Exhibition Marketing: Before the Show

Your exhibition marketing is key throughout every single stage of the exhibition process – without it, you could see your stand flop, or your follow up methods fail.

In this mini blog series, we are going to take you through the musts of exhibition marketing before, during and after your event or exhibition to make sure you get the most out of the event as possible.

Starting from the beginning, it’s crucial to get your marketing plan in place before you even announce your presence at the exhibition. The whole point of marketing before the show is to raise awareness about the fact you’ll be there, and to prompt as many people as possible to sign up, attend, and come to see your stand.

Your marketing should focus on encouraging them to buy their ticket and interact with you at the show. So, what can you do?

Pre-Event Social Media

Your social media can be a great place to start your marketing and create a buzz around the event. There is so much you can do to drive engagement and increase awareness of your stand.

Make sure to post regularly about the event or share relevant content or photos that highlight why you’re going, and why meeting your business there is an unmissable opportunity.

One great way to drive interaction and start a conversation on social media is by using the event hashtag. This will allow you to expand your audience to people interested in the event, those who are already attending and the other exhibitors.

Remember it’s not just the connections you make with the visitors that are important, you can also be selling to the other vendors.

Email Marketing

Email marketing gets forgotten about a lot of the time, but it can actually be one of the most useful forms of marketing with a very high success rate.

Send regular emails out to your mailing list with information about the event, what they can expect from your stand and more. Don’t just focus on your prospect database, if your clients come to the event it is a great chance to build on your relationship and may even give you a chance to upsell to them.

To get the best results from your campaign ensure you’re resending your emails to those who did not open or click your email. This is a feature that is available in most email marketing software and will be your best friend when it comes to getting your message out there. Remember to change your subject line to really grab their attention!

Guest Posts and Collaborations

Collaborate with other exhibitors to create content for your website and social media, this will work in both of your favours as you’ll be increasing your audience reach.

This content will give your audience more of an idea of what they can expect from the exhibition and the other people attending. This can work especially well for your existing clients as you may be able to refer them to your collaborator.

 

Plan your marketing in advance of your exhibition for the best results and remember the promotion doesn’t start when you get there, it should start weeks before. Ensure attendees know who you are, what you can offer them and most importantly where you’re based for the day.

Stay tuned for our next blog post on all the marketing tips you need to follow during your next exhibition to make it a success.

If you’re attending an exhibition soon and are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd and make an impact, take a look at our wide range of professional exhibition stands available to buy or to rent.