For brands heading to the mighty Consumer Electronics Show in early January and similar trade shows, the outlay in booths, travel, and marketing materials can be significant. Sure, going big in Vegas is a thrill in its own right! But without a robust social media strategy, you’re just gambling with your investment. Social media is essential for turning trade show attendance into real, measurable ROI. It’s the tool that allows you to capture attention in the crowded environment of the event and keep the conversation going long after the show ends.
Effectively leveraging social media isn’t as simple as posting a few pictures while you’re sitting at your booth or having a post-show cocktail. Creating and executing a strategic social plan takes time and resources, like building pre-show buzz, conducting real-time updates, and managing post-event follow-ups. Each stage requires careful planning to ensure your message cuts through the noise and reaches both in-person attendees and your wider online audience.
Done right, a tailored social media strategy not only amplifies your brand’s presence on the floor but also boosts engagement, strengthens new connections, and drives leads back to your business. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown on how we help our clients maximize their trade show investment through a comprehensive social media approach.
Building Buzz and Driving Appointments with
Pre-Event Social Media Tactics
Getting ahead with your social media planning before the event begins is critical for building visibility and excitement around your brand’s presence. Pre-event social media activities set the stage for your time at trade shows by positioning your brand in the conversation early, helping you capture attention before attendees even set foot in the exhibition hall.
Hashtag and Influencer Research
A strong trade show strategy starts with researching event-specific hashtags and identifying key influencers, media, and decision-makers who’ll be attending. Using the right hashtags ensures your content appears in relevant event searches, while engaging with influencers creates valuable connections that amplify your reach. By forming these digital connections early, you’re primed for greater visibility once the event kicks off.
Building Anticipation
Pre-event social media is also about creating buzz. From countdowns and product teasers to behind-the-scenes posts, this content sparks curiosity and anticipation, encouraging your audience to follow your event journey. A steady stream of teaser content keeps your brand top-of-mind for attendees, helping your booth stand out when they’re navigating the event.
And sharing related posts is essential. Sharing content from brands and others who are posting with the event hashtag builds goodwill — and generates interactions and potential meeting invites before the show.
On-Site Team Preparation
A coordinated on-the-ground team is vital for gathering engaging, branded content in real-time. Prepping your representatives with social media guidelines, clear messaging, and specific content ideas (such as team member spotlights or live demos) ensures everyone is ready to capture dynamic, on-brand content that resonates with your audience. This advance planning saves time, streamlines content creation, and allows your team to focus on connecting with event-goers while reinforcing your brand message.
At WideFoc.us, we often create “event briefs” for on-site team members with content wish lists, so they can generate photos and video snippets to send on to the social team back home.
With these pre-event strategies in place, your social media presence is primed to draw attendees to your presence, spark online interest, and lay the groundwork for engagement throughout the event.
Driving Engagement During the Show
Once the trade show begins, your social media strategy should shift into real-time engagement mode. This phase is where your brand's social media presence can truly shine, turning event moments into powerful content and meaningful interactions.
Real-Time Interaction
During your trade show, your social media team should monitor event hashtags, mentions, and comments to stay connected and responsive. Engaging with attendees and other participants shows that your brand is active and approachable. Quick responses, shared posts, and interactive comments keep your brand visible and engaged.
On-the-Ground Content Collection
Capturing and sharing content live from the event — such as product demos, team insights, attendee reactions, even fun or weird stuff happening on the floor — creates a sense of excitement and immediacy. Real-time photos, videos, and stories allow your online audience to experience the event through your brand’s eyes. Encourage your team to take quick snapshots, record short clips, and post updates that highlight the energy of the trade show.
Creative Calls-to-Action (CTAs)Effective CTAs during the event can bridge the gap between in-person and online audiences. Simple yet engaging CTAs, like “Visit us at Booth #A421 for warm cookies!” or “Tag us in your CES highlights,” invite attendees to interact with your brand and share their experiences. Polls, Q&A sessions, and live shout-outs are also effective ways to keep the momentum going and drive real-time participation.
Maximizing ROI with Post-Event Social Media Follow-Up
Your social media strategy doesn’t end when the event does. Post-event follow-up is essential for nurturing new connections and maintaining momentum.
Gratitude and Follow-Up Engagement
Thanking (and tagging!) attendees, partners, and followers after the event is an important step in maintaining positive relationships. A recap post highlighting key moments from your trade show, shout-outs to collaborators, or a thank-you video shows appreciation and extends your brand’s reach beyond the event itself.
Post-Event Reporting and Analysis
After the event, it’s crucial to measure the impact of your social media efforts. Review engagement metrics, hashtag reach, new follower growth, and lead generation tied to your event posts. Analyzing this data helps identify what resonated most with your audience and provides insights to refine your approach for future trade shows.
WideFoc.us specializes in making your trade show presence a social media success. Our tried-and-true trade show process includes tailored strategies for pre-event anticipation and ramp-up, real-time engagement, and post-event follow-up to boost your brand’s visibility and ROI. We’re currently offering special CES engagement packages to a maximum of five brands looking to drive serious results at the show in January. Drop us a line at info@widefoc.us ASAP if you want to learn more.
Not headed to CES, but planning for trade shows in 2025? We can tailor a social media strategy that maximizes your next event’s impact. Let’s get planning.
Community Manager Jenna Dreikorn is passionate about all facets of marketing, from automation tools to effective social media strategies — and she leverages her expertise to create engaging and innovative campaigns for WF clients. Beyond the marketing realm, she finds balance by teaching yoga classes every weekend and enjoying paddle boarding excursions.
