Updated- 14th March 2024

Are you leveraging LinkedIn to its fullest potential when it comes to promoting your trade show booth rental? If the answer is anything short of a confident yes, it might be time to rethink your strategy. LinkedIn, with its vast network of professionals and businesses, offers a unique platform to not only highlight your presence at upcoming trade shows but also to establish meaningful connections well before the event kicks off. This social media powerhouse goes beyond basic networking, serving as a critical tool in the arsenal of any exhibitor looking to maximise their ROI from trade shows.

Many exhibitors miss out on the full range of benefits LinkedIn can offer, sticking to traditional promotional tactics that don’t tap into LinkedIn’s capacity for targeted outreach and pre-event engagement. But in a world where digital presence often dictates real-world outcomes, can you afford not to utilise every tool at your disposal? From securing pre-show meetings to driving exhibition booth traffic and generating post-event leads, LinkedIn can transform how you approach exhibition marketing. 

In this blog, we’ll explore how you can leverage LinkedIn not just to draw attention to your booth but to create meaningful engagements that last well beyond any single event. Let’s explore some best practices and innovative strategies to ensure your booth stands out in the busy world of trade shows.

1. Announce your participation royally

An announcement about your participation is important. But when and how you announce can make a massive difference to your pre-exhibition networking and promotions.

Ideally, you should announce your participation at least three months before the event. You can do that even before depending on your schedule and marketing plan.

How should you announce it? Consider utilising your LinkedIn headline to broadcast your participation. After all, it’s your LinkedIn page—let it serve as the herald of your big day. However, remember to keep it concise and engaging. A headline like “Visit Our Trade Show Booth Rental at IFA Berlin 2024″ would be perfect.

2. Search for companies and prospects

Event-based LinkedIn groups are great for all the good reasons. Many exhibition organisers initiate official event-based LinkedIn groups so that exhibitors can do pre-exhibition networking and marketing.

Firstly, you need to check if your event is listed on LinkedIn groups. If yes, you have struck gold, as finding the latest updates is now quite easy. Firstly, you need to RSVP for the event and figure out who else has RSVP’d so you can send a connect request and start networking.

When you find an event group, it will show the number of members. These are your targeted group of people with whom you can promote your exhibition participation updates such as show dates, timings and booth location.

Don’t know how to find these groups? It’s a cakewalk. Type the event’s name with or without a date in the search bar. By using a date, you can view the most recent posts; if you leave the date out, you’ll see the most popular ones. It’s worth experimenting with both methods.

You can also utilise the official event hashtag to enhance your search. For instance, using #IBC2024 can help you find the latest posts and updates about the event, profiles of individuals discussing the exhibition, and relevant brand profiles. This method is particularly useful for staying connected with trends and networking opportunities related to your trade show booth rental at the event.

Now, it’s time to utilise your attendee list fully. Identify which event attendees you can reach via LinkedIn. Through their name and profile, once you dig out if your prospect or their company is posting anything relevant to the event, jump on the bandwagon and start engaging with their posts. But make sure that you are adding value! Your prospect’s most recent post is the ideal place to start with.

3. Master the art of group discussions

You might be asking yourself when to start looking for exhibition-related groups. The best time is as early as possible, but if your marketing schedule is packed, aim to begin at least three to four months before the event. If you wait until the last minute, you could find yourself indefinitely waiting to be added as a member of those groups.

Now, the million-dollar question. What exactly do you need to do in these groups?

Firstly, you need to activate notifications to be notified about the group activities. Once you are a member, offer something insightful about industry trends, highlight something significant about last year’s exhibition, or give a valuable opinion to the ongoing discussions.

Make the best use of this platform by leaving genuine comments on other members’ content. Don’t just aim at big groups; you can also join small groups as long as they are active.

You can also start sharing content that you are producing for your trade show exhibit rental promotion once a week with each group.

4. Inmails

The last thing you want to settle for is sending cold, direct messages. Instead, send a highly personalised direct message to all your key connections, highlighting why you expect them to be at your trade show booth rental.

Nevertheless, the most practical way is to host a fun event before the show and send your key prospects a personalised invitation through “InMail”.

This way, you can create your own group for pre-exhibition discussions and networking. Either way, it’s a win-win!

Make sure you don’t do these three things in an “InMail.”
Sales pitch
Vague ideas
Creating a template

5. Create valuable content and thrive on it

Like other exhibitors, you must create relevant content to share on your LinkedIn page. For example, you can create blog posts highlighting the event’s USPs along with the USPs of your trade show booth rental.

Create blog posts about industry trends or a simple blog post on what made the previous year’s event a success. Exhibition news during the event and a write-up on your significant achievement can be shared on LinkedIn. Ensure that you direct your readers or prospects to the most pertinent page for your event—that’s right, the landing page specifically designed for your event. Give them the option to request a meeting on your landing page.

Video content is equally important before, during, and after the exhibition. Share your teaser video, an interview with your CEO, and previous year’s video testimonials of your key customers. Use Linked Native videos to show live demos at your booth, product launches, and people indulging in your booth technology.

Whatever content you create, ask your internal team to like, comment and share. The initial velocity of your post can make it viral, as per LinkedIn algorithms. This surely can make a huge difference.

Conclusion

LinkedIn is far more than just a professional networking site; it’s a versatile business tool with features that can significantly amplify the success of your trade show booth rental. From announcing your participation to creating valuable content, LinkedIn offers a holistic approach to your exhibition needs. If you haven’t been using LinkedIn to its fullest potential, now is the perfect time to integrate it into your marketing strategy. It’s not about merely adding a tool to your promotional mix; it’s about enriching the entire lifecycle of your exhibition experience. Make the smart move, and leverage LinkedIn to elevate your custom exhibition stand to new heights.

If you want to create a lasting impact on LinkedIn, you must choose an extraordinary exhibition stand builder like Expo Display Service. Crafted with precision and tailored to your brand’s specific requirements, our trade show exhibit rental serves as a compelling visual anchor, grabbing attention and setting the stage for meaningful interactions with visitors. We offer turnkey booth rental solutions such as designing, graphic printing, logistics and shipping support, installation, and post-event dismantling. 

Discover the most extensive online collection of trade show exhibit designs with our Expo Stand Configurator. Find your ideal setup in just three simple clicks! 

Partner with us for a hassle-free exhibition experience!