Using Face-to-Face Marketing and Social Marketing to Its Best!

The current economic climate has companies paring down in every department– cutting overhead, reducing the workforce and slashing marketing.  It is more important than ever to get a high return on every business dollar invested, and to wisely utilize available resources.    It is absolutely essential that companies stay in the spotlight and avoid allowing the competition to get the business that is out there!   There are many ways to grow your marketing campaign without growing your marketing budget, including using social media, attending trade shows and using existing materials in unconventional ways.

Social media is a great avenue for getting your name in front of the public.  Rather than calling or dropping in on potential client, use social media to draw them in to your business.  Blogging, Twitter, Linked In, Face Book and Squidoo are great places to start developing relationships with prospects, to uncover how they are thinking and what they need.  Don’t be afraid of controversy in your social media.  Creating an environment where discussion takes place is crucial, as is engaging the audience!  Braggadocio is fine in small measure, but social media is not a place for merely tooting horns…especially your own!   Leave comments for other participants, link to other sites, participate in the discussions of others.  As Seth Godin, founder of Squidoo, states, “Not only is contributing to the community a good idea, but it pays off in traffic back to your best stuff.”  Participating in these sites will help you build your website, improve your search engine rankings and ultimately grow your business.

Participating in tradeshows is crucial during the economic downturn, especially if you’ve participated in the past.  Involvement sends a message of stability, while withdrawal leaves attendees wondering if the business has failed.  And because shows are used more in the selling process than any other marketing tool, your absence opens the door to the competition, offering them a larger portion of the marketing pie.    Remember that according to the Center for Exhibition Industry and Research(CEIR) exhibitions are the number one source for attendees who make the final purchasing decisions and over 83% of attendees have buying influence.    According to the CEIR 76% of show attendees arrive with an agenda. While show attendance may be down, that translates into exhibitors spending their time with qualified leads rather than spinning wheels with casual show observers.
Our company just exhibited in the 2009 New Mexico Wedding Expo at the Sandia Casino put on by Legacy Media, Inc. There were hundreds of brides looking for vendors to supply their wedding needs.  It was quite an event and talk of the town.  We enjoyed being a part of this event even though we are a business to business company.  The exposure created great branding for our company and showed support by being the Exhibitor Sponsor for Legacy Media, Inc.

The next show in which we will be exhibiting will be as a sponsor for the Albuquerque Home & LifeStyle Expo on February 21-22, 2009. The last two shows generated over 16,000 attendees and the show management, Lucas Productions, really knows how to target and generate traffic through their advertisement packages to gain the exposure for the show.

Show management is bringing in Joey Green the Mad Scientist & Home Imporvement Guru and his Las Vegas-style act about home improvement to entertain attendess.  People Magazine calls him the “Pantry Professor” and says “He is truly hilarious.”  Attendees at the EXPO will be treated to three funny and informative shows throughout the weekend show.  Check out the press release for show times.