rings Steampunk

    First we asked if your company is involved in Social Media, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube?

    • 95% said YES

    Do you use Social Media to promote your tradeshow appearances?

    • 81% said YES

    Does your company have an active blog (posting at least 5 – 10 times per month)?

    • 63% said YES

    Does your company have a Facebook page?

    • 68% said YES

    Does anyone at your company have a Twitter account that represents your company? (could be more than one person)

    • 81% said YES

    Does your company have a YouTube channel?

    • 45% said YES

    If you have a YouTube channel, how frequently do you post videos?

    • less than once a month – 81%
    • 2 – 3 times a month – 9%
    • twice a week of more – 9%

    How important is it to your company to drive tradeshow sales using Social Media?

    • not important at all – 4%
    • we’re thinking about it, but uncommitted – 9%
    • looking at it closely and experimenting – 45%
    • we’re heavily involved and looking for more ways to use SM – 36%
    • none of the above – 4%

    Are you interested in attending a webinar or teleseminar on using Social Media to clost more Biz at your Tradeshow?

    • 64% – YES
    • 36% – NO

    If YES, what is the most important thing you’d like to have covered?

    Comments included:

    • I would like content to go beyond the basics of what these social media platforms are and how to start an account and post, and focus specifically on fun, creative ways for the experiences user to drive traffic to the booth that will convice the company’s tradeshow manager of its value!
    • Case studies
    • Even though it’s really hard for me to do teleseminars/webinars since I’m on the road a lot, I’m always looking for ways to build show traffic and would do my best to participate. My main difficulty with using social media for shows, at the moment at least, is that my core client base is not even involved with social media. Many are on LinkedIn. But with that being a more stagnant social network, they set it and forget it. Some are on Facebook, but primarily for family, friends and to hook up with their high school buds. Twitter? Of my core “in person” network, I can name only 3 people — yes, 3 of my 230+ followers — that are even remotely active on Twitter and that’s not daily activity either. I don’t have a “blog” per se, but do have a weekly email newsletter that has an intensely loyal following of 50 or so from my in-person network. So that’s about as social as they get. What Twitter offers me is a new universe of social media aware people to network with. Many are in my home Chicago area, but it will be a while before we tweet up or start attending the same events. Always love your tweets. Thanks for being part of my social media network!
    • Real life case studies of how people are monetizing social media in events
    • Getting people to the booth
    • Facilitating inbound marketing using SM How will tools like foursquare affect 2010-11 event marketing? best practices in the showscape with SM?

    The goal of the survey was to give me some food for thought and look to create a webinar that focuses on the needs of those who responded. Right now I’m working on the content and depending on the rest of my workload plan to roll out the webinar in late January or early February. If you’re subscribed to our newsletter you’ll be notified with plenty of time to sign up!

  • Podcast: Andrea Cannavina Interview

    Andrea Cannavina of LegalTypist.com, who was featured in our e-book “Twittering Your Way to Tradeshow Success” discusses her experiences in using Twitter at tradeshows, conferences and events in detail.

    Hosted by Tim Patterson, VP of Sales and Marketing at Interpretive Exhibits, Inc. in Salem, Oregon.

  • Podcast: Twittering with Tradeshows; an interview with Michael McCamish

    Michael McCamish, the Manager of e-Commerce Marketing for Gaylord Hotels, discusses his experiences following various sessions at tradeshows by ‘tweeting’ and following other Twitter users. He tells me that he finds Twitter extremely useful in tracking events.