The Ecommerce Berlin Expo 2022 is just around the corner and we are already excited about it! Preparations are in full swing, so everything will be perfect down to the last detail, and you can trust us – it will happen.
However, we have not forgotten about you during all this hard work! While we’re preparing for the Expo, we’ve made up some tips that you can take advantage of during the event and get ready for this big time.
Needless to say, let’s get started!
What should you do to prepare for the Expo?
#1 Inform your current clients about participating in the event.
Let’s start by pointing out that if you are attending our expo, you need to tell your customers about it. Although there will be a lot of visitors at the event – your potential customers as well – it’s still important to let your existing clients know about the possibility of meeting you in person.
It might be a good opportunity to meet with them and collect feedback. But such meetings can also save your time and establish business relations.
So talk with your sales team and make sure your top leads are invited to attend.
Most event organizers provide an appointment scheduling application. Your sales department must have access to it too because then they can choose the people you are interested in and try to arrange a meeting with them.
Remember that you don’t come to the Expo so that the client comes to you. Such events are characterized by the fact that many people will appear there, but only a certain percentage of them can become your leads, and then be transformed to deals. By inviting your prospects to the stand, arranging meetings with existing customers, or promoting your presence, you maximize the chance of a higher ROI from the fair trade event.
The best companies do this by scheduling all-day meetings from the start to its finish. Plus, there are people whose aim is to handle “random traffic” at the stand. So don’t believe in luck and that the perfect customer will find you alone. It would be best if you found them.
#2 Take advantage of your Newsletter
Most companies have their own newsletters, marketing lists and customer bases. If you know for 100% that you will be at The E-commerce Berlin Expo 2022, it is definitely worth mentioning it in this way.
Probably, many people would just like to meet your brand in person, so if they are subscribed to your newsletter, they’ll quickly know there’s an opportunity to do so. In this way, they will take advantage of such occasion and meet you in person, where they will learn much more about your offer, e.g., thanks to a one-view-one conversation. What’s more, you can create a newsletter with the possibility of registration to the meeting with you during The E-commerce Berlin Expo 2022!
Many companies exhibiting at our Expo plan their meetings to visit larger groups of their customers. No matter if it’s Koln, Berlin, or Munich – many companies want to appear in Germany at least once a year to meet their local communities and explore sales opportunities in these regions. By spreading the word about your arrival in your newsletter, you can make people know you’ll be there and that they can meet you in person. It opens up even more possibilities, such as contract arrangements or even a special dinner together, before or after Expo.
So, are you still wondering whether to send these emails?
#3 Promote your participation on social media
You can also use your network to promote your participation. Platforms like Linkedin, Xing, Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram can work to your advantage. Posts, videos, reels are always welcome!
1.Social media plan
To do so, make your social media plan. You shouldn’t limit yourself to just one type of post. While you can think that photos work the best, you can try with short videos (try some free tools like Splice app, Lumen5, or Recast.Studio), carousels, or link posts to make your marketing efforts more diverse.
Be up-to-date, but use planning to share some interesting content. Are you feeling like you have a lack of ideas of what to share? Look at our list below.
- Quotes or image quotes from the last edition of a particular event
- Photos from the last edition, after receiving a prior approval
- Press releases about the current edition of the event (or summaries of the last one)
- Sneak-peeks as for your booth.
Can you forget about social media during the event? Absolutely not! Keep an eye on what is going on by monitoring mentions (using social media monitoring tools like Brand24 or Social Mention) and reacting in real-time. Fairs and conferences are those events where time matters the most if you react too late you can miss the boat. Twitter is a medium that is extraordinarily active during many events, with TweetDeck you can stay up-to-date with the latest Tweets in the areas of your interest. This will also give you quite a list of pieces of content or photos you can retweet also after the event.
If you feel like it, and you have the necessary tools & manpower to maintain it (and time during the event!), you can consider making some live videos directly from the event.
2.Paid promotion
One of the common mistakes is to think that social media promotion needs to cost a little fortune, while a few bucks can actually deliver some results: drive more traffic, attract new followers and encourage some people to visit your booth.
Even if they haven’t planned it. So divide your social media paid promotion into a few parts:
- Pre-event – posts with sneak-peeks of you getting prepared for the event
- During the event – use a smart FB campaign to target those who are in the area of the event! In the “Locations” section, simply drop the first pin where the event takes place. The next pins you drop should overlap the edges of the first area, so you’re effectively targeting only a very close area to the event, increasing the chances of being noticed.
- After the event – don’t let the visitors forget about you! Also, thank them for the time spent together and express the hope that you will meet next year.
3. Include your speakers
Aside from the organisers, the group most interested in making an event successful are often the speakers who are going to be giving talks at the event. Smart event exhibitors include their speakers in their promotional efforts early on to make use of their own social media audiences.
Give your speakers all the information they need to get involved as soon as possible, including the event‘s official hashtag, and ask them to share and engage with the event and potential attendees. If you want you can also create a promotion guide for them, explaining what kind of posts you are looking for and how to best use the hashtag.
And vice versa – promote your speakers on social media as well. Introduce them to the audience prior to the event using various methods. The possibilities depend on time, money and effort available but are pretty much endless.
Here are a few ideas for introducing and promoting speakers before your event:
- Post images that include a photo of the speaker, their field of expertise, the topic of their talk and perhaps a short quote. Don’t forget to include the details of the event as well.
- If you have the time, skills and leisure, create and post short video clips that transport the same information, perhaps showing a short excerpt from a previous talk the speaker has given or an interview with them where they talk about their topic.
- Record and post podcasts in which you interview speakers about their field of expertise.
- Do the same in short live video streams on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
- Hold webinars if it fits with your event and topic.
- Interview speakers and write them up as blog posts, then post quotes and links to the blog on social media.
4. Further ideas
If your customers have given you their phone number, you can also use it and send them a text message with an invitation to the fair. One message is enough, you don’t want to scare them away with SMS spam, right?
What’s more, you can also cooperate with another company from the same industry and ask them to publish a sponsored article on their site. This method is also a great idea for getting more engagement!
#4 Create a microsite for your event
Make it easy for interested parties to find out more about your event by creating a microsite. You can adapt the design of the site to fit your event without having to completely overhaul your general brand website. This gives you more options to target your specific event audience and incorporate ticket sales tools, event schedules, a social media wall, etc.
Your microsite will be the one-stop-shop for your event, including social media, ticket sales and updates. It’s also easier and more straightforward to simply link to the event website whenever you are sharing something about your event.
#5 Work with influencers
Since long before the advent of social media, word-of-mouth opinions have been influencing purchasing decisions both offline and online. People trust recommendations from other “real people” much more than anything coming directly from a brand.
Influencers can help you reach a broader audience or a very specific audience segment that you usually might not have access to. You can commission blog posts and social media posts, run social ads, ask influencers to use your hashtag and create content.
Don’t just choose any person with a following and choose your collaborators wisely. So-called micro-influencers, who may have a relatively small following but one they are very engaged with, can really do wonders for you.
Reach out slowly and build a relationship. Don’t just barge in with a one-sided offer but rather build a mutually beneficial relationship. By building an ongoing relationship you can really transform someone into an ambassador. And remember: You do need to offer incentives, but money isn’t the only incentive that can make a deal work.
#6 Create marketing materials:
1.Business cards
They influence much business going on, no matter how technologically advanced we get. At our Expo, we expect around 8000 visitors next year, and they all can become your clients. To make your performance memorable for them, you should hand them your business cards – but, for example, in the form of a scanning app or LI profile exchange – all up for ecology! This is one of the easiest ways of not being forgotten and expanding your network with new contacts, clients or business partners.
There are a few principles to follow while designing a card. It is seen in good taste to leave some white space on the card in case someone would like to note anything in particular. If you prepare business cards for one Expo only, it may be wise to put a number of your booth on it. Choose a high-quality paper – remember that your business card is like your visa for more business.
What else should you think about? Please don’t overdo it. Putting too many details may be tempting, but it can affect the general overview of your business card and business.
You should know all exhibitors will get access to a special app for scanning the visitors and their data – instead of exchanging business cards, this way is more convenient and modern (of course, exchanging LinkedIn profiles also works wonders here!). Also, many brands use LinkedIn, and new contacts just can find them there. It’s a more ecological-friendly approach 🙂
2.Brochures
Not always you’ll have the opportunity to talk to everyone, especially when you don’t have a big team to speak to each and every visitor. For many, brochures or leaflets are overrated; however, they can help you win more clients even if you don’t chat with them all at first.
Remember to keep your brochure TILE.
- transparent
- informative
- language of benefits
- easy to understand
While brochures may have more sense for people whom you engage at on your booth, smart leaflets, distributed in some distance from your stand, can be an excellent first touchpoint with your brand and they can encourage visitors to dig into your products or services and come to your stand. Brochures, usually, need to be more informative and detailed, why leaflets only whet the appetite for a potential collaboration.
3. Booth itself – Tips for the booth arrangement
A specialist or subcontractor can prepare the stand for you if you have such an opportunity. However, here are some ideas on how to make your place more attractive if you prepare them yourself.
Having an appealing booth is essential for success. Regardless of the size, or even the placement, if your stand is well-designed and draws attention, you can regard it as your success. You need to aim for the “Wow” factor. However, it would help if you remembered that your booth at even is the very first sight and has to be informative and transparent.
Below, you’ll find a list of suggested things to do if you want to promote your booth, but we’ll come back to it in the second episode of our Fair series.
- Photo frames
Print an Instagram-related photo frame and encourage your followers to come to your booth, say hi and take a photo in your frame. You can ask them for sharing it on social media, with a relevant caption, description or set of hashtags, in exchange for gadgets or discounts.
- Shows at your booth
Invite some experts for a short interview, set up a Q&A or demo session and of course, streamline it on social media
- Coffee machine or small drinks stall
At fairs, it’s likely for visitors to get thirsty or a bit hungry – if you attract them with some nibbles or drinks, of course after prior approval of the organizer, your booth can get fairly popular. Obviously, you need to be aware that some of them can be just random people looking for freebies, but those visitors can be turned into your clients or can have a good first impression of your brand.
Well, even the best booth may not be popular among visitors, if it is not promoted online – especially if it is located out of the main event area. Take care of activities around your stand to increase social media reach and online mentions of your brand.
#7 A checklist for every exhibitor
- Make sure you include information about your presence at a particular event in your social media, newsletters, website, and invite customers so they can meet you there
- Ensure the sales department is in touch with your visitors through an event app so you can discuss meetings with them in advance
- Think about your pre-, during, and post-event communication – how you’re going to communicate your presence and follow up with potential leads. Work on a special sequence you can start implementing from the very moment of announcing your participation.
- Your booth is your business card! It has to be informational and valuable, but also attractive to stand out from the competition. Prepare each and every detail beforehand so you’re not left stressed out.
- Prepare collaterals and materials in different sizes for each and every platform you’re using – including photo frames, cover photos, hashtags, tags and promotional graphics
- Dedicate time for social media monitoring during “the big day” and anwser to all tags, repost, photos and messages that may be of interest to your brand or even mention it directly.
