Ep 67: How to make sure you get the most value out of industry event?
Welcome to the new season of The Built Environment Marketing Show.
There are so many construction industry shows coming up in the next few months, so if you're wondering how you can turn your event attendance into a networking and opportunities juggernaut, then you're in luck. This episode shares how to maximise your return before, during and after events.
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The Built Environment Marketing Show is hosted by marketing consultant and content creator Ayo Abbas. It is unashamedly about marketing for architects and engineers as well as bringing forward voices that we don't ordinarily get to hear. This show is independent and if you're a regular listener you can show your support by:
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Transcript
Ayo Abbas
So how do you get the most out of an industry event or exhibition? I think for me, one of the key things that you really do need to have is energy and excitement. How do you create that it's not something that just happens at the show, it's something you've got to work up. And really in the run-up to an event, you've got to do what you've got to do kind of before, during, and after.
Ayo Abbas
So pre event, at the event and post event. So there's lots and lots of things you need to do and to think about. I'm going to take it as given that you've actually got something exciting to do, Launch or say, at the show.
Ayo Abbas 38:51
Let's assume that you have because I think you have to kind of find something definitely. So this case is going to look at how you kind of bring energy and excitement around your presence of being somewhere.
Ayo Abbas 39:12
So firstly, for me pre-event, how do you raise your visibility on social media? think about how you can be a part of that conversation right from the start. You need to make sure that you're posting and sharing where you'll be, your stand number, who's going to be there from your organisation. So really, kind of make sure that you're in the conversation. Find out what the show hashtags and tags are, and use those in your posts that you again reach more people who are actually talking about the show, enthused about the show and go into the show. And you know, when it comes to things that you can share, you can share about what you're gonna be showing, you can do teasers. You can talk about a talk that you'll be giving, you can talk about how you're prepping for it. You can share you know, little kind of hints and tips about what your Stand's gonna be like or whatever. but you can do those kinds of little things just to build up some momentum and some excitement about you going to be somewhere.
Ayo Abbas
Another thing that you can do pre event is actually looking to kind of the press and the media that are going, who can you meet at the show? Are you going to, kind of, prepare a, kind of, media release? who's going to be writing features about the show that you can, kind of, connect with beforehand and share information with, if you've got a new product launch, for example, or service launch? Who can you kind of share that information with? Have you got, like a whole media pack ready to go? Have you got quotes in that, kind of, press release that are, kind of, you know, from your key people that are easy to pull out. So there's lots you can do around the media, in terms of making sure that you've got visibility, and let people know that you're going to be there, but also that you're going to, you know, a lot of the kind of previews and stuff I've done beforehand.
Ayo Abbas
So actually connecting and getting the word out that you're going to be about, show, it's another opportunity for you to raise your visibility, they think in terms of building energy and excitement, it's getting your kind of message and who you are, and that you're going to be there out there. And with enthusiasm, just getting it out there as much as you can so press previews are another way you can do that. I think another thing you can do pre-event is also is actually maximise all promotional opportunities.
Ayo Abbas
So some shows might do things like spotlights on innovation, spotlight some new services or new products. So making sure that you tap into that as well, speak to the organisers find out what's going on, what things can you tap into, or provide or help or be a part of, before the actual show, some of these might have a long lead time in terms of deadlines. So just looking out for them and making sure that you're in there, so you really maximise any investment you've got that you're making to kind of be at a show.
Ayo Abbas 41:42
And I think the other thing that you should do pre-event is email, your existing contact list. Those people who you haven't kind of necessarily engaged with all the time, but they know you and they're your contacts, and kind of just say, you know, Hi, we're going to be there, you know, good chance to re reconnect, this is what you might be interested in. So again, it's about kind of using that and using, you know, the show as a hook, as an opportunity to reconnect with those people who already do business with you. And I think as well, you've got things like having banners on your website, having banners on your email, just saying you're going to be there, as well as your key people also posted on LinkedIn that they will be there. So it's a way you can kind of build up that pre-event hype, and make sure that you are going to maximise your time at that show when it does happen.
Ayo Abbas
Okay, now we've looked at pre-event, what's going to happen at the show. So for me, one of the kind of Holy Grails is encouraging user generated content, as I call it, which is like the proper marketing term, UGC. That's basically when a third party shares about you or your product or service. And to me, that's the most powerful type of marketing. So it was a journalist, if it's, if it's a, you know, a potential client, or just saying, I'm on this stand, I met this person, I went to this talk, it was brilliant, this is what they said. And I kind of think it's that third party endorsement, we trust others, probably more than we trust the firm. So actually, it's quite nice to have people sharing their experiences of you, your stand your people, your talk, you know, encourage people to take pictures, encourage them to share what they see, you know, be part of the conversation. And I think the other thing is, if people are sharing your content on social media, thank them in DM'S afterwards, thanks so much for sharing, continue the conversation, start to have that two-way dialogue, which is what you want as a fan.
Ayo Abbas
So, so important. And again, it helps build up momentum, it helps build up your social media presence, it also helps you build relationships with those people, one to one, which ultimately is what you want from being at an exhibition, how can you move that conversation on post-event? How do you build a relationship? How do you start a conversation. And again, I think also, with social media, it's having some posts that you put out during the show, so prepping those before the events before the event, you've got lots more visibility, making sure you're posting regularly, at the event, have regular posts for each day that you're going to be there that kind of stop posting, you know, just go up, as well as showing stuff, you know, you can create more on the fly. But at least having a baseline of stuff that's ready to go will really make sure that your presence is there and you have your visibility. Or it might even be sometimes what I'll do is I'll draft the post, but actually take pictures at the show. So, it's just making it easy. So, you do definitely get your social media presence going. And also, I think at the show is having somebody who is dedicated to your social media feed to actually keep that going and keep the momentum going there. And I think the other thing about shows, you know, Nathan talking about UKREIIF was very much talking about there's lots of the fringe events, launch events, people with offices doing lots of stuff all around the shows. So again, it's about connecting with people beforehand, finding out what's going on at the show, and making sure you're there so you've got people at the launches, the industry breakfast. So you're part of the conversation part of the event. And again, just I guess, sweating the asset of being at that event.
Ayo Abbas
And I think the final thing when you're at a show, as well as doing something different, so it could be a competition or a giveaway could be, you know, some people have done mind maps, at shows which I've seen, which are amazing. You've got things like sketches, just different ways of bringing people and bringing some excitement to your stand and making your presence and stand out. So I think, again, it's about thinking about your stand, and how you can kind of do something different, that drives traffic to your stand, and makes you stand out.
Ayo Abbas
And now on to post-event, is a really kind of, it's one of those things, I think people kind of lose steam on. And I think it's a real missed opportunity. And to me, I think it's really easy to kind of get to the end of a show and think I'm done. Don't want to do this for another year. But really, the most important thing you can do is actually post-event follow-up. Because that is really where you start to pull the relationships and start to get real value from your presence. And I think anything that you can do before the show actually starts, you know, and you can prepare for post-event will make it far easier for you to respond once the show is done. Because quite frankly, you're going to be pretty tired, and you're going to have had enough. So for me post events, you know, follow-up, needs to be planned and ready before the event to figure out what is your follow up going to be before the show.
Ayo Abbas
So you know, are you sending out samples? Or you're arranging meetings? Will you be picking CPD presentations? What is it you're going to do following follow up after the event, have all of that kind of mapped out and fought out, draft those kind of any post event holding emails, or any responses that you need to do draft them before you even go to the show. So you've got everything ready to go. So it's literally Top and Tail, just you know, amend it slightly, maybe drop in an odd image, but more or less, it's ready to go. That means that you are quick to act after the event. And I think that's the thing that people expect is like if you leave it weeks and weeks after, that leads gone cold. So what you want to be able to do is respond. "Hi, it was great to meet you on such and such. I'll be in touch Next week we what we discussed", even just a simple holding email, like that would be something. But I think it's just that whole, making sure that you've got your follow up planned. And also, I think the other thing is to measure the kind of post event, make sure you measure the return on investment. What was the impact of the overall kind of campaign that you did? Was there you know, around up well, you know, did the website traffic go up? Did social media traffic go up? What happened? Who mentioned you? Did you get any starts trying to connect with firms that you've been targeting all across the year, that really kind of helped you in terms of leads and ultimately in terms of sales. So making sure you track and kind of measure the impact of you being at that show? Or you know, also you want to kind of see if there's any certain spikes from you kind of being at the show? Was it did it bring you real value. Did it meet your original objectives and goals, to try and understand really how that event or that conference or that talk, how it really added value to you. Anyway, those are some of my tips on how what to do in terms of an event before, during and after. And also thanks to my guests David and Karen. And I hope that you found this episode really useful. Thank you. Bye
Ayo Abbas
Thanks so much for listening to the built environment marketing show. Don't forget to check out the show notes which will have useful links and resources connected to this episode. You can find that on Abassmarketing.com And of course if you liked the show, please do share it with others on social as it helps more people to find us. See you soon.
