What if you could engage attendees, potential buyers, customers and partners before a trade show?

Start the buzz about the show, your booth, and your company’s new and exciting developments. The more information your potential customers and attendees have at their disposal, the better they can find out about you and your presence at the show.   Everyone knows that utilizing pre show mailings are an effective and targeted way to generate interest.  At the same time, you should also be using social media…

Here are 5 ways you can generate interest and content before the show that will increase engagement:

Create a news center on your site 3 months prior to every tradeshow you plan to participate in this year. Post general information about the show, your booth location and the product or service you’re offering this year. The more content you post the more reason attendees and the media have to visit your website before, during and after the show. Set a plan to update the content weekly, press-release style, leading up to the show.Increase social engagement by posting your content or news about the show on your LinkedIn and Facebook site.  Post new content weekly: photos, press kits, overviews and fact sheets.Twitter has a great news platform that allows anyone to find what they want as long as you tweet it out. Be sure to use the same hashtag (#) everyone else is using regarding the show you are exhibiting at.Set up an area on your website, Facebook and LinkedIn to set up appointments for the show. Invite prospective customers 3-6 weeks before the event to meet you at the show.Get in touch with the trade show host company and see if they offer a news section on the main exhibition site for attendees. The amount of page views you may get would be a great advantage in driving attendees to your booth.

Shows are about engagement, what better way than to start now by using a combination of print, email, and social media. It creates the opportunity for everyone inquiring about the show and attending the show to share it. This is crucial for those attending, but also, for those who cannot. It gives you an advantage over your competition.

Thanks to Debbie Bonnanzio for her contribution to this blog.