by Fronetics | Mar 31, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Employ a content and social marketing strategy to nurture leads you meet during MODEX.
Hundreds of potential customers will be heading to Atlanta next week for MODEX, and you’re gearing up to gain lots of new business. That is, you and over 800 other exhibitors are hoping to gain lots of new business. So how do you plan to stand out among the competition?
Using content and social marketing to nurture leads surrounding the event will help maximize the benefits of attendance. You can bring more attention to your presence, which will help you find more new potential customers, and then you can increase your chances of converting them if you use these tools properly.
Here are some tips for before, during, and after MODEX for using content and social media to gain new business.
Before the show
1) Define your goals.
A trade show represents an opportunity to spread brand awareness, find new leads, and, of course, make sales. Decide what is most important to your business, and strategize around those goals. For example, if one of your goals is to increase your social following, make sure every handout, landing page, and face-to-face interaction includes a request to like you on Facebook (or elsewhere).
2) Promote your attendance.
With the trade show hashtag (#MODEX2016), use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to let your followers know that you will be attending and when and where they can find you. Engage with other attendees who are using the event hashtag. Offer teasers — such as photos of the freebies you’re bringing — to entice visitors, and provide any longer-form information (e.g., an excerpt from a presentation you’ll be giving) in a blog post, distributing it through your social channels.
3) Set up a landing page/landing pages.
Create an event-specific landing page that includes a call to action (CTA), like reserving a time to speak with you at the conference or downloading a coupon to redeem a free sample. Make sure to ask for some information (such as a name, company, or contact information) in exchange. Monitor traffic and keep a running list of leads who visit and provide their information.
4) Research the attendees.
Perform prospect research using the list of attendees, paying special attention to those who have provided their information on your landing page or connected with you on social media about the event. Check out their social pages to see what they’re saying about the event, and like or follow them. Connect with high-value prospects on LinkedIn and try to arrange a time to meet up during the show.
5) Prepare to nurture.
Draft content that you can distribute during and after the show. Examples include lead-nurturing email templates, slides from presentations you are giving, and other offers you plan to provide visitors. Create another landing page, which includes a special offer or specific information you’ll be providing during the show, to drive attendees to during and after the event.
During the show
6) Keep chatting.
Reach out to the people you meet during the show on their social media handles. A nice-to-meet-you tweet and/or an invitation to connect on LinkedIn shows that you remember and appreciate the potential customer. Send the lead-nurturing emails you prepared in advance.
7) Monitor social media.
Continue using the show’s hashtag to monitor the conversations that are happening online, and see if anyone is talking about your company. Like or reply to anyone who does to show you’re listening.
8) Generate content.
Trade shows are a great place to generate content. Post photos of your booth and attendees from your company, and create videos of product demonstrations, presentations, or customer testimonials. Share your thoughts on the issues being discussed, and keep track of those themes, as well as any recurring questions that attendees ask, for future content.
After the show
9) Plan out your editorial calendar.
Develop posts for your company’s blog over the coming months around the questions and issues that were raised during the show.
10) Keep up the conversations.
Continue to engage the people you met on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Follow and like their pages, and invite them to connect.
11) Offer your leads something of value.
Make event presentation or speaking materials part of your lead nurturing activities by sharing them with prospects using Slideshare or email. Remind leads with whom you shared your special-offer landing page to visit. Make sure to segment your contacts based on their interests and send them only relevant offers.
How do you nurture leads around trade shows? Will you be attending MODEX this year?
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by Fronetics | Mar 12, 2015 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media
Integrate digital and social media practices into trade show routines to increase leads to drive profitable customer action.
The world became enchanted by the Koh-i-Noor diamond in 1851 when Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London. This first of its kind exhibition, sometimes called the world’s fair, served as a platform for countries around the globe to display their innovations and achievements. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, these exhibitions routinely drew millions of people and connected the world in a way that hadn’t been done before.
While exhibitions continue into the present day, some critics argue that they are becoming irrelevant as a result of globalization and increasing interconnectedness. Proponents, however, are actively working to ensure modern day exhibitions reflect the changing nature in the way humans communicate and connect with one another.
In a similar way, modern trade shows serve the purpose of connecting industries and showcasing the best of a company’s product or service offerings. Indeed, trade shows remain a staple of many marketing budgets and practices. Offering unparalleled access to leads and face to face communication with prospects and customers, trade shows prove to be a successful marketing strategy for many companies. But is your company making the most of trade shows? Companies that integrate modern digital communication practices into tired trade show routines are likely to increase lead to customer conversion rates while shortening lead and sales cycles.
Promote enhanced and continued engagement with trade show contacts by formulating your trade show social media strategy using the following approaches.
In the weeks leading up to the trade show your company is scheduled to attend, publish Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn posts promoting your attendance and providing pertinent information to attendees. Set up a landing page with an accompanying call to action on your website where visitors can download a brochure or RSVP to speak with you at the show. Review the list of trade show attendees and perform prospect research using social media. In the days before the event, draft relevant and timely marketing and lead nurturing email templates to be sent during and after the show. Connect with high value prospect attendees on LinkedIn to arrange a time to meet up at the event. Use the trade show’s Twitter hashtag to tease display materials and connect with other attendees.
During the show, use social media to keep the conversation going with customers and prospects. Continue your use of the show’s hashtag to monitor conversions on social media and see what’s being said about your company. Connect with LinkedIn users you meet. Post pictures of your booth on Facebook and Twitter and videos of product demonstrations or customer testimonials on Youtube. Schedule and send the lead nurturing email templates you prepared weeks ago. Make note of recurring questions from attendees and industry trends being discussed.
Following the show, prepare your company’s blog editorial calendar for the next few months using your notes on customer questions and industry trends as a guide for developing post topics. Make event presentation or speaking materials part of your lead nurturing activities by sharing them with prospects using Slideshare and automated emails. Segment contacts for enhanced communication. Continue engagement with leads through Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Much like the way world exhibitions are being pressured to evolve in order to provide continued value to citizens of the world, trade shows should be viewed by companies as opportunities to leverage new technologies to grow prospecting opportunities and build alternative lead nurturing channels. Continuing engagement with customers and prospects through digital and social media enhances the nature of prospect follow up and customer communication, extending the value of the trade show far beyond location-specific activities.
by Fronetics | Mar 12, 2015 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media
Integrate digital and social media practices into trade show routines to increase leads to drive profitable customer action.
The world became enchanted by the Koh-i-Noor diamond in 1851 when Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London. This first of its kind exhibition, sometimes called the world’s fair, served as a platform for countries around the globe to display their innovations and achievements. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, these exhibitions routinely drew millions of people and connected the world in a way that hadn’t been done before.
While exhibitions continue into the present day, some critics argue that they are becoming irrelevant as a result of globalization and increasing interconnectedness. Proponents, however, are actively working to ensure modern day exhibitions reflect the changing nature in the way humans communicate and connect with one another.
In a similar way, modern trade shows serve the purpose of connecting industries and showcasing the best of a company’s product or service offerings. Indeed, trade shows remain a staple of many marketing budgets and practices. Offering unparalleled access to leads and face to face communication with prospects and customers, trade shows prove to be a successful marketing strategy for many companies. But is your company making the most of trade shows? Companies that integrate modern digital communication practices into tired trade show routines are likely to increase lead to customer conversion rates while shortening lead and sales cycles.
Promote enhanced and continued engagement with trade show contacts by formulating your trade show social media strategy using the following approaches.
In the weeks leading up to the trade show your company is scheduled to attend, publish Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn posts promoting your attendance and providing pertinent information to attendees. Set up a landing page with an accompanying call to action on your website where visitors can download a brochure or RSVP to speak with you at the show. Review the list of trade show attendees and perform prospect research using social media. In the days before the event, draft relevant and timely marketing and lead nurturing email templates to be sent during and after the show. Connect with high value prospect attendees on LinkedIn to arrange a time to meet up at the event. Use the trade show’s Twitter hashtag to tease display materials and connect with other attendees.
During the show, use social media to keep the conversation going with customers and prospects. Continue your use of the show’s hashtag to monitor conversions on social media and see what’s being said about your company. Connect with LinkedIn users you meet. Post pictures of your booth on Facebook and Twitter and videos of product demonstrations or customer testimonials on Youtube. Schedule and send the lead nurturing email templates you prepared weeks ago. Make note of recurring questions from attendees and industry trends being discussed.
Following the show, prepare your company’s blog editorial calendar for the next few months using your notes on customer questions and industry trends as a guide for developing post topics. Make event presentation or speaking materials part of your lead nurturing activities by sharing them with prospects using Slideshare and automated emails. Segment contacts for enhanced communication. Continue engagement with leads through Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Much like the way world exhibitions are being pressured to evolve in order to provide continued value to citizens of the world, trade shows should be viewed by companies as opportunities to leverage new technologies to grow prospecting opportunities and build alternative lead nurturing channels. Continuing engagement with customers and prospects through digital and social media enhances the nature of prospect follow up and customer communication, extending the value of the trade show far beyond location-specific activities.
