When you’re planning the design and components of your trade show booth, it can feel a bit overwhelming. There is so much to consider. Do you rent a booth, or bite the bullet and purchase one? How big should it be? Will you be designing the signage and banners, or will you hire Blazer Exhibits to do it for you? What types of stands will you require to display your products? For that matter, which products will you be showcasing at the show? There are many more considerations, but you get the idea. It’s a lot to think about!
There’s one thing you might not be thinking about – incorporating video displays into your booth. Advances in technology make it easier than ever to do, and it is a great way to impress trade show attendees and draw them in to get a closer look. There are a number of ways to do it, and some don’t even require fancy equipment! Since you’re working hard to entice people to check out your booth, ignoring this simple tool is unwise.
What Do I Capture?
In terms of the content of the video, it’s really up to you. But keep in mind that whatever you shoot is representative of your brand. When you are deciding upon the content of your video, consider your industry. In some industries, it is a good idea to have a humorous tone to your message. In others, it should be technical and serious. As long as you keep your audience in mind and tailor the message to them specifically, you’ll do fine.
Quality is key, and not just for the content. You want the footage to be of a decent quality, because that’s what customers will be expecting. If you aren’t providing it, potential customers and existing customers might associate low quality with your brand overall. Don’t give them the wrong impression! These days, you don’t need fancy camcorders and equipment to shoot a great video. Many of today’s smartphones can fit the bill perfectly. It is recommended you at the very least rely on a tripod designed to hold your phone, or else it will be shaky or might be crooked. If you don’t feel comfortable with this, you can pass it off to one of your employees, or hire a professional.
Think about the goal you are trying to achieve with this video. Are you looking to promote new products via video demonstrations, or are you giving potential customers more information about what your company does? Another great idea is to include a video of customers raving about how wonderful your service is. This will take some time, as you’ll have to find customers willing to get in front of the camera, but it can be done, and helps booth visitors trust your brand.
How To Display It
Sure, you could hook up monitors throughout the booth, but there are other ways of viewing the videos. You’ll want at least one monitor though, as it is the perfect tool to draw people to your booth to get more information about your products or company.
Put all of this amazing technology available to us these days and set up some tablets. The looping video on the monitor draws them in, and then they can have a more personalized experience on tablets you have set up around the booth. Consider shooting multiple videos on a variety of topics, and make a menu of them all so that people can choose the information they want to see. This broadens your audience – you can have “Who We Are” and “What People Say About Us” videos for potential customers and “What’s New” videos for existing customers.
You can also put to work the QR code, something that people seem to love, that directs people to your YouTube channel. Put this code on handouts or business cards so that they can watch your informational videos on their own time.
Trade Show Footage
Another excellent idea is to shoot video right there in your booth. Will there be many existing customers dropping by? Have an area of the booth where they can record testimonials, which you can immediately upload, and share on your social media networks.
Do you have any keynote speakers that you know your long distance customers who don’t have the opportunity to attend the show would want to see? Record them and post the video, or consider streaming the footage. You can promote this through email to your existing customers, or post it on your Facebook page for anyone to view.
Some businesses have even gone the giveaway route with their videos, offering an entry into the giveaway of a new product by simply watching an informational video about that product. At the end, they give a secret code of sorts, and the person watching emails the secret word to enter the contest.
Videos are a great way to introduce new customers to your products and keep existing customers in the know about new products you offer. At the trade show, they are just as useful, and can be used to entice people to check out your booth. In today’s trade show world, when everyone is competing to get attendees’ attention, it’s a creative way to stand out among the rest!
Do you use video in your trade show strategy? Tell us about it!