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7 Ways Social Media Can Help Your Business Stand Out at a Trade Show

January 28, 2016 Advertisting & Marketing / Branding / Events & Holidays / Promotional Inspirations
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When it comes to trade shows, businesses are always looking for smart and novel ways to get the word out about their products and services. In a crowded exhibition hall full of competitors and distractions, it can be tricky to stand out and make a strong impression. At times like these, social media can be a great asset for getting yourself on people’s radar. It can help you reach potential customers before, during, and after the event. Here are seven tips for marketing your business on social media at trade show time:

  1. Use the event hashtag – Find out what the event hashtag is and see who’s using it prior to the show. Attendees are likely using or monitoring that hashtag on Twitter, looking to connect with others who are also planning to go, but depending on your industry or how the show organizers are using social media, this hashtag may also be in use on Instagram as well. Conversations may already be underway on the trade show’s Facebook page. Join in. It’ll get the word out about your business and show your enthusiasm for the event.
  2. Connect before the trade show – If there are people you know you’ll especially want to talk to at the trade show, whether they’re prospective clients, business partners, or journalists, reach out to them on social media before the big event. Connect with them on LinkedIn, Twitter, or wherever they appear to be most active on social and start a conversation. Let them know you’d love to grab a coffee if possible at the event. People are often pressed for time at trade shows, so be sure to let them know the specific business opportunity or topic you’d like to discuss.
  3. Share video and photos – People are more likely to respond to your social media posts and share them with others if they include video clips or photos. Consider taking snapshots or quick video clips of the scene at the trade show and sharing them on social media during the event. You can occasionally post snapshots of your booth, which will make it easier for people to find in the exhibition hall. Some companies even get started early, snapping pictures of their trip as they’re en route to the show. It gives their followers, and even people who can’t make it to the show but wish they could, a glimpse into what the event looks like behind the scenes.
  4. Run giveaways and contests – Everyone likes a good contest or trade show giveaway featuring cool and useful swag like USB drives and power banks. Running such a contest or giveaway on social media is a great way to draw an even bigger crowd to your booth. You can encourage people to participate by tweeting using a special contest hashtag or by posting a photo of themselves at your booth and sharing it with their followers, for example, which gets the word out about your business to even more people. There are many different ways you can run a contest during a trade show, and incorporating social media into the mix can give it a turbocharged boost.
  5. Advertise your social media campaign with promotional products – Handing out promotional products that feature a social media campaign is a great way to do to let potential clients and business partners know that you’re active on social. You could print a campaign hashtag on pencils that you give out, for example. Another great idea is to choose a promotional product that ties into the concept of the campaign itself. For example, an advocacy group promoting the health benefits of vaccinations might choose a syringe pen or a syringe highlighter and print the hashtag #VaccinationsSaveLives on it to reinforce the messaging in a meaningful, memorable way. Whatever the campaign you are running or the message you want to send, there are a variety of creative ways to amplify it by syncing promotional products with social media.
  6. Get video testimonials – Customer testimonials are among the most powerful forms of marketing out there. If you know that some of your most loyal customers will be at the trade show, see if you can get them to record video testimonials for later use on social media as well as your website, YouTube channel, and email newsletter.
  7. Blog about the show afterward – Share a recap of the trade show and the highlights from your perspective after the big event is over. Include photos, details on the giveaway if you offered one (don’t forget to thank everyone who participated), and any other interesting things that you think are worth mentioning. This gives folks who couldn’t be at the show a look at what it was like from your perspective, and it also presents your business as an active member of the industry community. Just as with the video testimonial, this blog post is perfect for sharing on social media as well as in a company email newsletter.

Do you have a trade show on the horizon? We can help advise you on custom branded promotional products that can make a difference for your brand. Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook or call us at 877-881-6845 for creative and innovative branding ideas to help your company stand out and make a great impression.

Everyone’s Crazy About Selfie Sticks: Here’s Why They’re So Popular

September 10, 2015 Cool / Promotional Inspirations / Technology
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custom selfie stick

Selfie sticks are phenomenally popular this year. The handy gadgets, used to take perfect selfies on smartphones, are being now being used everywhere from New York’s Times Square to Beijing. President Obama was recently spotted snapping pictures and video clips with a selfie stick on a trip to Alaska to raise awareness on climate change. Even NASA’s Curiosity rover used its robotic arm to take a stunning selfie of Mars this summer. Why are selfie sticks so red-hot right now? Here are a few reasons:

  • You can use a selfie stick to take a great photo of yourself from almost any angle.
  • It’s easy to get a clean shot: no blurry thumbs or arms will show up in the picture.
  • If you’re in a group, you can get everybody into the picture. The more the merrier!
  • It’s much easier to take a selfie using a selfie stick than it is using just your smartphone. If you have a selfie stick, you’ll have better control over the timing and setup of the shot.
  • When using a selfie stick, you don’t have to set a timer and rush back into place or ask a stranger, who may or may not be a good photographer to take the picture for you. Or you may not feel comfortable handing your device over to someone you don’t know. After all, unlike the analog cameras of old, our smartphones are the center of our digital lives and contain sensitive personal data like contacts, photos, and even digital wallets.
  • Selfie sticks are inexpensive, typically ranging from $14-$40.

With this week’s release of the new iPhone 6S and its upgraded camera, we can expect the boom in selfie sticks to continue well into the holiday season and beyond. They’re already one of the hottest and most popular ideas for custom promotional products this year! Here at brandingideas.com, we have a wide selection of selfie sticks including custom branded selfie sticks to represent your brand with a unique sense of style. We also have models in a range of colors and sizes, selfie sticks with Bluetooth connectivity and remote control options, and mobile kits for taking incredible photos on the go.

Are you interested in getting a selfie stick but not sure which kind is right for you? Check out The Starter’s Guide to Selfie Sticks, which traces the history of selfie sticks and shares a few helpful tips on how to buy one that meets your needs. Give us a shout on Twitter, drop us a line on Facebook, or call us at 877-881-6845 for personalized service and expert advice.

Advertising and Socialism

September 11, 2009 Advertisting & Marketing / Technology
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No, not that kind of socialism. We’re talking about social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Social networks aren’t exactly new anymore, but in the timeline of advertising, they’re fairly new models. These networking sites and other communications platforms have become central to our online and social experiences (Twitter and Facebook are two of the most popular sites on the Internet), and yet they’ve struggled to develop advertising-driven revenue. It’s partly because they’ve failed to prove to marketers that they’re going to get enough bang for their buck. The biggest reason is that most people who use social media are there to interact with their friends, family and colleagues, not a company that’s trying to sell them something. However, consumers of TV and print have long accepted that paid ad placements are part and parcel to their viewing and reading experiences, and in recent years even moviegoers have relucantly accepted commercials in theaters despite lots of initial pushback. So maybe time is the answer. As social networking becomes broader, used for business and other means, perhaps we’ll be more open to it. The key to any advertising endeavor, of course, is to assess what the opportunities and risks are for your company and, of course, find out who’s doing it right. After all, someone has to take the first plunge!

Twitter Nation

May 21, 2009 Technology
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In case you hadn’t noticed, Twitter is inescapable. Everyone from college students to “power moms,” who are described by Greta Weiner of the Internet marketing company GWDC LLC as “moms who are very busy, but want to keep up with what their kids are doing and keep up with the latest information,” are all atwitter. If your business is not already twittering, you should start. It’s a great way to stay in touch with existing clients and customers and an even better way to attract new ones. Mashable.com posted a great article yesterday on how to build your personal brand on Twitter. Twitter itself is an expanding business that, according to eMarketer.com, is expected to grow three-fold by next year. Impressive numbers, to be sure. A post on the official Twitter blog yesterday, however, dismissed traditional web banner advertising: “The idea of taking money to run traditional banner ads on Twitter.com has always been low on our list of interesting ways to generate revenue.” Instead, the social media upstart is exploring ideas like “account authentication, management tools, and discovery mechanisms” that facilitate “connections between businesses and individuals in meaningful and relevant ways.” If you’re scratching your head and wondering what the savvy brains who came up with the pithy communication concept that has taken over the nation are talking about, they’re happy to tell you that they’ll “keep you posted” on the matter. Cute.