For most industries, trade shows, exhibitions and seminar are important points of contact with customers and potential customers. But they also represent a significant cost in the marketing budget so it’s important to optimize the outcome. The starting point is to manage activities according to the principle of “before, during, after”, and here digital channels open up totally new opportunities to reach and influence your audience.
Before the exhibition – take advantage of search patterns
Basic channels like invitations, PR and social media are important part of making the presence at the exhibition known – but there is also new and smarter solutions. For example, in the month before the show, as people are starting to plan their visit, the number of Google searches that include the trade show’s name increases dramatically.
This is a good way to catch those who have not already planned to visit you at the show by, for example, advertising based on the combination of “trade show name + opening hours” where the ad invites to the stand. Advertising can be done both directly in Google Search or by using keyword-based programmatic display advertising.
During the show – catch those who are there
Instead of spending money on expensive ads in the trade show’s own channels, you can reach visitors through geo-targeted advertising. This means your ads will only be shown to people within a radius of x km from where the event is being held. Most digital channels now have powerful geo-targeting, and you can work with all media types, from videos on YouTube to display advertising.
After the show – win new customers through account-based marketing
An interesting opportunity is to select 10-20 high-interest prospects and nurture them through account-based marketing (ABM), i.e. where your messages are directed only to the defined decision-makers in the target companies. This can be done traditionally via IP-controlled advertising, but today there are more digital channels you can use, which are often both more effective and less expensive. LinkedIn can be used to target specific companies, countries and titles. Geo-targeted advertising can be based on the address of the head office and the surrounding are, for example, and there are many more opportunities.
Be creative!
There are often even more ways to reach and communicate with potential customers. If it’s an international exhibition, the airport or the airport train are excellent spots to reach persons in a certain industry. Or the hotel areas during the evening hours.
And if you want to discuss effective communication, you are always welcome to contact ulf@sfinxconsulting.se
