Attending a conference or exhibition is great way of promoting your brand to hundreds, even thousands of attendees. But standing out can be difficult, and the last thing you want is to look like every other exhibitor. Technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, playing a prevalent role in our day-to-day lives, so why not introduce technology to your event?
An interactive exhibition stand can make the difference between being remembered and being forgotten — and when you’ve invested time, effort and money into an exhibition stand, not to mention event materials, staff cover, accommodation and transport, registering zero interest is not an option. In this blog post, we look at the benefits of interactive exhibition stands and how you create an engaging exhibition experience that has attendees flocking to your stand in droves.
They Make You More Memorable
Standing out in a conference is crucial, but not only do you want to be popular on the day; you also want to be remembered long after the event is over. In most cases, a prospect may express their interest when they speak to you, but often, they’ll accumulate contact details of multiple businesses, so whether you’re waiting for them to initiate contact later or you actively set out to try to re-engage those leads, you’ll still be relying on them remembering you. If they think back and your exhibition stand is a blur in their memory, it’s unlikely they’ll choose to work with you.
Having an interactive exhibition stand can instantly make prospects remember you, so when you pop up in their inbox after collecting their details with an opportunity to discuss next steps, they’ll instantly remember what made your stand pop — perhaps it was a unique use of Augmented Reality (AR) technology or a fun photo booth that encouraged attendees to strike a pose. We’ll explore some unique ways to make your stand interactive later in this blog post!
They Increase Footfall
Having an interactive exhibition stand will naturally attract more visitors to you, and like anything, it’s a number game — the more people you draw to your stand, the more opportunities you have to convert. Like attracts like, so the more people you have interacting with staff at your stand, the more other attendees will see that the stand is popular and want to check it out for themselves. Getting people to your stand in the first place is the challenge, but interactive exhibition stands can do just that. For a big impact, actively promote your exhibition stand and the activities on offer on social media using relevant hashtags before attending to build buzz and excitement and make your stand the first on an attendee’s list that they want to check out, and continue posting during the event.
Interactive Exhibition Stands Increase Engagement
Increasing the traffic to your stand is one thing, but engaging those visitors is something completely different. If attendees want to stand around and listen to the same old spiel, they can go to any other exhibition stand, and sooner or later, they’ll lose interest and gradually drop off. You don’t have to go big on technology to make your exhibition stand interactive. Hosting a product demonstration or having multiple touch-screen tablets on display can prolong the time people spend at your stand, even if it’s just giving attendees an alternative way to engage with you as they sit in a comfy corner to rest their feet before heading off for the day.
How to Create an Interactive Exhibition Stand
Now you know the benefits of interactive exhibition stands, but how can you introduce technology to your event to boost footfall and engagement and make your stand memorable?
Use Technology
Your exhibition stands company will be able to arrange the most advanced technology for your exhibition, but even businesses on a budget can benefit from technology. Consider this statistic: when viewers watch a video, they retain 95% of its message. That’s compared to just 10% when the message is in text form. You can easily take advantage of this to help prospects remember you: have large TV screens playing a video on loop or use the same screens to support your presentation with interesting images and fun gifs. You could also consider bringing tablets to your stand that allow visitors to browse your product range. This can double up as a lead capture tool; simply ask visitors for their information via a simple form, saving countless paper printouts and the hunt for a pen with ink.
Introduce Engaging Activities
The humble Q&A session has its place at an exhibition, but one way to amp up engagement is to introduce activities that bring some fun to the table. Brainstorm exhibition games your prospects can take part in or host a competition — ask those interested to leave their details in exchange for a raffle ticket, then invite entrants back to your interactive exhibition stand at the end of the day for the big prize draw. It’s a great way to get people excited about your brand and capture information while you’re at it. If you don’t have the budget to offer a high-value prize, creating surveys or polling visitors can also work in your favour; offer a discount code or something of value to those who leave their opinion and attendees will be more likely to take advantage, instantly boosting your customer or client base.
Think Outside the Box
The purpose of your exhibition stand will differ depending on the event you attend and the people you’re marketing to, but there’s no reason you can’t think outside the box to grow your reach and increase brand awareness. A photo booth may not be your first choice for your exhibition stand, but they can significantly increase engagement, and who doesn’t love a photo op? Keep your photo booth on-brand and get permission to share the photos across social media. It’s a great way of showcasing your business’s personality and earning social media shares.
Are you looking for ideas for your interactive exhibition stand? Book your free consultation with our exhibition experts today and receive a free 3D mockup of your stand design.
