Events are an essential part of our modern and globalized world. And with every passing day, their significance is increasing. This is why every year thousands of events are organized worldwide. Despite the broad range of events, every event serves a defined purpose. For instance, a trade show helps in facilitating global business and trade.
However, last year our world came to a standstill after the outbreak of the pandemic. It led to a ban on any social gatherings. And because of this, hosting a physical event was out of the question. But this situation prompted the event organizers to switch to digital/virtual events.
A digital/virtual/online event is an event that is organized in the digital/online world. And all the participants attend the event virtually. Since virtual event technology is versatile, it means one can organize any event digitally. That is why event organizers around the world quickly shifted virtual event settings. As a result, we saw various types of virtual events like virtual conferences, virtual award shows, and virtual fests. However, the most significant category of a virtual event is a virtual trade show.
The Concept Behind Virtual Trade Show
A virtual trade show is a digital/online version of a conventional trade show. Everything is the same here except the medium of the event. However, when it comes to benefits, virtual trade shows outnumber traditional ones. For instance, virtual trade shows are affordable, easy to organize, offer a global reach, and a better value proposition, to begin with.
If you are thinking about hosting a virtual trade show. Then we have something for you.
10 ideas for Virtual Trade Show Booth–
1. DIY Booth
In a virtual trade show, it is better to allow the exhibitors to customize their booth. It will enable the exhibitors to tailor the booth according to their brand image. So let them select colors, logos, videos, and the design of their booth. Many virtual event platforms offer this feature. On some virtual event platforms, it is called a DIY booth.
2. Marketing Exhibitors on Social Media
There are a lot of ways to support the exhibitors at your event. And one of them is promoting them on social media. You are going to use social media to promote your event. So while promoting the event, promote the Instagram wall at your booth also. It will help the people to discover the exhibitors and booths. So they can decide in advance to visit the booth of their interest.
3. Use Games to Increase Visitors to the Virtual Booth
Gamification is one of the most popular audience engagement techniques. However, you can use this technique to send the attendees to various virtual booths at your event. For this, you can ask attendees to visit virtual booths to score points. This will motivate the attendees to visit the booth. And will give a required push to the exhibitors.
4. Photos and Videos to Introduce Exhibitors
You can ask the exhibitors to provide you with photos and videos about themself or their booth. And upload these photos and videos on the website and social media pages of your event. This will help the event visitors to recognize the exhibitors and their booths. And will allow the exhibitors to reach a broader audience even before the event.
5. Exhibitor’s Sponsored Sessions
Another effective way to promote the exhibitors at your event is to host sponsored online sessions. These sessions will help the exhibitors to connect with the event attendees. And they will be able to pull the crowd to their booths during the event. Also, it will generate interest in the attendees, which will encourage attendees to visit the virtual booths. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have attended. So use this method to support the exhibitors at your event.
6. Distributing Brochures Through Emails
You can use email marketing to promote your event and exhibitors’ booths. For this, you can send emails to those who have registered for your event. In the email, you can talk about your event. And also, you can mention the different exhibitors and their booths at your event. It will help in making the people curious about the event. And will also provide them the time to shortlist the most interested-looking exhibitors and their booths before the event. So that during the event day, they can visit these booths without forgetting about them.
7. Use Virtual Exhibition Halls
As you are going to host a virtual event, you can have virtual exhibition halls. This will help you in various ways. First, it will make the attendees feel as if they are in a physical event. And will also give your event an aesthetic look. Apart from this, it will make it easier to navigate the booths for the attendees of the event.
You can have multiple exhibition halls. Also, you can bifurcate them by adding features and special incentives for those exhibitors who are willing to pay more. For reference, you can have Platinum, Gold, and Silver categories of exhibition halls. Each of them will differ in look and features.
8. Promote Networking with Exhibitors
Networking is a crucial aspect of virtual events. And its relevance increases with events like a virtual trade show. However, networking is not only beneficial for attendees but also for exhibitors.
You can provide dedicated tools for networking. And promote the attendees to use these tools to connect with the exhibitors at the event. For instance, attendees can use tools like AI Matchmaking to connect with the exhibitors they share interests with. And can use the B2B Meeting scheduler to book meeting with exhibitors during or before the event.
9. Banners about the Exhibitors
Apart from promoting the exhibitors outside the event, you can market them in the event also. For this, you can use banners at your event. Many virtual event platforms offer a feature called Dynamic Banner. This feature allows the event organizers to display multiple banners at the same place and same time. So you can use this feature to promote exhibitors’ booths also. To do this, you can have a dedicated space for the exhibitor’s banner. So that the attendees can access all the exhibitors from one place.
10. Website Landing Pages in Booth
You can let the exhibitor have a website landing page embedded in their booth. This will enable the consumers to easily access the website of exhibitors. And also, these websites can be used to get sales during the event. An attendee can directly buy the products from that website. These are some of the powerful ideas to make your virtual trade show booth successful.
Share your thoughts on virtual trade shows or any other virtual event.
Tags: trade show booth ideasVirtual Event Platformvirtual eventsvirtual trade show