This blog post takes excerpts from our white paper titled Video For Trade Shows (creative, huh?). If you'd like to read the full paper, please visit http://www.evideoproductions.net/tradeshows.html and fill out our request form.
Video is intended to attract attention, hold a viewer’s
attention, increase message retention, and ultimately lead to a sale. Let’s
take a look at each of those independently.
MAKING VIDEO WORK FOR YOU
First – a video must attract attention.
Put up a shocking image or unreasonable statistics and, yes,
you will attract attention. However, throughout marketing, you need to
determine the type of attention you want. For some, playing dirty gets the job
done. But for most of us that is not true. So you need to determine the type of
attention you’d like to attract. Your first step is to determine your desired
demographic at that specific show. If you do multiple shows a year, you may
have multiple needs.
The second thing you need to consider when producing Trade Show
Videos is holding the viewer’s attention.
What will keep this demographic at your booth longer? In web design,
this is called “stickiness” – what keeps a potential client on your website
long enough for you to provide enough information to convert them into a sale.
Your booth needs to be sticky too…and not just from the coffee you spilled
earlier in the morning.
How can you get a busy
executive to stop at your booth long enough to watch your whole video and get
your entire message? Well, if the video is not aimed at their demographic, they
probably won’t stop. So I’ll refer back to the first step in this article. But if they do stop and start watching your
video, it needs to meet 5 criteria:
1.
Graphic Oriented
2.
Short & to the point
3.
Music attracts & doesn’t distract
4.
Branded
5.
Appropriate
For more detailed information on these five items, please visit our website & request the full white paper: http://www.evideoproductions.net/tradeshows.html
Now, let’s focus on
increasing message retention. What does that mean? It means making sure YOUR
product or service is remembered. You know that feeling when you go to a great
trade show – you leave with an arm-load of bags filled to the gills with
amazing information that will change your life! Then you get back to the office
and start to go through it all and realize you have no idea why you ever
thought any of it was of use to you in the first place. Has this ever happened
to you as an attendee? Well, consider the fact that this most likely happens to
each and every person that you meet at your booth. So how can you beat the odds
and stand out in their mind? How about reaching more places in their mind?
Trade shows are always a sensory overload experience. Close your eyes. Picture
your last trade show. What do you see? A myriad of colors & textures, I’m
assuming. What do you hear? Most
definitely a cacophony of sounds, similar to those on a casino gaming floor
(minus the jackpots, unfortunately). What do you smell? Is there a popcorn machine?
Cake display? Chocolate fountain? Smelly cheese? Depending on the type of trade
show, there may be gimmicky food give-a-ways or full delectable displays
competing for attention! Regardless, I’m sure there are enough smells to push
even the least sensitive schnoz to its limits. What can you touch? What can you feel? What emotions are
being tugged at? Is there humor? Is there a booth that makes you sad? Each of
these are points of remembrance. They are ways that booth managers are trying
to stand out and ensure that attendees remember them.
MAKING THE SALE
Ok, so far we’ve attracted attention, held the viewer’s
attention and increased message retention. Now, let’s get to that sale! After
all, that’s why you’re reading this, right?
A video doesn’t automatically take the viewer to the point
of sale, at least not at a trade show. However, a video motivates the viewer to
get more information. A video helps a viewer determine if your product or
service is right for them. If done correctly, every person that comes to talk
to you after watching your video SHOULD convert to a sale. They are a highly
qualified lead. Now, there are some factors that may deter a purchase…a price
point that is not expected (from either a video that over values or under
values your expertise or just an uninformed or novice purchaser), the attendee
NOT being the ultimate decision maker, or a weak sales pitch and follow up on
your part.
I am not an expert on closing the sale. There are many other
experts out there that would be happy to give you amazing tips on how to
convert that interested attendee into a solid sale. However, I do know that it
is EXTREMELY important to have a solid plan for talking to someone after
they’ve watched your video. It is not good enough to put a video on in the
background and assume that they’ve seen it and gotten all they need to know out
of it. You need to have a very different approach for someone who just walked
up to your booth and has not seen the video and someone that spent the 30-90
seconds to watch your entire video. The better you plan for these scenarios,
the better the booth experience will be for the attendee. Your follow up plans
should also include a re-showing of the video – either through an online link
or a hand-out DVD or flash drive that they can take with them and watch again
at their leisure.
The key takeaway I want you to have from all of this
information is to make sure your video becomes a cohesive part of your overall
marketing campaign and booth branding. The more effort and thought you put into
your video, the more likely it will meld into your marketing mix to create a
positive effect and increase your ROI. Video is a powerful medium, but can also
be dangerous if not done correctly. Take the time to research and determine how
to best use video for your next trade show booth.
If you are interested in having us speak at your next event on Using Video in Trade Show Marketing, please contact Darcie (732) 349-4762.
Copyright 2014
E Video Productions,
LLC
(877) 384-3365
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