While much has been said and written about content strategy, the content you write and produce for your brand comes with a number of benefits. Content, whether posted to your company’s website or its social channels benefits your brand not only by increasing human engagement but by also attracting search engines to your content and therefore your brand.
As you work to increase overall engagement with your brand, specifically leading up to a trade show event – engaging your customers and potential exhibit visitors before, during and after the event through your content strategy cannot be ignored.
Pre-Show Content Strategy
In the months and weeks leading up to your tradeshow event, writing articles for your website and making posts to social media including Facebook and Twitter help to announce that you will be exhibiting. Event trade show organizers certainly will be advertising their event and exhibitors however it’s important to take things into your own hands and help promote your attendance at the show.
Be sure to use event hashtags (#) and keywords related to the show in your blog and social posts. This helps both those interested in the show and search engines find your content and know that you are posting directly about the event.
As the show date gets closer, more frequent posts on social channels can serve as reminders to your audience not to miss your exhibit. Be sure to include your booth number, any special times, events or demos that might take place during the show.
You might be surprised to find that your social posts get a few extra appointments booked! That is the point after all.
Create Content While You’re at the Trade Show Event
Once the big day finally comes around and your team is on the show floor, it’s certainly not the time to ignore your content strategy and social channels. Making frequent posts from the show – whether during keynote speeches, round tables or learning sessions, helps to engage your customers and others that might not be able to make the show. Often a number of folks wish they could be at a show but just couldn’t attend. Many of these persons will engage socially and follow the event and posts from the event from back at the office!
By reporting back to and engaging with those who couldn’t make it to the show your brand has the opportunity to claim the event as your own!
In addition to sharing textual content from the show – photos and video make great social posts to channels like Facebook,Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. By leveraging rich media you gain another opportunity to engage visitors both at the show and at home and add an extension to your trade show exposure.
On that note, be sure to let visitors to your booth know about the content that you’re posting and let them know what social channels you participate in. To increase your social following, you might even consider giveaways or contests that include allowing your show guests to follow your Twitter account or “Like” your Facebook Fan Page.
Keep the Show Going After the Event
After the event it can be helpful to create content that gets posted to your website, blog and social channels that involves event reviews, show roundups and feedback about learning sessions. Don’t forget to contribute to your website’s blog with photos from the event and a recap of the event itself.
In addition to posting to your blog and social channels after the event, take advantage of email addresses collected during the show and be sure to include in post-event email blasts. Follow-up emails are another point of engagement that shouldn’t be ignored.
