[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]
Trade shows are unique opportunities where you’re given just a few minutes with a lot of strangers to make an impact. Try these techniques to get them talking about you during and long after the event:
1> Take the conversation online
2> Send something after the show
3> Share photos online
1> Take the conversation online
Take your offline trade show conversations and bring them online by staying active on social networks during the event. Live blog or tweet the show, have a way for people to connect with you on Facebook right from your booth, and frequently share fresh YouTube clips of interviews or product demonstrations from the event. While not everyone at the trade show may be social media savvy, many of your biggest talkers and key influencers will be.
2> Send them something after the show
Create an impression and some word of mouth by sending a gift to attendees a few days or weeks after the show ends. Attendees will be overloaded with the freebies they get from each booth, making it hard for your giveaway to stand out. Instead, send folks something they can share with their whole office a few weeks later — when they’re not so overwhelmed by the conference.
3> Share photos online
Never go to an event without taking photos and posting them online for everyone to share. This especially applies to trade shows, where you meet a lot of new folks in a short amount of time. Offer to take photos with visitors to your booth and upload them to Facebook or Flickr, asking everyone to tag themselves — which automatically shares the photos with everyone’s extended networks.
Supergenius Example #5: Cintas
A couple of booths were inviting interaction with a few mini games or quizzes at the NRA Show 2009, but the one that perked our interest was Cintas‘ head-to-head fire extinguisher competition.
Cintas — who was promoting their fire safety equipment — encouraged participants to take on one another in a timed race to see who could put out the virtual fire the fastest. The winner received a $10 iTunes gift card.
But what made it worth talking about was that you had to go up against another person — which led to a bunch friends and strangers taking on one another, having some laughs, and earning some bragging rights.
The Lesson: Hosting a fun game is a great way to get interaction at your booth, but adding a level of head-to-head competition helps everyone talk about it.
[This post is part of a series inspired by some of the clever word of mouth marketing we saw at the NRA Show 2009 here in Chicago.]
Supergenius Example #5: Nueske’s
Having fresh bacon samples is a pretty good way to get people to stop by your booth. Nueske’s did it with their cherrywood smoked variety that they tout as having no nitrates or artificial flavors.
After a few samples, the spokesperson hands you a brochure with recipes on how to include bacon in every meal and a small package.
Inside, you find enough cherry tree seeds for you and a friend to plant and grow the same kind of tree that Nueske’s uses to smoke their bacon. And while it’s unlikely a bunch of attendees rushed home and planted a new tree, it was one of the most remarkable giveaways we saw and it’s just the kind of gift that a busy executive might share with colleagues or family members.
The Lesson: Even if you don’t expect a lot of people to actually use the giveaway, it can still be a great conversation piece that makes its way back to the office.
[This post is part of a series inspired by some of the clever word of mouth marketing we saw at the NRA Show 2009 here in Chicago.]
Supergenius Example #4: Garden Hearts
Garden Hearts, a produce company, was displaying some of their creations — including a head of lettuce that matures smaller than normal lettuce, making it the perfect size for a single serving of salad — at the 2009 NRA Show.
While the chef behind the booth was talking about his product, there was another item that the company was giving to people as they were walking away — branded nametag holders.
At the NRA Show, everybody was given a nametag in a standard, plastic holder. Garden Hearts made a canvas version (with pockets to hold a pen and cell phone) that displayed everyone’s nametag information in front, and also displayed the name of their company.
Not only did the new tags give the people who were wearing them an upgrade over the old ones, they made sure that anyone who looked at the tag also saw their brand name. And at a convention like the NRA Show, people are constantly looking at the tags to see who the person is, where they work, and what position they hold.
The Lesson: Let your brand enter the conversation even after people have left your booth by giving them something to wear.
[This post is part of a series inspired by some of the clever word of mouth marketing we saw at the NRA Show 2009 here in Chicago.]
