The "mostly" one way broadcasting
tool that allows you to tell the world when you are doing
things like brushing your teeth, watching tv, or complaining
about the movie you just saw.
However, did you know
that Twitter is a platform that's used by hundreds of millions
of people each day.
And when you can post information
that's valuable, and especially information that "delivers
benefits" to the recipients, then Twitter can deliver
explosive traffic and exposure to your to your Twitter profile,
your message, and most importantly, your business.
Using Twitter To Promote Your Trade Show
Because of the massive viral exposure that Twitter can
generate, when it comes to promoting your next trade
show, you'll want to leverage the power of Twitter to
help you generate "buzz" about the event, get other people
talking and sharing, and to ultimately deliver advertising
exposure that far exceeds anything you could buy.
But using Twitter to promote your next trade show
requires some thinking, planning, and most of all... proper
execution. Below you'll find how, through
the use of a Twitter hashtag, you can dramatically
increase traffic, exposure, and attendance to your next trade
show - no matter how big or how small your trade show may be.
Creating a Twitter Hashtag For Your Trade Show
Creating a hashtag for your trade show is, without
a doubt, the most effective way you, as a trade show
organizer, can leverage Twitter to build awareness and buzz
around your next trade show. But what's a Twitter hashtag? (I
hear you asking it even as I'm typing this...)
Twitter has a great explanation
here - but keep reading below for how to
incorporate the Twitter hashtag into your trade show campaign.
A Twitter hashtag is a tag you create, and subsequently
include in each of your tweets, that allows a group of people
to join a particular stream or conversation. For
example (and keeping in line with using Twitter for trade show
marketing), let's say I was the organizer for a trade show that
focused on book resellers and distributors.
And the
name of my trade show was Books Galore & Trade
Show. A Twitter hashtag that I would create would
be: #booksgts or perhaps #bgts (that's
actually shorter). So you see, a hashtag is a tag you create
that starts with the pound sign (#) and ends with a handle you
create specifically for your trade show.
The only challenge
you'll face in this is finding a hashtag that hasn't been used
yet, so be creative. Now, as the trade show organizer, I would
start promoting the hashtag for the trade show itself.
Promoting Your Trade Show Twitter Hashtag
I'd include it in printed material, on flyers, in email
marketing campaigns - basically, anywhere I know where the
hashtag could get noticed.
Then I (or one of my
employees) would go on Twitter and start creating updates with
the hashtag. For example: can't wait for the Books
Galore & Trade Show to come to Orlando #bgts
Notice at the end of that tweet is the #bgts.
This
tells the viewers and recipients on Twitter that my trade show
actually has a Twitter hashtag and they can join the
conversation by including that hashtag in their Twitter
updates.
Now once you have your hashtag created for your trade
show, you can
go to Twitter and do a search for your
hashtag. Simply go to
Search.Twitter.com and enter your hashtag
- in my example hashtag, we'd simply enter "#bgts" (without
quotes).
Once you search your hashtag, you'll be able to
instantly see all of the comments (or tweets) that are using
your hashtag.
And the collective (all tweets in your search
results) are what makes up the conversation on Twitter that's
circulating about your trade show.
The Payoff For Using A Twitter Hashtag For Your Tradeshow
The pay off here is
that each time someone sends out a tweet with that hashtag,
your trade show is getting publicity and exposure to a lot of
people who more than likely would have never known
about your trade show in the first place.
The more people who
get involved in the conversation, the more traffic and exposure
your be generating for your trade show - all through the power
of Twitter.
So what do you think?
Do you find Twitter to be a
valuable part of your trade show marketing strategy?
Have you
used Twitter in the past for your trade shows?
Share your
stories in the comments below.
