How To Use Social Media At Trade Shows And Conferences

Tips for getting the most out of your social media accounts at trade shows.

Nearly everyone has a social media account these days―friends, colleagues, businesses, television shows, events, you name it! Certain interactions that used to only exist when you gathered face-to-face are now getting a breath of fresh air through mobile apps and social media sites. For instance, while trade shows used to exist and function solely on the trade show floor, important information, conversations, and connections are now also taking place online.

However, while some people may miss the days of pure face-to-face interaction, the world of social media has added an endless amount of benefits when it comes to exchanging information and connecting with trade show exhibitors and attendees.

Take Bloodhound for example―our mobile app allows you to log into Facebook and LinkedIn, and cross reference these social networks to find out which people you already know at any given event and who you might want to meet while you’re there. Never again will you have to worry about losing someone’s business card or contact info again. It will all be right there on your phone at the end of the conference.

However, Bloodhound is just one small example of how social media is changing the landscape of events and trade shows for every single industry. To give you a better idea of how exhibitors and attendees are using the web to improve their conference experience, we have put together a few ways in which people are using some of the most popular social media sites at trade show events:

LinkedIn
While LinkedIn is a great site for making business connections and expanding your professional network, it is also a powerful networking tool when you have an industry conference or event coming up. Many trade shows or expo halls will have professional LinkedIn pages where they will post about upcoming events and talk about key exhibitors that will be in attendance. Beneficial connections can be forged this way, and it can give you a head start with creating a list of who you would like to connect with once you get to an event.

Twitter
When you are planning on attending an upcoming conference or trade show, one of the first things that you should do is determine whether or not there is a Twitter hashtag for the event. You can use a simple Twitter search to find these hashtags. Once you have them located, you can start monitoring the tweets that include each tag, and you can start following and interacting with the people who are using the same hashtag.

Instagram
Trade shows are often very visual events, with lots of excitement, colors, exhibits, and speakers. Therefore, a great way to truly get the full feel of a trade show is through pictures. Instagram allows a person to take photos with their cell phone, put a fun or interesting filter on them, then share them with their subscribers. Also, similar to Twitter, you can tag your photos with your event’s hashtag and find other users photos from the same event.

Do you use any of these social media sites in your trade show marketing and planning? Let us know in the comments below what sites are the most helpful to you when you are exhibiting at an event!

Image: Source