Exhibitions are a great way to connect with existing customers, gain new business and learn about new trends, yet many companies miss real opportunities by not following some simple steps to promote their stands.
“We come across a whole range of reasons why the promotion gets ignored,” says Amanda Jackson, MD of Tigerfish PR, a specialist manufacturing and logistics PR agency. “Sometimes it’s because the person responsible is simply overwhelmed by the additional work load, and sometimes it’s because they don’t realise that it can transform their revenue from a show. We’ve now been involved with over trade shows/exhibitions for 16 years and have helped 100’s of companies get their message out.”
Here are some of Tigerfish PR’s top tips to help exhibitors get better value from their investment in time and money.
Obvious though it sounds, this is frequently forgotten. Modify email signatures, three months before a show, to flag up the fact that you will be attending. That way, every time an email is sent, the recipient will be reminded of your exhibition. Send out invites through the post and by email.
Make sure you have content on your website about what you’ll be exhibiting, where, when and the stand number. Share ‘behind the scenes’ content on your social media channels. Tag the organisers. Use the show hashtags. Record a series of short videos highlighting what will be at the show.
A preview release on what you are exhibiting should be sent to your key press in good time. Try to include something which will make your stand more attractive – a product launch or a key announcement are good news hooks.
For more information on this, we have compiled the Ultimate Exhibition Checklist, which includes 31 steps that will make promoting your exhibition really straightforward. It will help you get real value from your exhibition investment. It can be downloaded from tigerfishpr.co.uk/ultimate-pr-exhibition-pr-checklist/.