8 Steps to Get More Eyes on Your Brand at Trade Shows

So you have finalized your trade show booth design and have the location locked-in for your trade show appearance. Now the next step is to raise awareness about your trade show appearance. This step is divided into two phases, which are often conducted parallel to each other. These two phases are called promoting off-site and on-site. We’ll explain both of them. Off-site promotional activities are what you do outside the trade show.

This includes outdoor advertising, social media marketing and content marketing. On-site is simply the engagement activities you and your staff perform to promote your brand at the trade show. This includes product presentations, demonstrations, being a speaker at panels and running contests. So now that you know the two phases, let’s give you some tips to optimize your strategies for increasing your brand awareness at a trade show.

These tips work for exhibitors who invest in trade show display rentals and the ones who choose to buy a trade show booth.

1. Do your research

Get to know everything you can about the trade show you attend. This will help you spot opportunities to promote your own brand. Some factoids you should know about the trade show would be:

Is the trade show location a popular destination? Is it located near a famous location or business center?
Does the trade show conduct events? If they do then, what’s the schedule and are exhibitors allowed to participate?
Who are the speakers at the trade show?
Which group are you targeting at the show?
Does the trade show offer to promote companies in its own marketing campaign?
What are the most popular trade show booth ideas for brand visibility that work at this trade show?

2. Integrate digital platforms

Digital platforms act as an awareness multiplier for brand promotions. Create a calendar to schedule your posts on industry forums and event pages with hashtags. Follow pages and groups where your target audience is found and create interest by posting about your event appearance. Be sure to follow the necessary guidelines for posting at various groups and forums. You don’t want your posts to be deleted.

3. Create a website

Setting up an information page on your own website about the trade show is also a good way to raise awareness about your brand. Just make sure that your posts are not just promotional, try to add personality and offer the reader some value in the form of information or tangible offers. A pure promotional post will turn away readers and increase your bounce rate, lowering your visibility to search engines.

4. Publish widely

Post your promotions extensively and across dozens of channels if possible. By casting a wide net, you can improve your visibility to your target audience, generate social proof and improve your ranking within search engines. So, you should post and share your content on every platform. It doesn’t even have to be your content, you can share content that’s posted by the trade show organizers themselves or any industry reporter.

5. Keep posting during the event

You can continue raising awareness for your brand, even at the show. As an insider at the trade show, you can give your audience a look into what’s happening at the event. Because curiosity is a powerful drive, post about upcoming activities, speakers and discussions.

Cover product demonstrations and visit booths that complement your own-brand offering. Post pictures with other participants and don’t be afraid to make it entertaining by posting memes and making it into a story that ties back to the event.

6. Tell a good story

Stories are what stick in the mind of your visitors. A story doesn’t have to always be exciting. It can be insightful or weaved using serendipity. Perhaps you have a story about stage fright, a story about meeting an industry personality your look up to, or it can be about a business partner or your first customer. Stories instantly generate interest. They capture a reader’s attention long enough to propagate information about your brand.

7. Give incentives

Giveaways, discount coupons and competition prizes still retain their charm. Everyone loves to get a deal. So make it a part of your marketing. In the digital space, you can run competitions where participants can win prizes. And at your booth, you can provide giveaways in exchange for visitors geo-tagging your booth on their social media accounts.

8. Keep engaging your audience after the show

You’ll build a lot of mileage with your target group if you continue to engage with them. Thank your audience for attending the show and visiting your booth. Have a feature post in the form of a video or an article that highlights everything that happened at the show.

If feasible, reach out through private messages and ask for feedback, thank them for spending their precious time at your booth. Let your audience know that you will continue to post after the event. This will open up new opportunities to network and participate at other trade shows with your booth for rent.

So there you have it, our eight tips to help you increase your brand awareness at the trade show you plan to attend.