Many expos and conferences are moving virtually for 2020 and beyond. There are a few key factors that can help make for a successful virtual booth at a virtual event.
First, it is important to connect with the event organizers to know what platform will be used to display your booth and how attendees will access that booth. The event organizers should also be able to provide you with specific details for the booth that feature their company’s information and brand including the company’s bio, logo, contact information, and links to their website and social media channels. Other information that may need to be collected are PDFs or downloadable content, presentations, videos, and the booth’s displayed images (background and secondary).
During the event, it’s important to ensure that anyone who will be speaking or presenting has high-quality internet access. If the booth has the ability for attendees to answer questions, it’s a good idea to have someone separate from the presenter ready to answer them.
A crucial piece of attending any event is the ability to connect with attendees afterward. Presenters and exhibitors should ask organizers about receiving attendee names and emails, along with any other contact information. Post-event communication can include emails from your organization, ideally utilizing an email CRM platform, and online ads utilizing retargeting. These emails and ads can be planned before the event so they can be sent out quickly after the event ends. Emails can include downloadables, applicable call to actions, links to blogs and other ways to convert attendees to customers or fans.
Virtual events are growing in popularity. It is important for exhibitors to focus on their branding, collateral, event communication, and post-event follow up as these are the main items that attendees will remember.
