Using the Media EffectivelyWritten by Susan Freidmann
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13. Have a plan in case a crisis occurs immediately prior to show, for example, your CEO resigns, or there is a takeover bid for your company. Be prepared with answers to media’s and visitors’ awkward questions. 14. Use your website to display useful advice as well as promoting your show participation. Make an offer on your website for visitors to collect important information, such as an executive report, when they visit your booth. During show 15. Keep press office well-stocked with your press kits. Also keep some press kits in your booth in case media stop by. 16. Have a media spokesperson in your booth at all times, even over lunch hour. Be prepared to explain your product and its importance in easy-to-understand, nontechnical terms. 17. Keep show management informed of newsworthy information for show daily, and also in case reporters call in looking for story ideas. 18. Heighten visibility and create positive publicity through sponsorship opportunities. Various media covering event may automatically include sponsors names and/or photos, which can often generate coverage that might otherwise not be available. 19. Ask show management about opportunities to conduct presentations, seminars, or workshops. As a speaker, you are perceived as an industry expert. Some conferences request proposals to be submitted many months prior to event. 20. Have a handout for your presentation with company contact information clearly marked on all pages. Have a page outlining what your company does. During your session offer something for free - a copy of presentation, a special industry report, checklist, or tip sheet, and have participants come to booth to collect it. 21. Use newsletters, special reports, audio cassettes, books/booklets, or computer discs/CDS as effective giveaways. These have a high perceived value and are more likely to be kept. Make sure they contain valuable industry-related information. After show 22. Send post-show press releases reporting trends, statistics or information on significant newsworthy information/orders that resulted from show. 23. Collate all publicized articles and media coverage before, during and after show, and send them to top management and your sales force. Include best articles in mailings to customers and prospects. 24. Create a state of industry report based on your observations at show and send it out or offer it free to prospects/customers responding to a post-show mailing. 25. Send your customers and key prospects an audiocassette tape of your presentation or interesting interviews that took place during show. 26. Include valuable show information in your company newsletter. 27. Encourage readers to contact you by including an offer and how to get it. For example, you could have readers contact you for a copy of your newsletter, free booklet or free information/report. Finally, remember that your target audience are information seekers, always on lookout for advice, ideas and information to help them. Your information must appeal to your target audience’s self-interest while at time promoting your own.
Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies,” working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.
| | Online Communities - A marketers wildest dream and worse nightmare!Written by Ralph Ritoch
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There is a fine line between "Advertising" and "Corporate news". This line is so small that any marketer in a forum is constantly on edge of a public relations nightmare. The danger is that these discussions don't go away quickly. They are often archived, staying on net for years and getting thousands of visitors. This permanent scar can seriously limit a marketers ability to spread important information with others in various industries. eSpirit Communications deals with this problem by providing a classifieds section of community for pure advertisements. At www.eSpiritCommunications.Com it is up to marketer to decide if information they're posting is an advertisement or news. A marketers "Dream" is to reach their target audience. Forums have been attracting visitors for years, but these new communities offer a little bit more. They tend to be part of a larger service, have a more general "theme", and more features. eSpirit Communications is a communications and web development company which implemented an online community for businesses, advertisers, and average consumer. The community has a wide range of topics covering many industries and a fast growing member base. Unlike search engine ranking which can take months to produce web site traffic, these quality posts generate traffic within hours and in some cases, seconds. This is "Marketers dream", an instant targeted audience for their marketing messages. This makes online communities an important marketing and information resource. eSpirit Communications is revolutionizing online communities. As more people use their online community amount of quality information is increasing. The consistent growth in number of members in community shows that information and advertisements can stand side-by-side without driving away visitors. As more online communities revise their terms of service to allow advertisements these communities should become much more valuable resources to both businesses and consumers.
CONTACT INFO: eSpirit Communications Ralph Ritoch 564 Crane St. Schenectady, NY 12303 U.S.A. Phone: 518-374-8251 support@espiritcommunications.com http://www.espiritcommunications.com
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