If you’re hoping to boast a successful booth at your next trade show, you’ll need to go prepared. It’s notoriously difficult to make any business stand out in such an environment, so finding ways to get ahead of the competition is crucial. This is where technology can make a huge difference, allowing you to find new and inventive ways to entice potential clients over to your area of the room.
It’s important to make a statement if you want to achieve success at a trade show. With this in mind, here are few tech tips to help you at your next event.
Social media
Pre-event coverage is crucial in this day and age. By making both current and potential clients aware of your presence at an event, your reach will increase when they inevitably share it with their acquaintances. Suddenly, you’ll have a pre-existing audience before they’ve ever stepped foot through the door. Don’t just limit yourself to pre-event social media activity though. A trade show is also a great excuse to provide constant updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, detailing the sights and sounds of the show.
Eye-catching displays
If you go to a trade show, you expect to see eye-catching displays by default. Many companies opt for in-house produced marketing material like posters and brochures to attract potential clients at an event, while technology can enhance this further. Adopting at least some form of display screen is practically a necessity these days, while huge video LED walls can make a huge statement about your brand. It’s up to you how you manage this, but make sure you prepare ahead of time.
Virtual reality
Flashy displays and enthusiastic booth hosts are just two key aspects of booth management. Both can do wonders for your company, but if you really want to stand out, you’ll need to go the extra mile. Virtual reality is a particularly exciting way of enticing potential clients to your booth, offering immersive experiences that can be tailored to your needs. Devices like the HTC Vive are still new in the public’s consciousness, and their ever-growing popularity makes them a great choice for your next event.
Demos and competitions
You can’t get away from freebies, demos and competitions at trade shows. There’s a reason for that! Surveying the mass of booths exhibiting at an event can be an exhausting and a somewhat dull task when you’re being plied with information.
As a result, providing ways for the general public to get hands-on with games, interactive kiosks and the aforementioned virtual reality can prove incredibly beneficial. Additionally, competitions often require the collation of emails to alert winners, and with prior permission, you can then add those potential clients to your company’s mailing list.
QR codes
There’s really no excuse for ignoring QR codes at trade shows. These marketing materials are completely free to generate in many instances, and can be incorporated in almost any way you desire. The barcode-like images can then be scanned by passers-by at your event, taking them to a pre-determined destination of your choice on the web. From leaflets to booth displays, QR codes are both an easy and highly-intriguing way of enticing potential clients to interact with your business.
Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to the five tips we’ve mentioned today. They’re best used as a guide to help determine the best fit for your brand, and all of them can be tailored to your needs. And, if you’ve found another great way to incorporate technology in your trade show events, don’t be shy to let us know in the comments section!
Further reading on trade shows
