New York event planners like you know how valuable conferences and trade shows can be for your business. And you take advantage of every exhibitor opportunity you can get, especially at events like The Event Planner Expo. But are you doing enough to attract booth visitors? Can you be offering other booth engagements that drive better results? Check out these brilliant booth strategies that are proven to engage trade show visitors, drive traffic to your booth, and even generate new event business leads.
1. Your first impression has to be memorable.
Don’t show up to your exhibitor booth without being prepared to wow visiting booth guests. This means great signs, sharp colors, and an organized table setup. Have your activities set up in an inviting way. And make sure your booth attendants are professional and easily identifiable as booth hosts. What you don’t want are wrinkled tablecloths, poor signage, and unprofessional cardboard boxes of swag. Present your business as the master event planner that you are - and use your event planning skills to prepare for a great first impression.
2. Make your booth fun and interactive.
Invite trade show guests to stop at your booth with interactive activities. Use fun activations that invite visitors to stop and engage. Consider easy-to-take surveys using tablets or touchscreen kiosks. And incorporate video or photo booth opportunities that are irresistible for event guests to ignore.
3. Hand out the best swag and merch.
Nothing draws more people to your booth than handing out unique, useful, or fun swag. Each person walking around with your merch inspires other guests to “find the booth with that bag.” Don’t subscribe to the ho-hum promotional items. Instead, get creative and innovative with great merch giveaways.
4. Walk around and invite visitors to your booth.
Don’t just sit idly by at your trade show booth, waiting for people to stop and engage. Instead, get out there and start mingling. Put someone in charge of manning your booth while you hit the conference room floor to network. Introduce yourself and visit other booths. Stop and invite guests to stop at your booth, selling them on your interactive activities and incredible merch.
5. Incorporate cool and innovative tech.
As an event planner, you’re expected to be ahead of the trends. And one way to convey your ability to be cutting-edge is by showcasing cool tech experiences or event innovations at your booth. Transform your exhibitor booth into a sampling of what your event clients can expect when working with you. And load it up with the coolest tech, activations, and trending gadgets that make your experiences memorable.
6. Host drawings and contests for participating booth visitors.
Everyone loves a good contest, especially when there are no strings attached. Consider hosting games and contests for booth visitors to enter. Maybe you can give away something big, like a television you have on display or a vacation package. Or you can do a series of small contests or drawings with prizes you give out throughout the duration of the event.
Make your event planning booth memorable and successful at every New York conference or trade show. And don’t forget to get your tickets to The Event Planner Expo 2023 to experience more than 150 incredible event services, hospitality, and production exhibitors at the Metropolitan Pavilion! Get inspired and do more - make 2023 your best business year yet!
