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Stealing The Show At A Trade Fair

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Trade fairs are the ultimate opportunity to network, but you’re also up against a lot of competing businesses. To be successful at a trade fair, you need to come up with a good marketing strategy. Here are a few of the ways that you can market yourself at a trade fair and steal the show.


Making your stall stand out



Before attending a trade show, it’s important to eye out your competitors. Many trade fair organisers will give a list of all the other businesses that are attending, in some case even a map telling you where each of their stalls will be. You should take some time to research the other businesses attending, especially those whose stall will be near to yours. If they run a similar business model, you’ll need to find a way of making your business stand out.


Make sure to visit an events marketing site such as Event Display and get some banners and tablecloths for your stall. Make your USP clear on a banner or on a display board. You may find it beneficial to wear branded t-shirts.


There are all manner of ways of luring people to your stall from eye-catching features such as lights and balloons, to more elaborate tricks such as playing music, enticing people over with food samples, or having someone demo your product. You should also give those that visit something to take away that will further market your brand. This could include leaflets, branded bags or branded pens. Get creative and you’ll have people turning heads.


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Using social media



Social media is a great way to promote the event that also requires getting creative. As soon as your place at the trade show has been confirmed, make sure to shout about it on Facebook and Twitter. Hashtag the name of the trade fair in order to easily notify yourself to others that are attending. From here you can start counting down to the event. If there is an event page on Facebook, feel free to invite your Facebook followers to it.


Make sure to use social media at the fair as well as beforehand. People at the trade show will tweeting away, so alert them of your presence. Take photos and make regular status updates of things going on at the fair. You can even make use of Facebook’s live feature, and record the event in real time.


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Doing a talk



Some trade shows will offer attendees the opportunity to do a talk. There may be limited slots and you may have to apply several months in advance. However, if you have the courage and the know-how to do it, this is opportunity that you should definitely take advantage of. Whilst having a stall gets you seen, doing a talk demands the attention of others. You’ll generally have to centre it around a topic that isn’t too promotional – general business advice, concerns about the current industry or inspiring stories of your own success generally make a compelling listen. Make your talk memorable and people will remember your brand.  

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