How can you improve your virtual trade shows?
- Provide opportunities for networking
- Include e-commerce options
- Gamify your event
- Allow your audience to experience VR
- Use eye-catching graphics
The pandemic situation has undoubtedly led to more creative methods in digital marketing strategies. One of these is the virtual trade show, which pretty much replicates the traditional elements of trade shows without physical interaction. The availability of virtual show platforms and video communication services have been the primary driver in the predominance of these digital activities. Improving your virtual trade shows by adding enticing graphics alongside relevant and useful information might just be the keys to setting yourself apart from the rest of the competition. Continue reading to learn more.
Provide Opportunities For Networking
Just as you would witness networking to be done in a conventional trade show, you also need to make sure that you don’t miss out on this aspect in the virtual platform. True networking allows you to gain more exposure to your brand, forge valuable business relationships, and garner useful knowledge from your peers.
Physical trade shows make the job of networking easier — a person could just simply walk up to someone and introduce himself. Virtual trade events make this practice more challenging because of the absence of the physical environment. Nevertheless, networking can still be achieved through polls, strategic Q&A portions, and a wide variety of mediums.
Include E-commerce Options
Getting your customers to buy is one of the main goals of your trade show. With this in mind, you need to make sure that you include e-commerce opportunities as much as you can.
For example, as you’re showcasing the virtual trade booth, it’s useful to include clickable links or elements that can redirect your audience to your website. There are varieties of resources for virtual trade shows that you can simply access online and many of them allow you to feature creative ways of incorporating your products and services in the show.
As with e-commerce strategies that you may have already employed in the past, always make it a point to include all relevant information in your service or product descriptions. This allows your virtual booth visitors to get a clear picture of what your business is all about.
Gamify Your Event
Gamification is simply defined as the practice of adding elements of a game to a generally non-game event. As many businesses work to bolster their digital presence, gamification has been one effective way for them to drive and boost engagement in any online event they’re hosting.
Gamification is useful, especially if your online trade show event may last for a few hours. These small bursts of engagement wake up the audience and provide a fresh change of scenery as they’re navigating the virtual space. You can employ techniques such as short trivia sessions.
At the end of these activities, the audience should have the opportunity to be rewarded with promotions, discounts, gift cards, and more. Through the gamification of certain elements of your virtual trade booth, your business will also be opening itself up to limitless networking opportunities and potential sales. Especially as your audience gains more familiarity with your brand.
Allow Your Audience To Experience VR
Of course, a virtual trade event wouldn’t be complete without the tell-tale features of virtual reality. As many people adjust to the digital space, virtual reality is one way they can relieve the things they may miss from the in-person version of these events.
It’s fairly easy to include virtual reality for your trade show. If you’re hosting one, make sure that your audience can gain access to materials like VR glasses and the like. On the other hand, you could also modify the look of your virtual event to similar VR.
By doing this, you’re providing your audience with an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the event and experience it in the way it should be. For example, they will be able to feel like they’re walking through the actual space itself as well as interacting with the other members of the audience that they may encounter during the VR tour.
Use Eye-catching Graphics
As one of the participants of this online event, you’ll likely be competing against dozens of other brands that are banking on this kind of virtual strategy. The cutthroat environment presented by virtual trade shows means that you’d need to do better in attracting your target market to your virtual booth. This can be achieved through the use of eye-popping graphics and visuals that will allow your audience to remember your brand, even longer after the event has finished.
In using graphics for your virtual trade booth, you need to practice brand consistency. You wouldn’t want to use booth designs that aren’t really able to paint a clear picture of your merchandise. Furthermore, your graphics should also be accessible to the audience, meaning that you steer clear of designs that can trigger underlying eye conditions. Make sure that your design and marketing team is able to tread this fine balance.
Key Takeaway
Improving your virtual trade shows means that you’re able to make use of the best practices in traditional trade shows. Though this digital alternative won’t necessarily be able to give exactly the same benefits from the features of physical shows, however, it may come close to it with the efforts cited above. Virtual events provide another level of immersion for your audience while subsequently educating them on your business.
Shake up your virtual trade booths by including opportunities for e-commerce, gamification techniques, virtual reality, and networking platforms. Through these tips and tricks, you can guarantee that you’ll be creating a lasting impression among your virtual audience.
