6 Ways to Attract More Attendees to Exhibition Booths

If you organise expo events or conventions, you want your paying exhibitors to get their money’s worth. After all, your goal is to not only to put on a great event for guests — it’s also to make sure exhibitors renew their participation at your next event.

So how do event professionals stack the odds in their exhibitors’ favour? We’ve put together a list of best practices for making the most out of exhibiting at an event. Share these six tips with your exhibitors to help them generate more traffic to their booth — and to ensure they’ll partner with you again.

TIP #1: Encourage exhibitors to define what success looks like to them

If your exhibitors have paid a fee to set up shop at your exhibition, you want to them feel that they’ve made a smart investment of time and money when they pack up at the end of the day. To give them a head start, encourage your exhibitors to define what success means to them before they even step on the floor. Maybe their goal is racking up 200 new email signups, hitting a certain dollar amount in sales, or creating awareness around their company or product by passing out as much branded gear as possible.

Defining success will not only help your exhibitors and vendors prepare for the event, it will keep them focused when they get there. When attendees approach a booth, exhibitors will know exactly what to pitch them and where to direct their attention. Plus, outlining personal goals will keep businesses from making distracting comparisons to neighbouring booths.

Tip #2: Remind them to be true to their brand

Whatever methods an exhibitor decides to use to promote their brand, it should align with their product or service. It can be exciting to create a contest with a trendy or expensive prize, but it’s not always the most effective or authentic means of promotion. For example, a raffle to win an iPad might make some attendees ooh and aah, but if that raffle is being held by a high-end jeweller, the disconnect between brand and bounty can be distracting — and bad for business. A high-tech gadget will increase foot traffic to a booth, but those visitors may only be interested in winning, not in learning about that business or making a purchase.

Instead of offering up something flashy, encourage your exhibitors to go with a prize that provides value to attendees and complements their brand. In the case of the high-end jeweller, offering a jewellery gift basket will attract customers that already own or are looking to buy jewellery. With this kind of alignment, a contest is more likely to attract attendees that are genuinely interested in learning more about a business — and in making a purchase.

Tip #3: Suggest moving beyond the free pen

Branded pens continue to make their mark, but even classics need reimagining. Today, brands are moving past pens and t-shirts to quirkier handouts, like earbuds and socks. These novelty freebies have the potential to help an exhibitor stand out, but remind them to observe tip #2 and keep their free stuff on-brand.

Again, it’s most effective to offer a free gift that promotes a business and provides value to the recipient. Take, for example, the branded tote, which provides value to the attendee by storing the gifts, pamphlets, and other goodies they pick up as they make their way across the exhibition floor. When a visitor slings a branded bag over their shoulder, they become a walking billboard for that business. Speaking of billboards, encourage your exhibitors to advertise their freebies with a big sign — there’s no need to be shy or hide their swag!

If your exhibitors are mostly larger businesses with bigger budgets, consider having them invest in experiences over physical handouts. For example, setting out branded bean bags to offer attendees a place to sit down and charge their devices may be a great way for them to strike up a conversation with a potential customer.

If an exhibitor’s primary goal is email signups, investing in more premium swag might be a good option to offer in exchange for an email address. People are unlikely to give away their information for a free pen, but they might for something they want or need.

Tip #4: Remind them to encourage their advocates

At expos and conventions, there’s a lot of energy spent on acquiring new customers, but what about current clients? It can be much more valuable to invest time in strengthening an old connection than to pursue several new ones. If your exhibitors have current customers at your event, encourage them to engage those attendees. Reconnecting with those who already love their product will not only solidify those relationships, it’ll activate that exhibitor’s most powerful advocates on the event floor.

Tip #5: Help them be smart about social media

Many events will use a promotional hashtag, like #CookingCon2016 or #MelbCarShow, to spread the word online. If you’ve created a hashtag for your event, encourage exhibitors to use it for authentically engaging interested attendees, not for shameless self-promotion. Before the event, suggest that exhibitors poll attendees about which product they’re most interested in testing out in person. On the day of the event, encourage exhibitors to post photos of their booth, team, or products to draw attendees to their section of the floor. For more social media best practices, check out this guide on how to master social media for events.

Tip #6: Have them consider buying an ad on the event’s mobile app

Hosting a large expo or convention? Consider creating a custom app to give attendees access to a map of the floor and a schedule of events — and to offer ad space or sponsorship opportunities to your exhibitors.

Interested in a custom app? Check out Eventbrite’s integration with Entegy to learn how your can create an app that combines attendee networking with an interactive event guide.