Attending a trade show is a fight for attention. Your business has one booth and one shot at attracting attendees and turning them into qualified leads. How can you best show off your product or service? How can you maximize your ROI at trade shows? The answer lies in the content you create. For trade shows, 'content' can take many shapes: brochures, giveaways, blogs, emails, banners, and more. If you want to build effective content for trade shows, keep these four tips below in mind.
1. Differentiate
There are plenty of different ways to differentiate at a trade show. You can simply have the most unique product or service. Your booth can be staffed by the most energetic and magnetic people. When it comes to content, differentiation can be the difference between an attendee stopping by or an attendee strolling past. Every booth is likely to have some combination of a banner, a bunch of brochures on the table, and maybe a video playing on loop on a laptop. To stand out, think ahead and offer eye catching, innovative content that will draw attention and give you the opportunity to pitch your product or service.
2. Focus on Engagement
It's one thing to attract someone to your booth. It's another to keep them there. Focus on content that will keep attendees engaged. The longer an attendee visits your booth, the better your chance at pitching your product or service and building a relationship. Consider a video that shows off your product or an augmented reality experience that allows attendees to interact with your offering. Give attendees something to touch, something to participate in, something to experience. That can be a touch screen or it can be a game. Whatever it is, make sure that it keeps attendees engaged.
3. Build for Lead Capture
How are you capturing leads during your trade show appearance? Make sure that you build content that makes lead capture easy. The days of collecting business cards or asking people to write down their information on a form are over. At best, capturing leads that way is inefficient. At worst, it's intrusive and off-putting. No one wants to be hounded for their personal information. Try building content that has lead capture built in. You want attendees to feel like they're being asked for information for a reason. For example, consider an immersive experience that requires contact information to participate.
4. Leverage Technology
Think outside the booth. Modern technology has made it possible to transcend spacial limitations. Now, technology like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are more available than ever. Utilize these nascent technologies and make the most of your trade show appearance. When your competition is handing out brochures and pens, give attendees something to tell their friends about. Build an immersive experience that incorporates 3D models, video, and more. Gripping technology, by itself, can draw attendees to your booth and make your product or service stand out.
