With many aspects of businesses moving online, it is no surprise that tradeshows are going virtual. If you have attended them in the past or are preparing to attend one in the future, there are many changes and new ideas that you can think about and plan for. Here are just a couple of tips and tricks to help you get ready for a virtual tradeshow.
1. Branded Products
Make sure you have stocked up on appropriate custom swag before your event. Even though people aren’t going to be there in person to pick up freebies, you can still use them to send to customers to show your gratitude or as incentives for return customers. You could even send them out before the event and choose branded products that will be useful during the tradeshow itself, such as device chargers, earphones, or USB lanyards. It is always important to choose branded items that people will use and appreciate or are too cool and interesting to what to throw in the trash. It can also be beneficial to invest in more high-quality items, especially if you are saving some money in other areas when attending a tradeshow virtually.
2. Social Media
Make sure your followers know that you are going to be attending a virtual tradeshow by keeping all of your platforms and feeds updated before, during, and after the event. Social media marketing is a hugely popular and useful method of online marketing, as it allows you to reach a wide audience and is very cost-effective. Posting images, content, updates, links, competitions, and giveaways can all help to encourage customers to attend and keep them informed as to what you and your business are doing.
3. Interaction and Engagement
Another important element of an online tradeshow is to keep interacting and engaging with your audience, customers, and clients. This can be done in a variety of different ways, from live chat functions, social media, giveaways, and branded productions, following up leads, and live webinars and demonstrations. One of the main uses of a tradeshow is to demonstrate and promote your products and services, and you can still do this virtually. Educating and teaching viewers over the internet can also make your business more accessible to those who would not be able to attend the trade show in person, again helping to boost your brand and widen your reach.
4. Booth Appearance
Depending on what software is being used to host the event, you can have a huge number of options when it comes to customizing your booth virtually. It is often cheaper and much easier to decorate a virtual space than a real one, so you can have a lot of fun and make decisions that may not be viable in real life for a different number of reasons. Even though the event is online, it is important to remember the look and design, as this is how you are presenting yourself to the virtual world, and it is just as vital as good booth design is at a physical tradeshow.
