How to Use the Web to Boost Trade Show Traffic & Profit



by: Dick Wheeler

As soon as you make the decision to exhibit at a trade show, you have the opportunity to promote your company's website, increase your visibility on the Internet, and also use the Internet to sell your products or services.

Clients who plan to attend a trade show often want to know the techniques of maximizing their trade show appearance on the Internet. Your trade show exhibit marketing efforts can definitely benefit from increased traffic to your website. By using the Internet you add another dimension to your trade show display before, during and after the trade show.

What are the ways the Internet can increase your trade show marketing efforts? Here's an idea for your website visibility:

By promptly posting your trade show attendance on a separate trade show web page on your company's website, you gain increased visibility due to search engines crawling your website for news of a specific trade show.

By putting a page on your web site with information such as your booth number, a map of the trade show floor, a picture of your booth, you will gain traffic by making it easier for your prospects and clients to find you. If your page is online early enough, at least two months or even better four months before the show you'll attract additional traffic, as the search engines will crawl and index your new show page and return the link to a search like ?CES XYZ Company?.

Post your news on a separate web page on your website ideally four months prior to the tradeshow to give the search engines time to crawl your website. Some companies merely provide a link from their website home page directly to the website of the trade show. They miss the opportunity to promote their company's website and provide information to the website visitor.

A better way to go is to make a trade show reference on your website such as: "We're exhibiting at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2006. Click here for details." This link would open a new web page in a new window giving full details with company contacts. Search Engines will give your company web page a higher ranking when searching for the specific trade show where you plan to exhibit. If this page is constructed appropriately, then it can itself be highly ranked in a search for ?Consumer Electronics Show? (CES). So when business executives search for the CES Show, your company trade show web page will be high on the search engine ranking list. It's an opportunity for your company name to be seen and associated with the trade show. Visitors may also choose to click through to visit your webpage.

Another Internet tool is the use of email marketing to help you sell your products and services. Email targeted, industry- specific customer prospects an invitation to your trade show exhibit. Offer your customer prospects an incentive to drop by your trade show booth, such as giving them half of a gift coupon via email and ask them to pick up the other half at your booth for their special prize. Everyone loves to receive a gift and this technique builds qualified traffic to your booth.

You may also want to offer free Internet service at your trade show booth. By providing weary trade show attendees a valuable service, you have them pre-disposed to appreciate your company and its showcased products and services.

Then, be sure to accelerate sales to your client prospects by following up with emails the day after the show. Of course you have made sure your email list is honed from a tightly screened base. This strategy simplifies the sending of personalized e-mail messages to your highly qualified booth visitors.

By combining high tech techniques with face-to-face trade show exposure you are able to attract your customer prospects on a variety of levels that reinforce your company's presence.