Going Mobile in your Expo Displays
Social media at trade shows and other public venues isn’t going away; it’s only getting more common. There’s a war for engagement going on right now, and companies are utilizing every tool they can find to motivate people and get them going social even while they’re at events.
It’s a little bit mind-bending as a concept, but the upcoming generation that’s been riding the high tide of the social tech boom has been living their lives that way. So, there’s an even bigger push towards having exposition events within events, meta-events even, designed to keep visitors occupied and thinking about your expo displays throughout the show.
This is pretty highbrow stuff, but that is what’s blowing in the winds at the moment. Mobile social is growing in a big way. People’s online and offline lives are becoming interwoven, and it’s taking them back to public meeting spaces to untangle the mess with facetime over drinks. In trade show display terms, it also finally gets them out of the stuffy display halls and someplace they can hear again.
So, if you’re stuck manning the trade show booth, how do you get in on mobile social and keep people engaged throughout?
Here are a few thoughts…
Ideas On Integrating Mobile Social Media Into Your 2013 Expo Displays
Create an “easter egg” hunt around the complex, using FourSquare or similar services. All of these mobile social apps center on getting people to gather in one place. Or multiple places. It’s a little cheap, but it gives them something physical to do if there’s a decent payoff at the end. Think constructive. This would be a good gateway to a larger promotion, such as a demo\beta test.
Talk to the trade show management about whether you could break up your trade show booth somehow, or put pieces of it outside the main floor. Create a “fractured” expo display that gets woven together by the mobile social element. Somewhere near the four corners would be good placement. Groups that split up to wander the floor could be encouraged to let each other know when they find another piece of your booth.
Keep up the live updates throughout the show. Seriously, you probably cannot put enough media online as the show goes on. Consider looking at newer social services like Tout or Twitter’s new Vine, which are designed around creating extremely short videos capturing a moment, like video snapshots. Consider having a couple representatives from your expo displays who simply roam the floor, looking for good moments and capturing them for your social feeds.
Host more at-booth events as well, rather than strictly looking to go outside. You still want them coming to your expo displays, after all! Having some more events, games, or meet ups encourages visitors to come back for more. Look to having collaborative events where people can get, at least, fun pictures to put online. It’ll go even better if they can make something more substantial out of it.
Keep reaching out to bloggers in your industry and inviting them to your trade show displays. Talk to them. Ask them what, from a tech perspective, they’d like to see at trade shows in your industry. The social writers and commentators are the ones who’ll have the most perspective on what social engagement people want to see. Use the resource, and see if they favor you.
Keep looking towards social and mobile solutions to keep visitors’ attention in your upcoming expo displays. The more ways you can get them engaged, playing, and interacting with you throughout the show, the better it’ll go for your lead-building.