si ^4 70?- S0CIAL TRADE SHOW Leveraging Social Media and Virtual Events to Connect With Your Customers TRACI BROWNE

Transcription

1 si ^4 70?- S0CIAL TRADE SHOW Leveraging Social Media and Virtual Events to Connect With Your Customers TRACI BROWNE 800 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana USA

2 1 -, Introduction 1 I THE SOCIAL STRATEGY 7 1 Create and Connect Your Community 9 But What About Face-to-Face Connections? 12 But What About Trade Shows?.12 Failure to Plan Is a Plan for Failure 14 Summary 15 2 Connect With and Expand Your Audience 17 Where Are Your Customers Hanging Out? 19 Linkedln 20 Association or Event Community 21 Twitter 21 Reaching the Media 22 The Three-Day Show That Never Ends 23 Summary 24 3 Create Company-Wide Social Media Enthusiasm 25 Find Internal Advocates 26 Getting the CFO on Your Side 28 Create Something They Can't Live Without 28 Put an End to Common Objections Once and for All 30 "People Might Say Bad Things About Us" 30 "Our Industry Has Too Many Regulations and Legal Will Never Approve Social Media Use" 30 "Our Customers Don't Use Social Media" 31 "We Don't Have the Resources to Start This" 31 "Isn't Social Media Just Filled with a Bunch of Chatter and Nonsense about Brangelina and Ashton Kutcher?" 32 "We'll Just Stick to Traditional Media Because That Has Always Worked for Us in the Past" 32 Summary 32 4 Create a Solid Social Media Plan 33 What Are Goals Versus Objectives and Strategy Versus Tactics? 34 Sample Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics 34 Goal 34 Objective 35 Strategies 35 Tactics 35

3 Table of Contents Aligning with Your Company's Overall Goals 36 Who Are You Trying to Reach? 36 What Do Attendees Know About You Already? 37 What Do Attendees Think About You Already? 38 Where Are Your Customers? 38 Have a Purpose 39 Specify When and Who in Your Plan 41 Measure the Results 42 Summary 43 5 Choose the Right Social and Virtual Platforms 45 Do You Have Internet Access? Are You Sure? 46 Live Streaming 48 A Word About Free Live-Streaming Services 49 Video and Photo Hosting 50 Be Careful What You Post 51 Social Platforms 52 Communication Platforms 52 Collaboration Platforms 52 Entertainment and Educational Platforms 53 Multimedia Platforms 53 Reviews and Opinions 53 Virtual Event Platforms 53 Webcasts 54 2D, 3D, and 3D Immersive Environments 54 What Is the Trade Show Using? 54 Summary. 55 II PRIME THE PUMP 57 6 Use Social Media to Generate Awareness 59 Integrating Your Social Media 61 Creating a Message for Each Audience 62 How Do You Create Different Messages? 62 Personal Connections 65 VIP Program Invitation 66 Summary, 67 7 Find and Engage Your Champions 69 What Is a Champion? 70 Why Do You Need Champions? 70 Where Do You Find a Champion? 72 Engaging Your Blogger Champions and the Media 74 Social Media Releases 76 Summary 79

4 VI The Social Trade Show 8 Pre-Show Social Media Tactics 81 Crowd Source Activities and Contests 82 Polling 82 Crowdsourcing. 83 Webinars and Webcasts 84 Instructions for the Virtual Event 85 The More Information, the Better 86 Creating Videos to Generate Excitement and Teasers 87 Summary 89 III ON WITH THE SHOW 91 9 Drive Traffic to Your Booth 93 Driving Traffic for Brand Recognition 94 Make It Easy For People To Participate 95 Make It Easy For People To Share 95 Be Sure To Have Staff On Hand To Handle the Crowds 96 Be Sure Your Staff Is Trained On All Aspects Of Your Plan 96 Be Sure People Are Assigned to Keep the Buzz Alive Be Sure It's Legal 97 Rules of the Platforms 98 Driving Traffic for Qualified Leads 98 Addressing Both the Show Attendees and Your Online Audience 99 Engaging Your Live Audience 101 Engaging Your Virtual Audience 101 Summary Be THE Source for Content 105 What Is Content? 106 What's In It for You? 107 Local Inside Information 108 Trade Show Floor Reporting 108 Session and Speaker Highlights 109 Blog Session Summaries and Posts on Company Site 109 Share Through Podcasts 109 Tell a Story Using Aggregated Content 110 Tell a Story Through Video 111 Create a Photo Log of the Event 114 Include a Call to Action 115 Summary 116

5 Table of Contents VII 11 Capture the Bloggers' Attention How Do You Get Bloggers to Your Booth? Checking Blogger Credentials Making the Bloggers Comfortable The Blog Bar Press Material Prepping the Speakers Product Demo for Bloggers Blogger Bar in Sessions Sponsor a Show Blogger Zone What About Microbloggers? Summary Create Engaging Video Interviews The Right Equipment Going Professional Proper Lighting and Sound Background Do You Need a Waiver? Tips for Interviewing,. Whom Should You Interview? The Man on the Street Customers Speakers and Presenters Industry Thought Leaders Bloggers and the Media What to Do with the Video Summary Live Stream Your Message Two Different Audiences Technical Requirements for a Live Stream What to Look for in a Streaming Provider What to Look for in a Production Company or AV Company What to Look for in a Viewing Platform Provider Internet Connection Virtual Emcee Tips for a Professional Virtual Event Experience, Background Wardrobe and Makeup Eye Contact Information Front and Center In-Booth Presentations That Can Go Virtual Product Launches Product Demos ,

6 VIM The Social Trade Show Industry Education and Interviews with Thought Leaders 151 Q&A Sessions 151 Summary Tune In and Listen 155 Where to Listen,. 158 Why Is It So Quiet? 159 What to Listen For 159 Listen for Talk About Your Company and Its Products and Services 159 Listen for Industry Hot Topics 160 Listen for Your Customers 160 Tools for Listening 161 Google Alerts 161 RSS Feeds 161 Twitter Advanced Search 162 Social Media Monitoring Tools 162 Collect and Save the Conversations 163 Summary Unleash the Power of Mobile 165 Are Mobile Apps Right for Every Audience? 166 Event Apps 168 Consider a Mobile App Sponsorship 170 Location-Based Social Networks 172 Augmented Reality 172 Mobile Polling 174 Lead Retrieval 174 QR Codes, 175 Summary 177 IV YOU'RE NOT FINISHED YET Repurpose Your Content 181 Why Should You Even Care About Content? 182 So Exactly What Is the Content You Will Be Repurposing? 183 Tweets 183 Audio Interviews 184 Pictures Videos 186 Session Notes 187 Track What You Pass On To Other Departments 188 What to Do with What's Left 189 Create an Editorial Calendar 190

7 Table of Contents. ix Just Exactly Who Is Going to Do All This Work? 191 Summary A Case for Metrics and Measurement 195 Focus on Sales 196 So, How Do You Put Together That Show Report? 198 ROI Calculation 202 Expense to Revenue Ratio 202 What About the Results That Don't Have an Obvious Value? 203 Your Report Tells a Story 203 Summary Keep the Community Alive 205 Platforms Are Not Strategies 206 You Participate in Social Media to Build Trust 207 Keeping Up 208 Time Management 209 A Few How-tos for Keeping Up with Your Connections 210 Twitter 210 Linkedln Groups, 212 Facebook, Google+ 214 Taking It Beyond Simple Chatter 214 Summary.,,,.216 V PROBLEM-SOLVING SPONSORSHIPS How to Create a Winning Sponsorship 221 Things to Consider When Creating Your Guidelines 222 Brand Personality 222 Desired Demographic 222 Goals and Objectives 223 Time 223 Exclusivity 223 Sponsee Investment 224 Control 224 Customer Access,. 224 Product Placement 224 Pre- and Post-Show Opportunities 225 Access to Premium Content 225 Visibility for Key Employees 225

8 X The Social Trade Show What Can You Offer? 226 Space on Your Website or Company Blog 226 Social Media Promotion 226 Promotion to Your Database 226 Content 227 What Is the Sh ow's Sponsorship Marketing Plan? 227 What Makes a Great Sponsorship? 228 Your Sponsorship Team 229 How Will You Measure Success? 230 Give Sponsorship a Chance 231 Summary People Connector 233 Debunking the Mixing Myth 234 How Does a Sponsorship Connect People? 235 The "Meet" Sponsorship Bundle 236 Online and Mobile Matchmaking Programs 237 Dinner Sign-ups 239 Special Targeted Events 239 Icebreakers 240 Who Done That? 241 World Map 242 Creative Name Tags 242 Burning Question 242 How to Leverage Your Sponsorship 243 Summary Destination Concierge 245 Create a Show City Guide : 247 Restaurant Suggestions and Things to Do 248 Create a Discount Dining/Shopping Program 249 Running Routes 250 Visiting Gym Memberships 250 Emergency Shopping Tips 251 Getting Around 251 Where Not to Go 252 International Visitors 252 Distributing Your Show Guide 253 Concierge Kiosk at the Show,, 253 Airport Welcoming 255 Airline Check-ins, Boarding Passes, and Good-byes 257 Summary

9 Table of Contents XI 22 Tech Sponsor 259 The Tech Lounge 261 Let's Start with Power 261 Internet Access Stations ; 262 The Tech Help Desk 263 Mobile App 264 Promoted Trends and Tweets 266 Tweet-ups 266 Facebook Events 267 Summary Virtual Event Sponsor 269 Getting the Show Organizer On Board 270 Attendee Marketing and Conversion 271 Increased Audience and Member Benefits 272 Increased Revenue 272 Expanded Content Creation,273 Beating the Competition 273 Added Benefits to Exhibitors 273 Ingredients for Success, 274 Marketing the Virtual Event 275 Preparing the Virtual Attendee 277 Summary Show Floor Education 281 Whom Should You Work with When Planning Your Sponsorship? 282 What Does The Show Floor Theater Look Like? 283 Sound 284 Stage 285 What Makes for a Good Presentation on the Show Floor? 285 Town Hall Discussions 286 Keynote Q&A Sessions 286 Innovative Product or Service Demonstrations and Q&A 287 How-To Presentations 288 Peer Sessions 289 Summary 290 Conclusion 291 Index 295