Don’t Let COVID-19 Stall Your Event Marketing Goals in 2020

While the world anxiously awaits the opening up of the economy after the threat of COVID-19 lowers, it is likely those waiting for large attendee events will have to wait even longer. Experts predict a steady approach to getting people back to work, but concerts, sporting events, trade shows, along with any large gathering, will be the last to fall into place. Many companies large and small rely on trade shows year-round to pursue potential clients, engage existing customers, roll-out new products, and reinforce their brand messaging. The global workforce has shifted operations to adjust to the “new normal” and marketers have an opportunity to use the same exhibit displays in what will soon become their most valuable selling arena — their own offices. Below are some great ways marketing teams can translate the advertising power of a trade show strategy to an in-office strategy.

Custom Exhibit House Displays 

Exhibit house design firms that produce the large, impressive custom display booths that draw crowds at trade shows have the same capability to bring that wow factor to any location. Creativity is unlimited with experienced exhibit houses known for working with Fortune 500 brands to create completely original booth layouts can certainly transfer those skills from portable structures to permanent installations. From counters to shelving to 10ft display walls, custom interior fabrications are a perfect solution for businesses in any industry.

LED Light Box Display Installation

Backlit displays have steadily become the standard at trade shows as manufacturers continue to make better and cheaper options. The use of backlighting can draw attention to targeted areas and highlight brand messages. The LED lights used in the displays last years, making them great options for interior installations meant for long-term use. The premium dye-sublimation fabric graphics can be created for any size frames and are easily interchangeable, making switching up graphics for new products, sales initiatives, or visitor-specific messaging an easy task. A professionally installed light box sign in a corporate lobby can fill up empty wall space with modern, attractive promotional decor.

Digital Display Screen Incorporation

Along with static branding printed on graphics and display elements, monitors can easily be added to any section of the installations to add dynamic media like videos, live streams, and presentations. Digital assets are important components of a marketing strategy and incorporating them into exhibit displays is a common practice. The use of monitors and tablets translates well in an office environment, especially when placed in waiting areas. Touchscreen monitors and tablets with interactive elements that guide visitors through educational or promotional content can be set into wall displays or sturdy kiosks. Companies with excellent social media presence can cast a stream of their online engagement and encourage visitors to interact with their profiles long after they have left the office building.

Unique Trade Show Experience In-House

With permanent office installations businesses can mimic highly customized and unique trade show experiences they use in their exhibit marketing strategy. Entrances can be configured to lead visitors through a museum-like experience with history, content, and product demonstrations on their way to the reception desk. A setup like this will make striking first impression and assist a sales team by giving potential clients plenty of background information on services and products before a meeting begins. Dynamic and interactive exhibit experiences can transport trade show attendees from a crowded event to a dedicated area where they can focus their attention solely on the company’s message. Extraordinary designs, such as a landscaping company integrating a live garden into 20ft x 50ft exhibit displays or an appliance company constructing a fully decorated kitchen in their convention hall space, can always be adapted to fit into corporate offices and dazzle guests.

The continued uncertainty caused by COVID-19 should be viewed by marketing teams as an opportunity to challenge themselves and switch up their strategies. When businesses resume to regular operations it is likely that large events will still be on hold until 2021. However, missing trade shows does not mean companies should put their sales and marketing efforts on hold. The right custom exhibit house design agency can provide guidance on how a permanent office display installation can fill the void of in-person exhibitions and keep business moving in new, unexpected ways.

Anyone running a business, whether that be a new start up or a successful long-established company, knows the importance of marketing their services and products at trade shows, conferences and corporate events. Events like these are ideal ways to get your brand name out into the wider sector, and while making the right impression while your company is actually at the event through the use of LED lighting and outstanding displays is important, getting people to attend the event in the first place is vital.

But what is the best way to go about it?

A huge amount of effort goes into event promotion, and effective marketing via the correct social channels has a vital role to play in generating a buzz online, reaching target audiences and creating a great hype around the services and products which you’re promoting.

There can be a number of pitfalls when it comes to hitting the perfect audience at the perfect time. Utilizing social media to its best effect is something which needs to be learned, and this guide is designed to help you negotiate this potential minefield so you can enjoy optimal success in your venture.

 

Choosing The Correct Social Media Channel

Before finding out more about how to utilize social media to promote an event, you need to know how to select the right social media for your target audience.

There are numerous social media platforms available these days, so how do you know which one is right for your specific event? There are several steps you’ll need to take to ensure that you get the choice right:

1. Define and locate your attendees
2. Make your company and event visually appealing by optimising your social media profiles
3. Determine the kind of relationship with followers which works best on every platform
4. Consider the kind of content that is suited to every network

Different demographics are attracted to each social network. For example, Facebook has a larger proportion of younger users aged between 23 and 37, while LinkedIn is most popular with higher earners and Pinterest drives more traffic towards eCommerce stores than any other channel. Knowing the demographic you’re targeting with your strategy will inform your choice of social media channels.

 

Defining Your Objectives

To select the right strategy for your business, you need to first decide what exactly you’re trying to accomplish with your social media marketing. You may have several goals, such as:

• Encouraging recurring loyalty for your organization’s events
• Selling more tickets
• Building up a long-term relationship with other professionals in your industry

 

An Overview Of Social Media Platform Techniques

There are different techniques which can be used with different social media platforms.

Facebook – it’s possible to create an events page, share updates about events, engage with followers and use paid promotion to target a specific audience.

Instagram – This is an image-based platform which works well for engagement with brands.

Twitter – you can utilize a unique hashtag for your event so a buzz can be created both before the event itself and during the proceedings. Remember to make your hashtag original, brief, engaging and understandable to achieve the optimal benefits.

LinkedIn – Ideal for B2B and industry networking, this is a professional channel which is perfect for company events and news announcements.

Snapchat – Ideal if you have a young target audience. Around 186 million people use Snapchat every day, making this a rapid engagement tool.

Pinterest – this powerful channel allows you to create strategy and pins around the promotion of your event.

 

Tips For Optimizing Your Social Media Profiles

Although it may sound easy to update your social media profile, staying on top of your descriptions and bios can be difficult. When you’re promoting events, you need to make sure that all of the information and links are up to date while also ensuring that SEO is in full use. Here are thirteen top tips for optimizing your profiles:

1. Ensure you’re utilizing the right image sizes
2. Use the same profile images consistently across all the platforms you use
3. Untag yourself from any inappropriate posts or irrelevant photos
4. Keep your handles the same across all networks you use
5. Add any relevant keywords to each profile for SEO purposes
6. Complete all of your bio’s fields using engaging copy
7. Link to the other social media profiles you have created
8. Ensure all your links work
9. Showcase some reviews and endorsements
10. Rotate your link if you have an Instagram bio
11. Like your related Facebook pages
12. Showcase all of your best content by pinning it
13. Ensure you’ve added media onto your LinkedIn jobs

Take a systematic approach to updating your social media profiles. Choose the one which is the most relevant or popular for your content and rewrite the descriptions and update all the information before moving on to the next one.

 

Plan Your Content

The importance of content in social media engagement cannot be underestimated. Videos, images, quotes, live-streams, infographics and hashtags all have a vital role to play in promoting events on social media. Decide what you’re able to offer then choose which platform will respond best to your offerings. For example, if you have stunning ideas and images, Instagram and Pinterest are a good bet. If you’ve got videos to share, a YouTube channel will work well.

Certain forms of content result in better engagement. These include:

• Memes
• GIFs
• Emojis
• Humorous stories
• Infographics

Ensuring your content is error-free as well as engaging will ensuring that it is high quality. The higher the quality of content and the more engaging it is, the more successful your event promotion will be. Here are thirteen top tips for creating the most successful content for your social media promotion strategy:

1. Diversify the content
2. Keep your content brief
3. Use subheadings
4. Develop a unique voice
5. Add keywords
6. Devise engaging titles
7. Tell stories
8. Make your content shareable
9. Remember calls to action
10. Provide links and facts
11. Incorporate images within posts
12. Ensure your content is conversational instead of too “salesy”
13. Tailor your content to suit each individual social network channel

 

Regular Posting

Posting on a regular basis is important regardless of the social media channel you’re using. When a channel is only irregularly active, this sends out a discouraging message. Building a strong community is vital to your success so ensure you post regularly through the year and not only just before your event is due to take place. Knowing when best to post on each channel will depend on a number of factors, but ensuring consistency and ongoing engagement is your key to success.

 

A Rundown Of Some Useful Strategies

Here are some great tips for using social media channels to engage with your target audience while promoting an event.

• Share pictures from your previous event or turn those images into memes
• Shoot promotional videos and post them on YouTube
• Create a Snapchat Geofilter
• Make a few visual testimonials to help build up trust 
• Organise a free event ticket contest
• Build up anticipation with countdowns and teasers
• Use behind the scenes images to show preparations and build anticipation more
• On the day of the event live stream part of the proceedings 
• Live Tweet or Snap from the event

 

A Few Case Examples

If you’re wondering how well these tips can help your company to promote its event effectively through social media channels, here are some examples to show just how good social media promotion can be.

Sherlocked

The Official Sherlocked Sherlock Convention is organised by Massive Events, a company which does an amazing job of engaging with their audience. By teasing the fans through the gradual release of information, Massive Events begins to promote the convention even before a venue or date has been arranged so that hype can really begin to build. Once the venue and date is released, the impact is huge, with over 1000 shares on Facebook and almost as many on Twitter. The company then went on to record a teaser video which only boosts anticipation even further. The result was a sell-out event.

Play Blackpool

Every year, the Play Blackpool video gaming expo is arranged by Replay Events. This company has worked hard to engage potential attendees via social media, first by using its blog to announce its annual gamer awards and asking its readers to place their votes across several categories with the chance of winning free expo tickets and other prizes. The results were announced over several consecutive days, each result being accompanied with shareable graphics to increase interest in the event.

 

As you can see, social media event promotion and market is all about engagement with potential attendees. When they get better value from your content, the more chance you have of them sharing your content with other people who may be interested too. Find out more about maximizing your event success with Indy Displays today.

Follow these six tips to help make your next trade show more worthwhile and increase the return you get out of each show.  Attending shows doesn’t have to be a mystery anymore use these points below as a roadmap to guide you through the experience.

1.   Keep track of your ROI – Make sure your leads generated (or goals) outweigh the cost of the show.  To help reach your goals, try to contact potential leads before the show and set up appointments with them to ensure you’re getting quality time with decision makers.  If nothing else, the pre-contact will direct them to your booth and make for warmer conversation.   As with any form of advertising you have to look at the ROI or ROG (return on goals).  Have the mindset that having a booth is an investment.  The more you do to help your investment, the better your return will be.  Don’t be that company that gets a booth space, puts zero thought into the display, sits back and expects business to walk right up and introduce itself.  It might happen but we wouldn’t bet on you.

2.  Become part of the show – Most trade shows or conferences have a keynote speaker and several other presenters.  If you can’t manage to get on the main stage or become a presenter, all is not lost.  Come up with some sort of event at your booth to help get word about your company out there.  This will generate more leads but will also help to incorporate your company into part of the overall event.

3.  Leads are great but appointments are better – Try to have reps get appointments instead of leads and you’ll be surprised at the results.  To further that point, aside from having goals try to work in a competition amongst your team to see who can generate the most, leads, appointments, business, whatever applies the most to your situation.  Keep your booth space fun and make winning worthwhile.

4.  Be a solution not a pest – This might seem contradictory to the point above but it makes sense if your reps are doing it right.  Try not to make people feel like they are being sold while spending time at your booth.  Always try to present your company as consultative in nature.  You want to come across as being an expert in your field but also being THE solution to a problem, not a pest.  It helps to have your best reps in your booth space.

5.  Don’t forget about your neighbors – Network with the other vendors and where applicable see if you can share leads with each other, assuming it isn’t a competitor.  If your company was able to generate 250 leads and your neighbor generated 250 leads, then together you’ve generated 500 leads, remove some of the overlap and your contacts from the show still grew by a large number.  If nothing else, a good connection may lead to referrals down the road.  After all, these events are to generate contacts, business, and traffic.

6.  Make your booth space unique – Design your booth space to separate you from the other companies exhibiting around you.  If your booth looks like the one to the left and right of it, leads are much more likely to pass by.  You want prospects taking notice of your company and being intrigued by what you have to offer.  With so many eyes upon your company, these events are not the time to second-guess your trade show display.

iPad Kiosk Stands

Are you currently using an iPad or tablet as part of your business?  Imagine the opportunities that would present themselves if you were able to use one in your trade show booth.  Many successful exhibitors are now using these devices to further interact with clients.  One option is to simply have the iPad at your booth.  Another option is to make the iPad part of your display using an iPad Kiosk Stand.

Benefits of using an iPad Kiosk:

• Professional look
• Security
• Branding

 

Professional Look

Our featured iPad kiosks all have a classic and professional look to them.  While most people are familiar with tablets, they are not familiar with them as part of a display.  This can leave a lasting impression that your company is cutting edge and ahead of the curve.  We try to leave no stone unturned in the science of trade show displays and we believe the more you have at your disposal during client interaction the more successful you will be.  Having a iPad kiosk stand as part of your display will give you that power while keeping your booth space uncluttered.  Some models even allow you to incorporate traditional marketing materials on the kiosks stand, such as literature racks and counters.

Security

The benefits of being able to use a tablet are numerous but it will do you no good if it disappears during the show.  One way to ensure that your tablet doesn’t go missing is to incorporation into the display itself.  If the iPad can’t be incorporated in the kiosk then it comes with a lock case that allows you to keep your tablet under lock and key.

Branding

Certain kiosks give you the ability to add branding.  This allows you to tie your booth space together and add depth while keeping your logo or company name as visible as possible.  If you desire the clean sleek look then simply order a tablet kiosk without branding to get the look you desire.

 

Featured iPad Kiosks Stands

iPad.C1 Kiosk Stand

A simply modern design aspect makes this model pretty easy to set up and weighs only 12 lbs.  This products ships in 3-5 days and comes with a lock case to ensure your tablet remains part of your trade show display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic iPad Counter 1.1

This branded iPad kiosk stand has a professional look to it with all the benefits of a non-branded unit.  It comes with dye-sub graphics, five-minute set-up, and ships within 5-7 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the past, trade show booth rental options were very limited.  Your only options were generic displays that hindered you from the branding impact you needed at to stand out from the competition.  But limited options is a thing of the past.  In addition to popup display rentals, you can now choose from a large selection of custom modular displays that can be modified to fit your needs.  Indy Displays offers turnkey display rentals that give you the custom look you require along with the money-saving benefits from renting versus purchasing.

In addition to the large selection of trade show booth rentals, Indy Displays will provide affordable graphic design and setup/teardown if you are exhibiting in the Indianapolis area.  With a display rental, you can avoid all of the expenses of ownership including maintenance/repairs, storage, exhibit management, and storage.  Rentals can save companies up to 45%.

Here are a few reasons many exhibitors prefer renting trade show booths:

• Getting more out of your exhibiting budget.
• If you are new to trade shows and not ready to invest in a booth purchase.
• You are on a time crunch and need quick turnaround.
• You normally exhibit in a 10×10 booth space but want to expand (10×20, 20×20) for a specific show.

Whatever your booth rental needs are, Indy Displays has a solution.  Simply contact us at 317-565-2255 or submit a rental request online at www.indydisplays.com

Here are a few examples of custom booth rental configurations:

10x1o Examples

 

10×20 Examples

 

Island Exhibit Rentals

 

Indy Displays offers a full line of portable trade show counters.  Choose from simple pop up display counters and pedestals to custom modular counter stands.  Trade show counters are an important of any displays and are crucial to completing the overall look of a trade show booth.  Below are two modular trade show counter options.  These are designed to be used with out 10ft Exhibitline Displays and 20ft Exhibitline displays but work well with our pop up display options and retractable banners.

Exhibit Line Trade Show Pedestals

 NLC1 – Locking Trade Show Counter – This portable counter has two internal shelves with a locking door.  The shape has style with a tapered base.  The countertop is 38.5” and sets up in under 10 minutes.  NLC1 is available in 5 different laminate colors; Jett Black Crystal, Graphite Nebula, Silver Alu MetalX, Designer White, and Fusion Maple.

 V-Lead Trade Show Pedestal – The V-Lead Pedestal has a sleek look that will add to any display.  A modern base with a tapered front gives you a workspace with minimal effort.  Two exposed shelves allow for easy to access storage.

Exhibit Line Trade Show Reception Counters

 RD45.2 – RD45.6 – The RD reception counter comes in various sizes based upon the 45 degree panels.  Two panels make the RD45.2 while six panels make up the RD45.6.  Infill panels can be switched out to change up a look or for a quick fix.  The counter is put together using thumb screws so no tools are required.  The reception counter can help add a custom look for your company in your booth space.

To see all of our trade show counter options, please visit us at www.indydisplays.com

It’s not always possible to meet with every person at a trade show that you would like to.  Hopefully you target a select group and focus on them.  It’s better to spend 80% of your time on your top 20% prospects than broadly canvas everybody.

In the same way, we encourage our clients to focus on important aspects of why they are at the trade show in the first place.  Are you there to maintain market share and presence?  Are you there to attract new clients as a start up?  Are you demonstrating or releasing a new product?  Are you just another vendor in a long line of vendors?

The position of a company within an industry will sometimes dictate what type of trade show display they have based upon their individuals goals of a show.  While we always try to work within our clients’ budget, sometimes focusing on quality first pays dividends in the long run just like meeting with the most important people at a show first.  Higher quality equals a quicker set up and a more dependable trade show booth.  What does this mean for you?  More time promoting your business, more confidence while promoting your business, and fewer headaches while promoting your business.

We are always looking for ways to set our clients apart from their competition through trade show booth design.  We have a saying around here, “Most people don’t have a problem with a beard but nobody has a problem with a clean shaven face.”  The thing to take away from this is that when the eyes of so many top targets are going to be upon you, that’s the time to look your best.  This is why our clients like working with us; we never suggest low quality portable trade show display products to them just to save a little money, because we know the value of the product and what that translates to for you, the client, in front of your own clients.

Update your look for this year’s show.  Upgrade your trade show display so that you’re not dealing with quality issues.

Indianapolis, IN was rated as one of the top cities in the country for trade shows, conferences, and conventions.  The Conventions Center is one of the finest in the country.  Indy Displays is here to help you look top notch and show better than you have in years.

Exhibit Line hit another home run with the 10×20 C5.  Twice as long as 10×10 exhibits, the C5 is a perfect option for companies that have a larger budget and more space to promote themselves in.   With this model you get a fairly quick set up with all the looks of a custom display.  If you can build a 10×10, you can build a 10×20 booth.

As with all Exhibit Line products you can assemble them with no tools and use a long or short knob system with standard aluminum extrusion pieces.  We use a poly-knit fabric with dye sublimation graphics printed on them.  They are designed to stretch wrinkle-free between the main vertical aluminum extrusions.

The Exhibit Line 10×20 kit includes two curved laminate canopies that hold 6 halogen lights each.  It also includes three NLC1 locking portable counters for storage and product placement.  These also can serve as a workspace if needed.  Two monitor mounts are also included as part of this display kit.

Exhibit Line products are produced in a eco-friendly manner with minimal waste from recyclable or sustainable materials and fit the needs of green values.

With the right graphics this portable trade show display can make you look like a premier vendor and really stand out from a style standpoint.  Put the ball in your court with the 10×20 Exhibitline Displays.

Turnaround Time – 5 to 7 Business Days

For more information click here – http://www.indydisplays.com/10-x-20-displays/395-exhibit-line-10x20c5.html

 

With so many options out there to choose from it’s easy to become overwhelmed when deciding on how to best approach your trade show strategies.  This product gets an “A” for adaptability and affordability.

With retractable banners you not only get great value but you get simplicity while still being able to show well.  Due to the simplistic nature these items are cheaper than larger trade show displays.  However, with the smaller size and portability, this does open up more room for creatively using these stands to create just the right atmosphere within your booth space.

Depending upon the graphic design, banner stands can be used in a wide variety of ways.  You can use them in the office place, lobby, or conference rooms for presentations.  The fabric dye sublimation graphics can be designed in a way that allows you to control the image by how far you extend the pole; this allows you to instantly turn this into a table top display.  The pole can be stored in the base when not in use, which can be black or silver.  Transporting the unit is simple with a fully padded canvas carrying bag.

Assembling the Pronto Retractable Banner Stand includes connecting a 3-piece vertical pole and carefully pulling the fabric banner out of the hardware cassette and locking everything in place using the header bar hook connection. Use the Pronto Banner Stand at full free-standing display height or table top banner height. By controlling the height of the pole you can control the graphic being displayed.

The diamond finish (opaque laminate backing) helps control the look of the display by preventing backlighting from taking away from the look and makes the graphic look clean and crisp.  Many companies use multiple units to account for a complete graphic when put together, although by design they can also be used as stand alone products.  Pronto banner stand products come with a lifetime manufacturer warranty.  This display is also available in three different sizes, 33.5” x 87:, 39” x 87”, and 47” x 87”.  For more information CHAT LIVE at IndyDisplays.com.

 

As society is becoming more aware of the pressing issues facing our planet, green products are becoming increasingly important to the way people do business. Sometimes this means using recycled products or using a production method that creates less pollution. Either way, many companies take a firm stance in their vow to become more sustainable and decrease their environmental footprint. Using a green trade show display or green exhibit booth can send a message to your customers that you are serious about doing your part to make the world a better place.

We think this initiative is great! Indy Displays offers a variety of “Green” trade show displays that combine the clean professional look our customer’s need while using resources that are recycled or can be replenished at the same rate they are being harvested. Check out our products that take advantage of bamboo, recycled aluminum, recycled print fabric, and LED lighting.

The popularity of these display products is growing quickly and is the future of the trade show exhibit industry. Don’t be left in the dust when it comes to having an eco-friendly trade show display.

In addition, Indy Displays can refurbish your existing trade show display to make it more eco-friendly. If you are looking to update your logo, message, or overall image, we can transform your existing trade show display into a modern eco-friendly exhibit that’s going to shoot you to the front of the competition at your next event. For more information please visit our website at www.indydisplays.com or give us a call at 317-565-2255.