Social Media for Exhibitions

Pre-Show

• Begin a hashtag campaign – Beginning a hashtag campaign on Twitter is an excellent way to get exhibitors, guests and others interested in the event to talk about it. It’s a great way to begin engaging with others too!
• Business promotion – If you’re going to be at the exhibition, you need to let people know! Talk about it on your website and social media, for example. You may find that more people will become interested in your event if they know your business is going to be there!
• Host a networking event to build awareness for the event– Depending on the size of the exhibition, this could be an easy way to promote the event and your business! Have a dinner, a breakfast meeting or even simply create an online networking hour! This creates a brilliant atmosphere surrounding the event and gives you a big opportunity to promote your business and build connections prior to the event.
• Connect with people related to the event – It is usually quite easy to find the people related to the event as they’ll be talking about it on social media too! Send them a quick message or organise a short meeting and introduce yourself! Many exhibitions will have a list of exhibitors available on their website too to make finding them a bit easier for you! It has been said that building a connection prior to an event results in a long term impact when you meet face to face so it’s highly beneficial.
• Additional media exposure – Promote that you’re going to be at the exhibition in any way possible! Are you going to another event beforehand? Mention it there! Contact local media such as radio stations and newspapers to get additional advertising. Invite some of your connections that you believe would find the exhibition beneficial and spread the word!

During The Show

• Take pictures – Pictures have proven to get more engagement on social media than text so they’re a great way to get people talking about the event on your social media! Whether photos of your stand, other stands, speakers or even visitors to your stand will keep your social media connections engaged with the event.
• Video footage – Alike pictures, videos are also excellent at driving engagement and allow your connections to feel like they attended the exhibition from the comfort of their home or office. Presentations, speakers and other key events throughout the day are ideal for videos.
• Schedule Social Media – Exhibitions are busy places and you won’t want the added stress of updating social media platforms whilst you’re there. There are a number of platforms available that allow you to schedule social media posts in advance so you won’t have to worry. Again, your connections will be interested in the key events throughout the day so inform them of any talks, presentations and other events. Many people attending the event will be engaging on social media throughout the day on their mobile phones so ensuring that you have an online presence throughout the day is vital to ensuring your business is talked about. However, you may still post occasional live updates throughout the day such as any changes during the day and photos that you might want posting immediately.
• Run a competition in conjunction and promote at the event – How many times have you been to an exhibition stand and they’ve been running a competition? They’re popular and are great for driving engagement on social media! From something small like ‘Guess How Many?…’ to ‘Enter your details to win…’. People who enter your competition are then likely to talk about it during or even after the event. Many people will follow-up after to check if they’ve won and this creates the perfect opportunity to build connections and generate business! If you gain someone’s details through the competition, ensure you definitely contact them and follow up to build your relationship too.
• Gain testimonials – Whether written or video, exhibitions give you the perfect opportunity to gain testimonials from guests that you can then use in the future. Future customers will always look for reviews on your business so gaining testimonials is very important and could determine whether your customer uses you or your competitor!

Post-Show

• Connections – You will have met many people through your time at the exhibition and though it may be time-consuming, connecting with them
• all on social media following the event will ensure that your business is remembered and increases your chances of business in the future.
• Write a review/ blog – Talking about your experience at the event is a great way to re-cap on the day and talk in summary about what happened. Remember to use photos, videos and testimonials in this and mention the benefit it had on you and your business. Writing about events has proven in the past to lead to businesses being offered to attend more events so it’s definitely worth your time!
• Thank everyone involved – Try to be personal and contact the individuals directly but don’t forget ANYONE! This is the time where even the exhibition designers, lighting and sound technicians should be thanked as this will portray how thankful you are and the event organisers will remember you for the future.