1. Online is not an add-on.

The virtual component must be integral to every step of your trade-show planning.  Select the best online communities to reach your customers. And maintain your brand voice and image in every message.

2. Accessibility is key.

Make sure your trade-show web page is optimized for all the browsers, including those on smart phones. The design that looked great on Internet Explorer may be unreadable on a Droid.

3. Make your message move and speak.

Use web video, still images, and podcasting as well as text. Multimedia approaches engage more of the user’s attention. Live feeds from your booth can extend your trade show message to customers around the world, and YouTube videos can make it accessible months or years after the event is over.

4. Update often.

Keep your customers coming back to check for more. Good content may be news and links, helpful tips, community-building, or just the sense of a warm, engaging person as the face of the company.

5. Listen as well as talk.

Twitter, Facebook, and blogs offer almost instantaneous feedback on what’s working and what’s not. If a member of your booth staff was rude to a customer, you can be sure the news will be all over Twitter in five minutes. Monitor the Internet and the Twitterverse with automatic searches, and respond instantly to any problems.

Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, internationally recognized expert working with companies to increase their profitability at tradeshows.

Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market” and “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies.” www.thetradeshowcoach.com & www.richesinniches.com

It’s really amazing what a person can accomplish when they have the right tools or resources for the task at hand.  Such is the case with mobile devices.  I recently abandoned my Blackberry (thankfully), and entered the realm of Android phones.  With that transition has come a whole new world of awesome possibilities.

I made a pact with myself that every day I would learn about at least one new feature to use with my new phone.  Thus far I have done a pretty good job of living up to that commitment.  I spent some time this past week investigating QR (Quick Response) codes and other similar barcode based tools.  I am absolutely fascinated by what I learned.

For context a QR code is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The information encoded can be text, URL (web address) or other data.

I am surprised (pleasantly) at how simple it is to create and interpret these bar codes and there are a slew of free online tools available to do so.  Click on this link to access a website which will assist you in finding the best application for your mobile device.

Six Reasons Why You Should Use QR Codes for Your Next Event

I have been thinking about how I could weave the use of QR codes into an event strategy and realized the possibilities are endless.  So, here is my first stab at a list of functional reasons why you should use QR codes for your next event:

Reason #1:  An electronic conference brochure — On a press release, event poster, marketing video, email blast, promotional products, or even a Twitter/Facebook post include a QR Code with a link to a downloadable PDF brochure.

Reason #2:  Create a Link to Conference Website –Use any of the channels identified above to distribute your link to prospective attendees.  If your event registration and/or housing process is online you can post links to these locations as well.

Reason #3:  Conference Handouts  — Post a QR code on the screen in the meeting room and participants can scan whatever the session handout into their smartphone.

Reason #4:  Post Event Survey/Evaluation — Once again, post the QR code for link to the evaluation form on the session screen, and attendees can immediately provide feedback regarding the session they have just attended.

Reason #5:  Media Access — provide access to links for event music, video archives or pictures via a QR code.

Reason #6:  Share Contact Information — speakers, or exhibitors can post a QR code with their electronic contact information and attendees can scan it into their smartphone’s contacts database, or email it to a friend/colleague.  Attendees can exchange contact information with one another by scanning QR codes embedded on their phones.

These are just a few examples of how you can use barcode technology to enhance the event experience for your attendees.  Also, I should mention that QR codes are just one of several barcode based tools available.  Another tool you should take a serious look at is Microsoft Tag.