Trade fairs and general industry events are the marketing and communication instruments most used by entrepreneurs and managers of companies of all sizes to promote their company and To make contacts, both in the B2C and in the B2B area.
The reasons? There is an infinite number of them. I am listing three of them:
- Meeting people physically: This allows you to present your products personally and collect contacts that are indispensable for the marketing database. This is a first and extremely important step for complex products made with special materials for which a simple “display” (made of paper or in digital form) is not sufficient.
- Develop your own local SEO strategy: At local events, preferably near the company headquarters, you can use participation in a trade fair to position your company in the Improve online search results in a specific geographic area.
- Using the exponential reach of an event: We know that it is not only important to do something, but also to report on it, what you did. In this case, a physical event is best, because the physical boundaries of the actual event can – if the event is advertised well – be expanded considerably. Especially at national or even international trade fairs.
This third point, in particular, opens up extremely interesting communication and marketing perspectives, provided you know how to use the instruments correctly and the integration of physical and digital Skilfully steer.
When physical and digital meet
This process is called phygital and it consists of the integration of the physical world and digital spaces in order to create something whose value is greater than the sum of the benefits that arise from the individual components that could be obtained.
The term is totally “in fashion” and is spreading like wildfire, also because – as you can imagine – the possibilities for dissemination are numerous. First of all, however, you need a change of mentality.
The question is not whether to open an e-commerce business or not. Rather, it is about understanding the virtual world as a whole and “embracing” it with its components and interconnected spaces in the network that animate this world.
Once you have understood this fundamental change in mentality, you can move on to the most efficient instruments and solutions with which you can build up a convincing physical presence for your next trade fair. We focus on:
- Analysis of social networks
- Live videos
- Targeted use of QR codes
Analysis of social networks
Social networks are not just instruments and platforms. We are all social networks! Every point in time of a meeting creates a social network of people who gather around a topic and communicate with each other – regardless of the medium.
At trade fairs or industry events, the Task of generating conversations about a business topic, a product or an invention, usually taken over from the event’s official hashtag. This is this keyword, preceded by the # symbol, and used by online users for content (in the form of tweets, Facebook posts, photos, etc.) generated during these events.
Blued is an inexpensive and very useful tool to show the participants in Twitter conversations for a specific hashtag. It is safe to say that Twitter is now the dominant social network at events. You just have to enter the keyword in the search bar of this website and the platform provides the scope and composition of the network of users who interact with this hashtag in a certain period of time.
What is it for?
To map the people who are very likely to be interested in a certain topic (so much so that they “chat” about it online and share their impressions) and they are united by a common interest, namely the theme of the fair. As soon as these users have been identified, they can be addressed via targeted Twitter marketing campaigns. This way they become the right target groups.
Live-Videos
It’s extremely annoying when you couldn’t attend an event or didn’t manage to attend. In addition, companies often have access to backstage and private areas that are withheld from the other participants. For the “brand journalist,” these are ideal opportunities for business storytelling.
Nowadays there are infinite many tools available and access to the technologies is getting easier over time. In order to achieve good results on the first try, a powerful smartphone and the functions provided by Instagram and Facebook (such as Stories ). are sufficient
Of course – as with any other recording – you have to pay attention to the setting and select POS displays, stands and gadgets just as carefully as if you were making a short film. Nothing should be left to chance in order not to achieve the opposite of what you wanted to achieve. A risk that comes with the immediacy of sharing and the virality of the stories. Always remember that being a conversation piece isn’t always a positive thing: By the way, here are some pieces of advice on how to get customers to share about you and your brand on social media speak.
What is it for?
To involve people in the business storytelling by showing your unpublished (and exclusive) perspective on the fair!
QR codes
After it was quiet for a few years, the QR codes are back!
By affixing QR codes to your leaflets, product catalogs or in certain areas of the trade fair, you can indicate that you can pick up a “prize” at your stand – a giveaway, a small branded surprise … a souvenir is enough! – And if you ask the people who pick up your gadget to fill out an online form with a few personal details (name, surname, company, e-mail address, etc.), you can use the full potential of the QR code.
What do you need? Just a simple QR code generator.
What is it for?
To enlarge the contact database by attracting users. With a small (inexpensive) gift for you as a company, but one that is of great (emotional) value for your customers. And all of this fills the crowd at your booth!
at the same time
Conclusion
As you can see, the organization of a phygital presence appears at first to be more difficult than it is to implement effectively. I’ve only listed three options, but there are many more.