Customized trade show display will set you apart from the crowd when attending an event. But what happens before and after that event? How can you further target your market? According to some facts recently published by Hubspot, the social network LinkedIn is one of the best ways to find and aim for the exact people you want to sell to.
The Numbers
When compared to Facebook and Twitter, Hubspot found that generating leads via LinkedIn is 277% more effective – that’s a pretty big number. Yet, most companies focus their efforts on Facebook and Twitter campaigns. Why is that? Here are some possible reasons:
• Joining and cultivating LinkedIn group participation takes time.
• Most companies do not employ people solely focused on social media (a mistake).
• LinkedIn can be a bit of nightmare to navigate logistically.
• You have to really trust that the person running your LinkedIn campaign is knowledgeable, understands your product or industry, and can speak on behalf of your company in an intelligent manner – this might be the hardest peg to fill.
• Nobody in your company really knows the ins and outs of LinkedIn.
• You have a personal page, but your company page only features a logo.
If any of those sound familiar, you aren’t alone, but you could be finding your exact target audience if you simply learn the LinkedIn ropes. I’ll warn you, though, it’s not easy to navigate LinkedIn – and it will take some time. In fact, LinkedIn is one of the few social networks that you may want to operate yourself (if you own your company), or hire someone that really gets your business – and has been briefed on exactly what you do, what your company culture is like, and how you want your company to be represented in front of industry experts – to run.
Using LinkedIn to Your Advantage
There are a few really good ways to use LinkedIn to find leads, target your market, and get exactly what you want from this social network.
1. Figure out what people search for when they look for your product or company. To do this, you can try playing around with a Google search or two, or you can hire a SEO expert to conduct some keyword phrase research for you.
2. Use those same terms to search for groups on LinkedIn.
3. Join those groups as an industry expert.
4. Become part of the conversation – this means not selling yourself, but really offering good and solid advice. Sure, you’ll have to be heard above the sound of others trying to stand out, but this shouldn’t be hard if you really know your stuff.
5. Figure out who the main players are, and connect with the people that they know.
6. Reach out to those people, invite them to show up at the next show you will attend, and let them know about something unique that will happen like your really innovate trade show display design.
It’s All Right There
The beauty of the Internet is that everything is at your fingertips. All you have to do is know how to peek into the nooks and crannies. Once you figure that out, you can command social networks like an expert. It’s also a good idea to hire someone to do this kind of research for you, and then reach out to those groups and people as yourself. But, do take into considering that in-depth research requires time, and it also requires working with someone that is Internet savvy (and a bit tricky). You can also use LinkedIn to help people that you meet at a trade show connect with you post- show in the real world.
Simply make LinkedIn part of your trade show display by asking us how to integrate this kind of technology into your exhibit design. In fact, social media as part of an exhibit design makes a lot of sense, and it’s one of the biggest emerging trends in exhibit design to date. For more details about a booth display that can incorporate social media and many other technological details, call us or connect with us on Facebook.