Those of you following our #AskCW series on Facebook will know that we’ve been busy answering your content marketing questions. In this episode of #AskCW , Contentworks own Creative Director Charlotte is talking about preparing for expos.

As a leading finance and fintech content marketing agency, we work with hundreds of clients around the world and right now they all have one thing in common. They’re all getting geared up for expo season in May and June. Whether you have a booth or you’re just attending as a visitor, you need to plan and prepare otherwise it’s all going to go horribly wrong.

Why are you attending?

When preparing for expos one question you will want to ask yourselves is why am I attending. This might sound basic, but when we ask our clients this question, some just say ummmm not sure… everyone else is! 

Here are your options:

• You’re launching new products or concepts
• You’re trying to acquire partners or clients
• You’re there to maintain a strong brand presence.
• You want free stuff

Once you nail down a clear motive that aligns with your business strategy, you can figure out what you will need in advance. Of course if you just want free stuff then knock yourself out, we all love a bit of expo giveaway hunting!

Preparing for expos as an exhibitor

Exhibiting at large finance and fintech shows isn’t cheap. So why would you want to waste all that money on a mediocre booth and outdated marketing materials? If you are exhibiting then you will need to get organised well in advance. Remember to align your marketing message across your online and offline materials and be sure to check, check and check again before you go to print.

Think about:

• Expo booth design & printing well in advance
• Printed materials for your stand in all relevant languages
• Presentations or videos to play on your screen that get your message across
• Booth giveaways- try to be original here – unless you’ve left it till the last minute then pens it is!
• Competitions or incentives to make people want to visit you- remember, you may be competing with hundreds of similar brands so ordinary isn’t the best approach

You also need to be thinking about type of person who will visit your stand. Will they be English speaking? Are they likely to need a lot of explainer material or is your product self-explanatory? Remember that you will not be able to remain tied up for hours explaining things to visitors otherwise you will be unavailable for everyone else so think about content that gets your point across.

Preparing for expos as a visitor

Many of our clients attend expos to network and make connections. Always a great strategy. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to think about your content marketing. You know if you’re badly prepped you’re just going to wander around picking up pens and bumping into people you’ve avoided for the last year. Be organised.

Think about:

• Telling your online connections in advance that you will be attending via social media or email
• Ordering business cards for you and your team well in advance
• The presentation material you have on your tablet or laptop- is it up to date?
• The seminars you want to attend and plan your schedule accordingly

Whether you’re attending or exhibiting, your content and social media marketing needs to be on point so here are some final takeaways from Charlotte:

• Create a company news piece at least two weeks before the expo to announce that you will attend
• Decide how you are going to quickly capture leads at the expo- an easy sign up form on a tablet usually works well
• Send out a press release- especially if you’re launching a new product
• Email partners and clients to arrange meetings and be sure to diary them
• Start scheduling updates on your social media channels

And speaking of expos, Charlotte will be on the marketing panel at May’s iFXEXPO in Limassol where the panel will be discussing Marketing, Acquisition and surviving the regulation storm. That’s the second expo day on May 24th so be sure to catch the session. To get some expert content marketing help for your brand, speak to the Contentworks team now.