Supporting trade fair appearances with social media

We live in a world in which social media has become indispensable. Social platforms are part of our everyday lives. Even if many demonize it, social media has many advantages.

Many companies have already discovered social platforms for themselves and interact too much with their followers. However, there are just as many, if not more, companies that have avoided social media until now. Trade fairs are there to network and present a product or service to potential customers. Why should you stop once the event is over? Isn't it much better to follow up and benefit from having made new contacts?

Advantages for the business use of social media  

Distributing content via social media has many advantages for a company. Probably the biggest advantage over other advertising options, especially trade fairs, is that posts can be published at low cost or even free of charge. In social networks, it is possible to create a wide reach and you can emphasize the importance of your messages with images, texts and videos.

It is possible for interested parties to react to a company's post and interact with the company. Through these opportunities, a company can build a close relationship with its customers or prospects on social media. The strong customer relationship can lead to customers sharing your company's posts with their acquaintances - which corresponds to positive word-of-mouth communication in live communication - resulting in your customer advertising for you free of charge and increasing the reach of your post. It also allows you to reach people you would not have been able to reach as a company.

How do I set up social media for my company?  

First of all, you should think about which channels make sense for your company and where you can reach your target group. Each platform has its own target groups, some of which can vary greatly. You should therefore be clear about who you want to reach in the first place. Once you have chosen one or more platforms, you are almost ready to start. Of course, you should also think about what you want to portray on your social media and how you can illustrate this in your posts.

It is best to design a feed that matches your corporate identity. If you have rather muted colors, it is best to stay away from neon or pastel colors. Design your social media page so that you can be recognized by your feed. Of course, you should also post regular updates and make your content exciting in order to build a community.

How do I integrate social media into my trade fair visits?    

When it comes to visiting the trade fair, you can post content at regular intervals to draw attention to the upcoming event. Don't forget to include hashtags (Instagram and LinkedIn) in your posts. These should be relevant to your company and your brand, as well as to the upcoming trade fair. There are often specific hashtags for the various trade fairs. You can then continue to use the selected hashtags on the day of the trade fair. This way, you will also be found directly or displayed under the hashtag when people search for the selected trade fair or your hashtag on social media.  

Let your followers know where they can find you: In which hall and of course at which stand number. To keep things interesting, you can give your customers a sneak peak of what they can expect to see at your stand. Post individual excerpts or a complete picture of your stand. Of course, unique and innovative trade fair stands make a great impression and are ideal for posting on your networks.  

Many platforms also have a story feature that can be used to upload short videos or photos, which are then online for 24 hours. This is particularly useful for your trade fair visits! This means you don't have to keep posting in the feed, but can fill the story. It's best to plan some of the content for the story and let your customers and followers take a look behind the scenes of your everyday trade fair life. This is more exciting than you might think at first and attracts new people. Show those who don't know how much is behind a trade fair and your preparations and let your sales staff briefly present and tease your products.  

Interacting with customers at a trade fair using social media

Another exciting and great option are short interviews with customers who give testimonials about your product or interviews that tell more about your product, your campaign or your company. This way, you can still introduce your product or project to people who were unable to attend the trade fair. 

You can also easily grow your social media by promoting your pages at the trade fair. Inform your customers about the various channels and mention them on your business cards. If you exhibit at consumer trade fairs, it is even easier to increase your reach. For example, simply organize a small competition. Everyone loves competitions and the simpler they are, the more people will take part. As a condition of the competition, you can simply take following on the platform of your choice.

This way, you end up gaining more followers on your platform and benefit from a growing reach. Because the more people follow you, the more people will see your company and the higher the probability that more people will find out about your products or services.

After the trade fair is before the trade fair

It is important that you continue your activity on social networks after the trade fair.Interact with your newly acquired followers to keep them up to date. Encourage comments, ask whether your followers liked the trade fair and what they particularly liked.Then you can start promoting the next trade fair again.As I said at the beginning, give your followers a look behind the scenes and offer them exciting insights.  

P.s. People follow people!If your employees themselves share your company's content on social media, this will appear even more authentic.If your employees are fans of your brand, they will automatically want to share it.