7 Pre-Trade Show Marketing Techniques
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Blast on Social Media: Over 80% of adult Americans have a social media account - and probably you do too! Promote your participation at an upcoming trade show on all your social media platforms. Each platform should have a unique voice and image that targets your audience on that channel.
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Emails: Email marketing and newsletters are a great way to inform contacts, customers and prospects that you will be attending a tradeshow. Provide a photo of your booth, and the details of where it is and how to find you. Invite people to visit your booth, or set up 1:1 meetings during the show. Set up a trade show email marketing schedule.
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Giveaways: Build online visibility and buzz about your attendance at the tradeshow by holding a giveaway before or during the show. Create a landing page for the show on your website that includes the giveaway and all important information about the show, and a picture of your booth so visitors can easily find you. Promotional swag and freebies are important for during show giveaways. Pre-show giveaways could include a drawing for a special gift, a free introductory product or an exclusive show discount.
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Sponsor an Event > Help the trade show promote your business by sponsoring an event or activity at the show. Typically event sponsors are listed in the trade show pre-event marketing. Depending on your budget, there are many event sponsorship opportunities at tradeshows.
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Leverage Your Team: Make sure all of your team knows about the trade show and your show goals. Ask them to spread the word to their professional contacts - whether or not they are attending the show! If they are attending the show, make sure everyone is assigned a booth pre-show promotion job.
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Ads: Determine your paid, earned, and owned advertising strategy and budget.
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Postcards: Postcards are still an effective and affordable option for many businesses to reach their audience. Whether left at a location for consumer pickup or sent through the mail, a postcard is a tangible that your prospect can use to remember their intent to attend. For B2C businesses, an attractive useful postcard featuring your booth at an upcoming tradeshow is likely to get posted on the fridge or attached to the household calendar. For B2B, an eye-catching postcard can stand out and get noticed in the daily mail.
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