Nth Degree Trade Show and Event Marketing Blog

Social media is the means to the end of broadcasting the most exclusive and exciting aspects of your life. Curating those highly-coveted and picture-perfect events are what we are in the business of doing. Social media can help you take your event to the next level – for your customers and attendees alike.

Social media is the newest way to see and be seen. If you’re at an exciting event, you want everyone to know you are. If you aren’t there, then you’re living vicariously through everyone who is.

So, how do you take your next event from amazing in real-time to equally as amazing online?

If your role has anything to do with planning your company’s trade show exhibit, this post is for you. It addresses what can be argued is one of the most important factors of exhibiting – audience engagement. And more specifically, it addresses how not to fail at this crucial engagement opportunity!

Full disclosure: I’m an eager (and slightly tense) bride-to-be, so this post is mildly self-serving and inspired by my personal life. My lunch hours are spent researching ideas that will help give our guests an #eventexperience worthy of their time and money to travel and celebrate with us. Through countless hours thinking about my guests and ways in which to make them feel welcome and show them an amazing time, I realized the same thought and detail can (and should) be applied to a B-to-B event. After all, we all want to have memorable and happy experiences whether it’s breaking it down on a wedding dance floor or socializing with like-minded #professionals.

Do you remember sitting in class as a student and fighting the urge to close your eyes as your teacher or professor droned on through his or her lecture for the day? A similar feeling may wash over your exhibit attendees if you’re not careful. Between countless one-sided product demonstrations and sales-tinged conversations with booth staff, attendees often leave the show floor without absorbing your key message or worse, they leave not wanting to engage further with your company. 

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As an Atlanta transplant, I can’t help but feel more and more excited as we inch closer to #SB51 to watch the Falcons bring home a win. Rather than spend these last few days of work analyzing my football square picks or planning my party menu (okay, I will share just one recipe I’m making – and yes, it has bacon), I am trying to channel my enthusiasm into something well, productive.  

Aside from football fans seeking good food and Texas-sized fun, many #eventprofs and #tradeshowprofs are in Houston to entertain the masses with events and experiences like the NFL Experience Driven by Genesis at the George R. Brown Convention Center. With this in mind, below are some practical tips and some decadent recommendations for filling your bellies and your time.

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Panels are a mainstay in any conference agenda. They give your audience the opportunity to hear a variety of perspectives in one session. They are also a great way to get influential speakers involved that might not have the bandwidth (or the desire) to prepare a solo presentation. A panel discussion can provide a wealth of information - but if not prepared well, it can become a major waste of time for your audience.