How to Use Promotional Products to Improve Brand Awareness at Trade Shows?
Trade shows are one of the few opportunities your business has to display its products and services to a highly targeted audience. With hundreds, if not thousands of companies vying for attention in one small space, it can be difficult to stand out. That is where promotional products come into play. Branded giveaways are promotional products that remind the recipient of a company and their message, which is just why they work so well to create brand awareness. Picked with care and given at the right place, such products create lasting impressions, build relationships, and bring in valued leads.
Engage Attendees with Useful and Relevant Promotional Products
One of the best ways to use promotional products at a trade show is to know what items will be used and relevant to your target audience. Items that are used daily, such as branded pens, notepads, or water bottles, are more apt to be kept by prospects rather than something that is looked at and then simply placed into a drawer.
When prospects receive useful promotional products, they are most likely to continue keeping them around and remembering your company. These types of products also tend to have a longer shelf life than purely decorative products. By choosing products that represent your brand and the needs of your target audience, you will ensure your giveaways continue to market your business long after the event is over.
Increase your Visibility with Catchy Designs
A busy trade show would all be about capturing their attention. Undeniably, promotional items with striking designs will make people stop before your booth and remember your brand for more views. Bright colors, striking designs, and bold company logos are just a few examples of how to make promotional items be the center of attention.
Think about customized lanyards with your company’s logo on it. It’s functional for the guests to carry their badges, but in that sense, an efficient promotional merchandise because it gets to be worn at an event. Again, making promotional items have an afterthought to how the item communicates your brand and appeals aesthetically to the onlooker eye.
Make Them Feel Special with Limited Edition Items
The competition for attention in trade shows is pretty aggressive, and giving away special and exclusive promotional items really helps a booth stand out. The shortage of items raises the value of an item, thereby motivating the customers to want to visit a booth. The special items could be a version of your product, a specially designed tote bag, or anything basically with your brand on it. These have been perceived as more valuable, and for acquiring one before the supply runs out, people will come to visit your booth. This is not only bringing traffic but also a buzz about the company and products, too.
Using Promotional Products for Capturing Leads
Promotional products can serve as a medium for capturing leads. Take some free giveaway and request the visitor to sign-up for your newsletter or enter into some kind of contest. It works pretty great because the offer of the free gift is tied to capturing data that will someday be worth a lot as a result of marketing communications. Make sure your premiums are closely aligned with target audience interests so that, when your giveaway is sufficiently appealing to motivate attendees. Capture the lead from the visitors who show interest in whatever you give away, and a list of customers should be made whom you will contact afterward.
Integrate Social Media for Greater Brand Exposure
Trade shows rank as one of the great ways to extend your brand with social media, and you can use promotional products in conjunction to inspire social sharing. You could even create a unique hashtag for your brand and ask attendees to take pictures with your promotional items and post them on social media.
Provide them an incentive to share, a raffle or discount code for all participants, and allow them to post the event on their social media pages. That in itself creates awareness of your brand. Social media posting extends your reach with promotional products beyond the people attending an event.
Measuring the Success of Your Promotional Products
Besides creating a successful promotional product strategy, it is equally important to measure its success. You shall be tracking lead generation, social media chatters, and footfall in your stand. That gives you insight into which products are working better for brand awareness.
You can refine the strategy of your promotional products in future trade shows with long-term tracking and continue those tools that support brand awareness the most. Measuring success will also reveal exactly how your promotional products supported your trade show goals and how to make changes for optimal success.
Of all the things, promotional products rank as the best to achieve brand recall at a trade show. Make your giveaways count by choosing the right items, making them look good, and create a plan that includes generating leads and social media interaction. Competition greets you at every turn, but with the right promotional products, your business can rise above the noise, drawing eyes and minds to where memories of them will linger. Be it functional items or exclusive gifts, the bottom line is to make sure your promotional products reflect the values of your brand and strike a chord with your audience.
