You decide. The website twitterhandbook.com thinks that it is, but they would, wouldn’t they? Twitter is, indeed, a fast, cheap way to communicate and it may just be email 2.0, but you also have to consider your audience. Some industries are slow to adapt technologies and others are on the cutting edge. joycemckee writes about how she uses Twitter to research an upcoming event and also to promote her presence at a tradeshow through give aways:
By searching for the hashtags (unique ID words related to the event, usually starting with # sign) on the event the week before it starts, I am able to see who the real leaders are.
I follow many of the attendees and all of the speakers (Twitter links are on speaker bio pages and/or their blogs). Often I meet several of the speakers before the event starts, and make appointment to meet up with attendees that are active in the community. I also check to see if the is a “Tweet Up” (meeting of those who have connected on Twitter) and add that to my schedule.
I’ve found that the best opportunities at most shows happen in this network. Once these tweeps (Twitter users) decide to RT (”ReTweet: A Twitter post that gets repeated) I know that a large active group will be aware of whatever I’m promoting.
Two more tips to get traffic to your booth:
1) Give aways for Twitter users. I often tweet “I’ve got a copy of Twitter Revolution for the next person who finds me.” It works for @The RealShaq with NBA tickets and it will work for you.
2) Get your staff tweeting. This is not a media to advertise on.. this is a way to network. Get everyone involved. Your customers expect INDIVIDUALS to be availalbe
Read the full article and respond: Twitter is a Must for Trade Shows
Hashtags really are a great idea for research before a show and for promoting your activities at an event. They basically tag your postings so that people can find them more easily. For example if you tweeted “Headed to the keynote address #abcexpo” then someone searching for the tag #abcexpo would find your posting. You can read details on setting up hashtag here.
But tweets? tweeting? tweeted? doesn’t sound like something your industry is going to do anytime soon? Well, remember when only the super-wealthy had cell phones and only email was only for recent college grads? It’s important to be skeptical of new technology but also look at ways that it might actually be useful. One thing to be wary of…while encouraging your staff to tweet might be a good thing, but it could also distract some staff (particularly younger ones) from actual human interaction. Make that a goal of tweeting to temper folks burried in their cell phones and laptops.
Contact The Rogers Company for trade show marketing consultation and planning. In addition to custom building branded trade show environments, The Rogers Company is a full service trade show and event implementation partner providing turnkey services and support for corporate clients throughout the country.