4 Ways to Go Interactive to Actively Engage Trade Show Attendees

Trade shows may take a lot of work, but the trade-off is their enormous value as venues for engagement. They offer face-time with your target audience in a friendly, informal forum. But building a basic trade booth is simply not enough. You want it to stand out from competitors and make visitors understand your brand. That’s why your booth must be built to draw in attendees, and then engage them in exciting ways that make a positive impact. And now engagement is right at your fingertips with today’s high-tech tools. By adding digital media and interactive displays throughout a basic trade booth, a brand can greatly increase attendee engagement and pique a prospect’s interest.

While interactive flashes and splashes should never replace a face-to-face format, they can certainly perk up a presentation while letting trade show attendees view data and details at their own pace. For tips on trading up from your boring booth to an engaging digital display, SkylineTradeshowTips.com offered these rules of engagement.

1. Target Your Tech to Your Audience – Before even debating digital displays for your trade booth, consider the comfort level of your target audience. While most people today are totally in touch with touchscreens, some older attendees may be new to digital devices. To cater to all attendees, develop user-friendly interactive displays and have plenty of staff within reach to help everyone use the systems

2. Have a Purpose for the Interactivity – While you want a “wow” factor from your digital display, there needs to be a goal behind the gadgetry that supports your brand and message. Let the technology simplify, clarify, and amplify your message. Use it to explain your company’s offerings to help attendees understand the value of your brand.

3. Leave Time for Testing and Training – Plan and prepare all of the interactive elements for your trade booth as far in advance as possible. This will ensure that there’s plenty of time to test the tech repeatedly and train the staff thoroughly. The staff is your connection to attendees, so make sure they are well trained and well versed in all of the digital functions and features. They need to be completely confident and competent when using the high-tech system so they can quickly find the information that meets attendees’ needs.

4. Have a Backup In Case of a Breakdown – No matter how well you design your digital displays, there’s always a chance of a glitch with gadgets. Luckily, you can prepare for most high-tech troubles with a little foresight and expert insight. Try these tips to prevent any issues:

• Fully charge any handheld devices the night before the trade show and have a few fully charged extras on hand.

• Have charging cables for each device in a convenient location to replenish power promptly.

• Make sure that only relevant data for the event is displayed on devices.

• Try using a file-protection app to prevent other digital files from being accidentally accessed.

To maintain the focus on your brand, continually clear the browsing histories on all Internet browsers displayed on digital devices. Today’s digital advances can make consumer engagement easier than ever. And in a competitive and crowded trade show setting, a brand’s trade booth needs every advantage to click with target audiences.

Learn digital marketing tactics that will boost your trade show success. Contact MDG today at 561-338-7797 or visit www.mdgsolutions.com.

MDG is a full-service advertising agency and one of Florida’s top branding firms. With offices in Boca Raton and New York City, MDG’s capabilities include branding, logo design, print advertising, digital marketing, mobile marketing, email marketing, media planning and buying, TV and radio, outdoor advertising, newspaper advertising, video marketing, retail marketing, website design and development, content marketing, social media marketing, and SEO. To discover the latest trends in advertising and branding, contact MDG today at 561-338-7797.