Once you have decided on an appropriate CTA (call to action) for the tradeshow you plan on attending to represent your local business, in addition to how it will best benefit your ROI (return on investment), it is important that you focus on effectively promoting your local business to fulfill your goals when you decided to attend the event. The promotional avenue you choose may vary depending on your location, where the trade show is held, and your target audience.

Offer Marketing Tools to Generate Attendee Interest

One of the most effective ways to promote your goals is to get participants interested in actively supporting your local business through simple marketing tools.  You may offer a give-away, a raffle, or another contest to lure in your target trade show audience. Clearly define what you will be offering to your target group before you get to the event to help guarantee their interest in your products or services.

Be Sure to Promote Your Attendance at the Trade Show via ‘External’ Channels

When you have decided on an appropriate attack to catch your targeted trade show audience, it is important that you market it properly.   You will need to decide what literature you will present, in addition to what social media outlets you will advertise your participation with. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube are also fantastic ways to get the word out. You will need to let as many people as you know about your participation in a trade show. A local business that uses social media outlets as marketing tools are more likely to draw in the masses of consumers. Posting statuses, updates, videos, and commentary on these sites while you’re at the tradeshow can only add to the number of visitors you see at you booth, as well.

Also, don’t forget that most trade shows will have some sort of advertising included in the price of your booth.  Take advantage of this to make certain that you are not spending your advertising dollars unwisely.

The Old Schools Tools that Still Work – Business Cards and Hand Outs

It may seem archaic, but hand outs and business cards are a great way to accomplish reaching your marketing goals.  People are visual beings, and having something they can see, especially at a later date after they leave the trade show, could prove invaluable to your local business. Make sure you are addressing your clear goals in the hand outs, and do not forget to include all of you contact information.  It is important that people be able to reach you with questions, concerns, or to purchase your products and services!

Whatever way you choose to advertise your participation at the trade show, make sure they are user friendly.  You and your local business will want to create as little work to your customer as possible. Be certain to include pleasing photos and witty text on your hand outs and in other advertisements to draw in the biggest audience. Make sure that the trade show host is including some sort of advertising for your local business in their announcements as well. Lastly, you will need to appeal to current consumers as well as potential ones. Don’t leave anyone out. If you do all of these things, your attendance at the trade show will definitely generate the leads and visibility for your business that you’re targeting.

Chris Marentis is an expert in the field of local online marketing. Through his company, Surefire Social, Chris leverages website development, search engine optimization, and social media marketing to generate leads and build brands across the web.