Trade Show Marketing. . .Set yourself apart from the competition

Integrating Social Media Into Trade Show Displays
by Chris A. Harmen

At first glance, social media might seem fairly incompatible with trade show displays. After all, connecting with your visitors through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn requires an internet connection, and WiFi isn't usually available at the exhibit. Computers or laptops are generally in short supply, and face-to-face interaction is emphasized. Despite these apparent drawbacks, innovative companies are incorporating social media marketing with amazing success - and not just in tech industries where online interaction is the norm.

Social Media Basics

In order to successfully incorporate new media into your trade show displays, you need to understand how it fits in with your overall marketing strategy. The entire purpose of these new forms of connection is to maintain a dialog with your customers. Instead of communication being limited to isolated press releases and the occasional TV or radio advertisement, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn offer interaction whenever you (or your clients) want it. The key to successfully leverage this new technology is to balance frequent communication with the risk of overloading your clients. If you post too much, people will tune you out - but if you don't post enough, you risk not getting the strongest return on your investment.

Social Media Is The Ultimate Post-Trade Show Stand Follow Up

The old way of following up on leads gathered from a booth was a call or a mailing which might not arrive until a week or more later. These methods were very time consuming and often failed to cultivate the expected leads. In contrast, Facebook and Twitter provide a way that feels personalized but requires much less time and money investment from the marketing department. In addition, people tend to pay more attention to a short message, like a post on Twitter or a link on Facebook. They don't run the risk of being ignored like a long email or, even worse, snail mail.

Smartphones Keep Everyone Connected, Even At A Trade Show Booth

Connecting your trade show stand to social media doesn't require the internet. Today's trade show booth visitor is carrying a smartphone, with connection to the internet available 24/7. The new generation of consumers is very tech savvy and won't hesitate to connect if they like what you are offering. To help facilitate this connection, you should prominently advertise that your company is on Facebook, Twitter, and any other major social media sites. Providing your company's Twitter name is helpful, but your Facebook information isn't mandatory as most visitors will find it through the on-site search feature.

Depending on what your booth is intended to promote, you might still choose to install computer terminals in your trade show displays. They can be very effective if you intend to offer demonstrations of software, but might otherwise be a waste of money. There is rarely a penalty for using computers if they are available, but you probably don't need to go out of your way to obtain them. You can use social marketing quite effectively by simply letting your visitors know it's available and allowing them to connect themselves.

Chris Harmen writes about St. Louis trade show displays for Skyline, an award-winning convention design company. Skyline can provide a St. Louis trade show booth for any industry and budget.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
expert=Chris_A._Harmen

Natural Promotions Online joins Facebook!

To celebrate our new facebook page, we are offering a free 250 piece lip balm order with a customized, full color label! To win, just "like" our Facebook page. One winner will be randomly drawn on July 1st, 2011! Watch the Facebook page to see who will take home the prize!

Do Promotional Products Generate Response?

Here is a new research video from PPAI, Consumer Reaction: Do Promotional Products Generate Response?, illustrates the impact promotional products have in the marketplace.

The video shares research that shows promotional products’ ability to generate greater consumer reaction than mainstream media, including increased buying response and favorable advertiser impressions. Informative, factual video content is an effective tool for distributors to use in sales calls and presentations. It’s also an excellent addition to a company website or presence on a social media channel that promotes the proven power of promotional products.

“Using research and statistics is a great way to illustrate the effectiveness of promotional products,” says Saritha Kuruvilla, PPAI research manager. “And, delivering key findings in a quick, compelling video format makes it easier for industry professionals to share these results with current and potential customers.”
Courtesy of PPB Newslink

Things to consider before choosing a promotional product. . .

A Promotional Items Checklist
By Gareth Parkin

So you've been assigned to choose promotional items for your company or organisations next marketing campaign and you don't know where to start. Browsing for promotional items online is more confusing than helpful. Even consulting with the professional assistants offered by some leading online promotional gift suppliers doesn't really help. Before you start shopping for specific promotional items, spend some time planning and you'll find that the whole process is much easier than you thought. Start with our checklists to help define your thinking.

What Are Your Key Objectives?

Every promotional campaign should start with an objective. Here's a checklist of some of the most popular promotional objectives to help you clarify your objectives.

Sales Objectives

Sales objectives are among the most popular reasons for using promotional items and promotional products. Those objectives are perhaps the most varied of any other grouping. Your intent may be to increase sales or recognition of a specific product, to entice existing customers to spend more, to increase overall sales or to increase brand recognition and awareness. Your market may be the general public, web site visitors, trade show traffic or your existing customer base, to name just a few. Each of those objectives will help shape the promotional items that you choose and the method you'll use to deliver them in the most effective and strategic way.

__ Increase sales of a specific product

__ Increase overall sales

__ Lead generation

__ Promote new product lines

__ Build brand recognition

__ Increase trade show traffic

__ Increase name recognition

__ Increase web site traffic

Promotional Objectives

While the overall objective for most marketing and promotional campaigns is to increase business on the bottom line, there are more subtle ways to do that than a typical sales promotion. Many promotional items are chosen as a means to cement relationships with customers and introduce yourself to potentially new customers. Some of those objectives include:

__ Thank good customers

__ Event and/or party gifts

__ New account gifts

__ improve customer relationships

__ Promote goodwill for company

__ Celebrate a company milestone eg anniversary

__ Community recognition / service event

__ Publicize objective/initiative

Employee / Staff Motivation

Promotional items and gifts are often used internally, either to motivate employees or to recognize their contributions to the company or organisation. In addition, there are ways to use promotional items to foster a company identity and team ethos among your employees. Some of the ways that promotional items can be used with staff and employees include favourites such as:

__ Recognize and reward service to the company

__ Motivate salespeople

__ Foster team spirit

__ Performance incentives

__ Increase staff productivity

Once you've defined your objectives, you'll find that it's easier to choose promotional items and products that fit those objectives. Your next step will be to define who you want to reach with your promotion. The next article in this series will discuss defining your influence groups.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gareth_Parkin
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Are your promotional products are "sustainable to the max"?

How to Choose Sustainable Promotional Items for Your Business
by Anne Michelsen

Instead of printing your name on cheesy plastic, why not distribute your business presentation on a handsome and eco-friendly bamboo flash drive like this one?

Ever go to a trade show and come away with armloads of – excuse me – crap? Little junky plastic things that make you feel guilty because of all the time and resources wasted in their production and distribution? Stuff that clutters up your home and office and, when you do finally throw it out, will continue to kick around the environment for about a billion years?

Now it’s time to promote your business, and you find yourself paging through catalogs of the very same trashy plastic junk you couldn’t wait to get rid of when it was given to you! Do you really want to put your name on that kind of stuff?

Promotional items are a fact of business life. Done right, they can help keep you top of mind as well as calling attention to the benefits you offer. Fortunately in this day and age there’s no reason you have to sacrifice your principles or annoy your prospects by splashing your brand all over plastic garbage only to have it chucked in the dump.

How to choose promotional products that are not just Green but “sustainable to the max”

There are two ways to define “sustainable” promotional products:

One is “green” promotional items. These are items that don’t damage the environment in their manufacture and/or disposal – or at the very least are significantly better for the Earth than traditional options.

The other refers to sustainable economics. Does the item make sense from an economic point of view? Will it return more in terms of business gained than you spend for it? In other words, is it effective? (Because if it isn’t, it’s not a sustainable venture for your business. Get it?)

When choosing your promotional items, keep these three principles in mind:

1.Choose promotional items that really will get used and/or appreciated. Be honest here. When you’re racking your brains trying to come up with green promotional product ideas it’s real easy to con yourself into believing that your prospects will really grab your cheesy flying ring instead of their favorite Wham-O next time they take their kids to the park. (They won’t.) Spend the extra time it takes to come up with something truly useful to your prospect.

2.Choose products that support people and the planet. There are now plenty of eco-friendlier alternatives to plastic promotional items, including items made from bamboo, corn starch, and recycled materials. Or how about organic, fair trade and/or local food items, or natural objects such as plants, seeds or beautiful stones?

3.Choose promotional products that tell stories and/or reflect and highlight values. This could mean your values, the value of doing business with you, or your value to the community. For example, let’s say you’re a builder who recently completed work on a local senior center. Why not find out if there are seniors in the center whom you could commission to create small gift items in the shape of a house for you to give to prospective clients? Such a gift would help support the center and your community, highlight one of your past successes, and tell a heart-warming story about your business and how it helps improve people’s lives. (You could even extend the item’s power by featuring the story on your website, complete with little bios of the seniors so people could “get to know” the face behind the gift they received from you.)

Choosing eco-friendly and fair promotional products demonstrates your integrity as a business. Done thoughtfully, it’s a smart move, not just for the planet and the people on it, but for your company’s profits as well!

Anne Michelsen is a freelance writer who helps Green and renewable energy companies enjoy increased attention and greater sales through dynamic sales copy and insightful content.

For more information on Sales copywriting please visit http://www.thegreeninkwell.com/

Article Source:

http://www.thegreeninkwell.com/2010/09/how-to-choose-sustainable-promotional-items-for-your-business/

How to effectively use QR codes. . .

QR Codes - How to Use QR Codes to Promote Your Business

By Mark John Watts

Even if you haven't heard of the term 'QR codes' before, you have probably seen them. These codes, or rather barcodes, are cropping up on consumer products, in major publications and even on advertising hoardings. Invented in Japan, the QR code consists of a square pattern made up of black modules on a white background. They can be used to encode a URL, text or other data and can be decoded quickly by dedicated barcode readers and more recently camera phones. QR stands for quick response and allows consumers to access information about your company and products quicker than ever before.

The Latest in Online Promotion

If you are looking for an innovative and completely new method of promoting your business, QR codes are the way to go. A simple QR code on an advert, in your brochure or on your products can direct your audience and customers to a specific area on your website, give them access to discount codes or give them information that will help them to use your products. The possibilities are endless and as they become more and more popular with consumers it is a good idea to get ahead of your competition and start using this marketing method.

Get Ahead of Your Competition

Advertising your code is easy. Basically, anywhere where you would normally advertise or place text or images can be used to place a QR code. Using these codes will give your customers and potential customers a convenient and quick method of finding out more about you and the perfect opportunity to show off the functionality of their mobile phone. These days, consumers want information on the move and they want it fast. QR codes can be scanned on the fly whilst on the train, in a shop or at home and stored much like contacts so they can be referred to when needed.

Your QR code will be unique to you and can be embedded with whatever information you would like to make available to your target audience. If you need some inspiration on how best to use QR codes to promote your business here are just a few ideas:

* Business Cards - Include a code on your business card that directs your contacts to a specific web page or a video presentation.

* Press Releases - A code on your press releases can give readers more information about your products or services.

* Product Packaging and Literature - It's easy to include a code on these items and this is one of the most popular uses of them today.

* Websites - More accessible than a simple URL. Use a code to direct consumers to your home page or specific pages of interest.

* Promotional Material - Use on any form of online or offline advertising to give users easy access to additional information about your products or services.

When used in conjunction with your other marketing processes, QR codes can be highly effective and look set to become a standard method of online promotion.

For more information about Promoting QR Codes visit http://www.seomanchester.org.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_John_Watts

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Great article for growing your Green business!

The LOHAS Market - 5 Copywriting Tips For Piqueing Their Interest
By Sarah Clachar

Author of ebook, "Writing Irresistible Copy for Nutritional Supplements," and a contributing editor for trade magazine, Nutrition Business Journal, Sarah specializes in copywriting for the ... No question about it: A truly Green Revolution is occurring. Increasingly people are including green criteria in their buying decisions.

A NPD poll cited by Marketwatch.com in 2007 reported that 18% of Americans said they are interested in purchasing "green, organic or eco-friendly products".

Venture capitalist, Stuart Rudick form Mindful Capital Partners reported to me with glee that in every category - whether it be household furnishings to personal care to energy - green products are outpacing their conventional counterparts in sales growth.

And while many retailers and manufacturers are embracing green because of the growing market, it makes sound business sense as well. Sophier Collier, green investment pioneer, demonstrated with the steady returns of Working Asset's mutual funds that sustainable businesses are often inherently solid businesses because of their sustainable practices.

And finally, many green business people I work with report that bottom line it's just nice to feel so good about what you're doing each day. As someone who fits into the LOHAS market, I understand deeply the appeal of these products and I can't help feeling excited by the larger, global, non-commercial implications of these changes.

But if you are going to tap into this excitement, you have to market the right way. Here's a few suggestions:

1. Greenwashing has its limits. To tell the truth, I don't really mind greenwashing so much. To me, any step, however slight and even if it's dragging the other foot, is a step towards a better future. I'm glad to see that the pressure is on.

But truth be told, the LOHAS market tends to be a skeptical group - lead by authority-questioning baby boomers. So don't just put out green messaging to win over the market without doing some real work in the background. If you're environmentally-friendly promotion is insincere, you'll find yourself with lots of free, unwanted publicity on blogs, through boycotts and more as this highly engaged market corrects the misconceptions.

2. Tell stories. One of the reasons behind green product's success is people's thirst for authentic products. What do I mean by authentic? I mean products that are not mass-produced, are rooted in a culture, a craftsperson's skills; products that are built to endure and reach back into legacies.

Tell about how your product was produced - the people involved. Talk about the location where the raw materials are sourced. Talk about the communities involved with the production of your product. Now this doesn't mean to get technical. What people are seeking often is a connection to other people, other communities.

Interestingly enough, when asked about the importance of local foods, many consumers expressed great interest but further questioning revealed that "local" didn't necessarily mean coming from nearby. "Local" simply meant the product had to be rooted in a place - a local specialty.

3. Be specific about features. LOHAS consumers are label-readers and spec-comparers. Give them the information that helps them know for sure they are buying a decent product. LOHAS consumers are willing to pay premium for environmentally-sound products, but they want to be sure that they are not being duped and paying extra simply for a label with pictures of trees on it.

4. Be clear about the larger benefits. As I mentioned in the headline, LOHAS consumers are purchasing more than a bottle of shampoo or a new mattress. They are consciously using their purchasing power to help shape the world they dream of. Make it clear how your product is connected to a larger, positive, global change.

5. Use third party authentication. The USDA seal for organic certification is probably the most widely recognized example of this. And in fact, this seal even supersedes brand in how consumers rely on it for quality. Find ways to communicate that your products are really green - whether it be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Energy Stars, the Forest Stewardship Council or the Marine Stewardship Council. Get your product certified and show it.

Want some great health copywriting and marketing tips? For a free report on 5 online health marketing mistakes and how to fix them, go to www.healthymarketingideas.com.

About The Author Sarah Clachar is a freelance natural health copywriter and author of the ebook, Writing Irresistible Copy For Nutritional Supplements, edited by Bob Bly. She writes direct response and SEO copy for both B2B and B2C companies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarah_Clachar
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The LOHAS Market - 5 Copywriting Tips For Piqueing