‘Trade shows & social media’ Articles
Written by Ken Newman on 20 July 2010
Hey Newman: I just got back from attending a trade show in Vegas and from the look of things, it seemed that most of the people staffing the booths just didn’t want to be there. Don’t you think there’s a much cheaper way to have a lousy time? —Gail from New York
This is a message for trade show vendors: At your next show, sneak up on your own booth. That’s right, pop out from around a corner about 10 yards back and take a good, honest look at your investment.
Do your booth staffers look like sad little wallflowers?
Do they look like kids at a high school social afraid to ask someone to dance?
Is there a guy sitting expressionless in front of a glass bowl of Hershey’s Kisses, wondering why no one is coming up to talk to him?
This “condition” is more common then you might think, especially with the smaller booths. At one recent show, I walked around and paid particular attention to the 5 x10 and 10 x10 booths. Often they’re manned by just two or three people who are so uncomfortable they’re burying their heads in books or dabbling with smartphones — just sitting there waiting for it all to be over.
I looked at these people and found myself thinking about Neil Strauss, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone best known for penning a book called, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. This was the inside story of guys who despite NOT being the most attractive males out there, pick up women with absolute ease. Strauss not only researched this “secret society,” he became arguably one of the top pickup artists in the world and actually started conducting workshops for the undesirable and uninitiated.
At the heart of this book is a philosophy about “how to engage people.” He argues that if you’re going to try to pick up a woman in a bar, you don’t say, “Can I buy you a drink?” You don’t ask anything that could elicit a “no” response. Instead, you “engage” her. You contrive a story seemingly playing out before her eyes and ask, “What do you think?” Yes, it’s an opening line. But it’s an opening line that’s not clichéd or overwrought; it’s a question that pulls this woman into a story with you through her advice or involvement.
Strauss’ philosophy is hardly limited to the world of pickup artists. “Engagement” is something that most certainly can be applied to trade show marketing. I was observing the booth staff at this recent trade show, and they weren’t engaging anyone. First of all, they’re sitting. Rule No. 1: No sitting! Secondly, even when standing, they look positively miserable. If you’re spending that kind of money at a trade show and you’re planning to go there with the attitude that you’d rather be anywhere else, then don’t go! And before you say a couple of staffers don’t represent the “enthusiasm of the company,” remember that these faces are your company for the purposes of these crucial three trade show days. They are the representative image of you and the images that attendees will remember.
Honestly, if I had some sort of magisterial banishment power, King Newman would have sent home half the people working this particular trade show. If you’re going to look bored — if you’re going to feel miserable — find another way to market your services.
Here’s the ironic thing: A lot of these same people will spend a fortune on search engine optimization, which is designed to drive traffic to their site. But they don’t spend any energy driving traffic into their booth. And that doesn’t necessarily mean hiring a trade show presenter like me but perhaps a crowd gatherer — at least someone with people skills! If the person in your booth is not the type who can go up to a perfect stranger and strike up a conversation, then they’re the wrong person to be at the show.
You need to find someone who is not just a technical expert; you also need your company’s best pickup artist.
Have an industry-related question? Send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth staff, booth traffic, engagement, passion, pickup artists
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations, Trade shows & social media | 2 Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 08 June 2010
Hey Newman, I’m back from my last trade show and just got done wading through about 10 pounds of brochures, flyers and press releases. I hate to admit it, but most of it is now on it’s way to the recycle center. Is this my fault or the exhibitors’? —Jeffrey in Redwood City
Jeffrey, I want you to imagine this: It’s Monday night, and you’ve just blocked out two hours for the season finale of “24.” During the next 120 minutes, as Jack Bauer saves everyone from everything, how often do you think you’ll see him with armfuls of papers, rustling through them for reference while he’s disarming a bomb or finding the bad guys? Never. Why? Because it’s on his phone. It’s on his thumb drive. It’s on his laptop or if and when there’s “24: The Movie,” on his iPad. It’s all about quick, simple, efficient, on-demand information access — especially when TV lives are on the line.
At the core, the trade show world isn’t very different. The smart companies are getting away from traditional media entirely. The trend started with moving from glossy paper handouts to CDs … then to 1 gig thumb drives. The next logical step is to point all those iPhone and iPad-toting attendees to a dedicated website landing page. Why burn through paper and budget when you can just direct people to YourNameHere.com/Interop? Virtually every trade show attendee has a handheld digital device, or two. Now it’s up to all of us to utilize them. In the meantime, exhibitors featuring innovative ways to share information will continue to best the booths with stacks and stacks of paper. At a recent show, one company was handing out 2-gig storage drives that were the no larger than a credit card. All that literature that would get trashed, was now treasured right there next to your Amex card. Brilliant.
Oh yeah, and those high capacity storage devices also lend themselves beautifully to video testimonials, product demos and other things that paper just can’t deliver.
I believe that attendees need to take some responsibility for this problem as well. Just last month I watched someone at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, going through their trade show bag and dumping just about EVERYTHING into the trash. Well, they DID rescue the t-shirts and flying monkeys …
Attendees should ask themselves — while still at the show — if they really need all those papers. They should also be asking the exhibitors if they have a green, travel-friendly alternative. If exhibitors find themselves going home with almost all of the literature they showed up with, how fast do you think they’ll adjust? Immediately!
Jeffrey, it’s not just about being green; it’s about being smart … and taking advantage of all the opportunities available in the digital trade show world.
Have an industry-related question? Send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: digital devices, going green, trade show trends
Posted in Booth staff, Going green at trade shows, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade shows & social media | 6 Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 07 May 2010
1) Realize smaller can be better
When selecting your booth size, keep in mind that investing in a 20×40 might not guarantee you a more successful show. A smaller booth that is constantly packed is a lot less expensive than a large half-empty booth and will generate much more excitement. Think of your last dinner party. Doesn’t everyone seem to congregate in the smallest room in the house?
2) Make sure your booth staff is ready to talk to attendees
That means don’t sit down. Avoid standing in groups of two or more fellow staffers. Stand near the aisles. Look out at the crowd and make eye contact. Smile. Don’t say, “Can I help you?” They’ll say, “NO.” Instead, look at their name tags. Use their name. Ask them what their company does. Invite them into the booth. Now you’re getting somewhere.
3) Quickly follow up on leads
Three-quarters of the leads generated at trade shows are never followed up on … and when they are followed up, it tends to be way too late. Those 2,000 leads you got don’t mean anything if you don’t do something with them. You need a way to categorize your leads as “HOT,” “warm” and “cold” — and with hot leads, there’s no such thing as getting in touch too soon. First contact should come within days of the trade show’s end. When weeks or months go by, you just end up lumped together with all the other SPAM.
4) Use giveaways to build booth traffic
BUT, don’t just give stuff away. USE that giveaway item to quiz the audience on what they’ve just heard. Use it to get them to ask questions. You can also use higher-priced giveaways (from thumb drives to HD TVs to wads of cash) as an incentive to get people to the demo stations and get them into the booth. And consider “green” giveaways. Cheaply made swag just ends up in the trash and then in landfills. You want your giveaways to last … so that attendees hold onto your branded item as long as possible.
5) Keep product demos short
Seven minutes is ideal. Ten minutes is the limit. Fifteen minutes … Get the hook! Trade show attendees have a lot of real estate to cover. Don’t feel you have to tell them your entire story. Pique their interest. Get them to want to know more. Get them into the booth.
6) Limit your seating
A seating area with 50 chairs is intimidating. Few people want to be the first to sit down. Also, if you have an audience of 25 people, it still looks half empty. But with a dozen or so seats, you’re looking at a standing-room-only crowd. People walking by will be more interested in what’s going on if all the seats are full. It’s only natural to wonder what could be going on over there.
7) Have at least one crowd gatherer
We are not talking about scantily clad eye candy for your booth. We’re talking about warm, engaging, gregarious greeters. We’re talking about men and women who know how to chat up people in the aisles, ask them questions, invite them into your booth, introduce them to your knowledgeable (and well-trained) staff. These crowd gatherers will continue to invite people to stop and listen even after the presentation has begun. If you skip the crowd gatherers because of the stereotypes, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
8 ) Insist on an “open” booth design
Think about the lines. Think about the traffic flow. And think about how much you enjoyed the last time you couldn’t find your car in a parking garage. Try to design your booth in a way where there are virtually no impediments in any direction for someone coming in or someone going out. Make the booth’s architecture as open as possible to create maximum flow. You want people to just stroll through and almost accidentally find themselves in the booth. Booth layout and thoughtfulness has much more to do with success than booth size and “impressiveness.”
9) Do your pre-show work!
Promote in advance using social media. Send e-blasts to prospective attendees. Offer up a promotional tease to get people into the booth before the show even starts. Tweet from the trade show floor with your latest news and special offers. Utilize video. Do a “Live from the Trade Show Floor” spot and a daily wrap-up. Announce news and promotions with all the fanfare a live recording can offer. Make it short, interesting and something to get people excited in anticipation of your event.
10) Utilize a professional presenter
Bippy the Mime making a workstation out of balloons may be impressive, but it’s not likely to ensure you qualified leads. Have someone represent your company who is engaging, knowledgeable and will interact with the audience. Most trade show demos seem to be staged readings of marketing white papers. Whether you hire a professional presenter or not, don’t do this … under any circumstances. Everyone talks about “24/7, valued-added solutions.” Your audience will tune out. Say it in layman’s terms, and say it with passion. Find a reason to truly care about your subject matter.
This article originally appeared as a guest contribution on the ChoiceVendor.com blog. We’ll return next week to the usual Q&A format. If you have an industry-related question, send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth design, Booth staff, crowd gathering, lead follow up, targeted giveaways
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Going green at trade shows, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations, Trade shows & social media | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 17 November 2009
Hey Newman, I don’t want to tweet and there’s nothing you can do to make me. That’s not really a question, but I wanted to say it anyway. –Scared in Seattle
Okay, SIS, I hear you. People are still very resistant to jump into the whole Twitter thing … especially when I move from talking about 140 characters to “advanced” tweeting techniques such as leaving Twitter video messages.
I know you’re busy and are afraid that Twitter will be a big time-wasting machine. But it’s not like you need to have a Twitter Department and hire a CTO (Chief Tweeting Officer). Just throw yourself into the mix. There’s absolutely no downside to creating a very simple Twitter profile—even if it’s just a profile directly related to your presence at an upcoming trade show. It costs nothing to do.
In fact, most companies have already taken that first step and do have a profile set up. It’s just not being used in any meaningful way. So, here’s a start: Tweet from the trade show floor with your latest news and a special offer only for the first 50 people to drop by the booth. Get comfortable with that, and then read the next paragraph when you’re ready to start really enhancing your trade show presence through Twitter Power.
Twitter & Video: Marriage Made in Trade Show Heaven
Okay, 140 characters of text is a good start. But it’s hard to distinguish yourself from all those other text micro-posts flooding a Twitter user’s feed. “Stop by my booth!” might not hack it all of the time. That’s why you utilize video. Have your actual trade show presenter record 30- or 60-second spots for your Twitter feed and Web site. Do a “Live from the Trade Show Floor” spot and a daily wrap-up. Announce special offers, news and promotions with all the fanfare a live recording can offer.
Video is a differentiator. It stands out from the typical 140-character crowd and taps into something people already love to watch: film previews. They’re short, they’re interesting and they get people excited in anticipation of something.
Creating these videos and getting them published online has never been easier. My favorite methods are two tools: BubbleTweet lets you record a cool, little bubble-shaped video that pops up on your Twitter page. Bubble Comment creates a similar effect, but it’s right on your very own homepage. And, of course, your Web site and Twitter profile can cross promote one another. And if that’s a touch too much new technology for your taste, just post to YouTube and copy the embedded video code.
Before you say, “I don’t have the production equipment,” just let me say, “Buy a FlipCam …. and, done!” If you’ve worried about being on camera, we’ve got talent who do this kind of thing for a living. For an example, I want you to check out a Twitter video by professional presenter, Andy Saks. Here’s a recent BubbleTweet video he did to encourage attendees to stop by the AT&T Booth at Educause. Seriously, take a look because this is a great example of harnessing the marketing power of a simple 30 second video. Believe me, EVERYONE should be doing this stuff.
I’m not saying you need to use Magnet Productions to get any of this done. You don’t. I’m just saying all the tools and resources are in place to quickly take advantage of some great marketing tools and get more people into your booth! So, at your next trade show, don’t be Scared in Seattle. Use these suggestions and be the King of the Trade Show Twitterverse.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: booth buzz, social media, trade show trends, Twitter, using video
Posted in Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade shows & social media | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 10 November 2009
Hey Newman, I know that Twitter is great for letting people know insignificant details about my life, but what about trade shows? Is it really worth tweeting about THAT? –Richard in Chicago
Let’s talk about utilizing Twitter within the throes of a trade show. Preferably, you’ve spent months really connecting with key people through your Twitter stream, building brand awareness and building your follower count. But that time has passed. The trade show is now. So, what can you do to harness this new cool tool?
→ First off, start promoting the trade show before it happens. A series of 140 character tweets at regular intervals starting a month before the event will build excitement and interest.
→ Don’t interpret 140 characters as a limitation. In the trade show space, it’s something that can easily be used to your advantage by keeping your message short and sweet.
→ Leverage your trade show giveaways by tweeting about new free offerings every hour: “Come by the [company] booth within the next 30 minutes for a free T-shirt and other goodies.”
→ Give regular updates: “Author of important new book on Internet security will be speaking at the [company] booth in 15 minutes and signing copies.”
→ Direct Message followers you know to be at the trade show that you’d love some face time with. Leave them a breadcrumb trail of sorts to finding you.
→ Also use Twitter messages to follow up with people who did stop by the booth to gain some extra traction and clue them in to more information: “Thanks so much for stopping by the booth. Check out http://bit.ly/14jYU0 for more info on our trade show staff training services!”
→ Use hashtags to show up in the trade show stream. That way, those who search directly for feeds relating to the trade show will see your messages: “#INTEROP presentation about to begin! Run to the guy spinning plates and grab a seat.”
→ Lastly, help one another and foster goodwill: I was at the National Association of Broadcasters Show and someone realized he didn’t have the necessary connector to use his wireless headset mic. He tweeted his troubles, and 10 minutes later two people showed up with the connector he needed.
This works! So, go tweet your little trade show heart out.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: booth buzz, targeted giveaways, trade show opportunities, trade show trends, Twitter
Posted in Lead generation & follow up, Trade show news & trends, Trade shows & social media | 1 Comment »
Written by Ken Newman on 25 August 2009
Hey Newman, enjoying the posts. What’s your take on Twitter? -Mark in San Francisco
Twitter streams are overflowing with loud, unsolicited advertisements for all sorts of random stuff. And while I won’t begrudge someone for attempting to raise awareness about their e-book, that approach really misses the point.
What business people and trade show exhibitors don’t typically realize with Twitter is the potential for connection. Sure, it’s not the same as engaging someone face-to-face, but when are you going to be face-to-face with Demi Moore (@mrskutcher) or the CEO of Zappos (@Zappos) or the Chief Technology Officer at Cisco (@Padmasree). Even with a “connection” to Cisco, Padmasree Warrior wouldn’t take my call or respond to my e-mail. But Demi and Tony and Padmasree are actively involved in the Twitter community and responding to tweets—especially if they’re clever or funny or helpful.
This is the equivalent of getting invited to “that party” and having a chance to start a dialogue and charm influential people with your personality. More to that point, you wouldn’t walk into that VIP party and immediately say, “Here’s what I’m selling!” They’d shun you instantly (if you didn’t get kicked out altogether). But through a genuine conversation, talk might turn to what you do, and that person or the company that person represents might very well recognize a need for your services.
Twitter “conversations” are just as relaxed. It’s fun and often silly, but you can get work done within this budding medium. It’s just important to remember that Twitter is inherently a social model, not a business one. The business comes later … just like in real life.
This holds true for the flipside of the equation, too. Recently, Zappos posted the following tweet:
http://twitpic.com/f4pqp – Coolest. Toilet Seat Cover. Ever. (Never thought I’d use those words together)”
The other day there was a message about cool outfits Zappos employees made out of duct tape. (http://bit.ly/4P3h) And while Tony Hsieh just seems like a genuinely cool guy to hang out with, what’s subtly happening is he’s building brand loyalty. After months of connecting with Tony, how much more likely will you be to log on for that next pair of shoes or stop by if you were to see a Zappos booth at a trade show?
That’s because if you were at a trade show and you knew that a close friend of yours had a booth, you would stop by. You wouldn’t just go to the trade show and blow off a friend. A regular common experience with another Twitter feed will foster that sense of fellowship—even if it’s a big corporation. That’s powerful stuff. Certainly much more powerful than 140 characters overtly trying to sell me something.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: brand loyalty, connection, human behavior, Twitter
Posted in Lead generation & follow up, Trade show news & trends, Trade shows & social media | 3 Comments »
