There’s nothing better than face-to-face communication to build engagement and sales. And that’s why tradeshows continue to be so popular with the B2B marketing crowd. They are a great way to meet one-on-one with prospects, to demo new products, and to gain awareness in the marketplace. And it doesn’t hurt that many of the best B2B trade shows are held in places like Las Vegas.
However, just showing up at these events is not enough. You have to put in a bit of effort to make sure that you are getting the most value from them. Here are just a few of the steps that you can take to build your leads with tradeshow marketing.
Tactic #1: Build excitement before the event even starts
Almost every event these days has a hashtag associated with it, and that’s a great way to see what others are saying about the event and then to join the conversation. If you’re on Twitter, you might send out a tweet with the hashtag, telling people that you’re excited about attending. And don’t forget about your corporate blog – that could be a great way to talk about your involvement in the tradeshow, how people can visit you at the event, and which panels or sessions you plan on attending.
Tactic #2: Interact with tradeshow speakers
One easy way to get in front of potential prospects is by interacting with the speakers, both in person and online. Find ways to insert your products and services into the conversation. A single re-tweet or mention by a prominent speaker at the event can go a long way. Better yet, see if someone from your organization can become a speaker at the event. That will give you even more credibility and visibility with potential prospects.
Tactic #3: Maximize your booth presence
In a best-case scenario, you will have a tradeshow booth in a high-traffic area. If not, no worries – but you will have to think about ways to draw more foot traffic to your booth. This might include a contest or giveaway, an exciting live demo, a free sample, or special VIP guests at your booth. And don’t forget the power of social media to build excitement about your booth presence. You can send out photos and even short video clips of what you’re doing at the event and how people can find you.
The contest or giveaway represents a great way to generate the best lead information. That’s because prospects are willing to give away their business cards to win something of value. That’s golden if you’re a B2B marketer. With just about any other form of promotion, the best that you can really hope for is a name and an email address. But just think of all the information on most business cards – job title, department name, company name and contact information.
With a clever combination of both online and offline activity, you can really maximize your attendance at any B2B tradeshow. They can be a fantastic source of leads, and a great way to meet with prospects one-on-one.
Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.