AT TRADE SHOWS, DON’T JUST MEET POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. MEET THE MEDIA.

With marketing increasingly consumed by all things digital, trade shows provide critical opportunities for face-to-face relationship building.

The Internet and social media have brought us closer together and facilitated communication with people from around the world. LinkedIn especially has become an effective business tool for B2B networking while Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have become essential consumer marketing platforms.

Public relations has been swept up in this digital revolution. In a marketing niche that once thrived on handshakes, we increasingly find ourselves “shooting someone an email.” Our phones ring less and less, our inboxes “ping!” more and more.

While efficient, this landscape of “digital by default” can prevent us from building the types of trusting relationships that can only be formed by putting faces to names. The best type of “interfacing” is done face to face, not face to avatar. And that brings us to trade shows.

It’s easy to see trade shows through the singular lens of business development. After all, that’s primarily what you’re there for, and you’re paying a pretty penny for that privilege. But widening your net of meeting prospects to include attending trade media further maximizes your trade show investment by opening the door to valuable exposure and long-term media relationships.

If it’s a major trade event, everyone who’s anyone in the industry will be there – including journalists. With some proper pre-scheduling, the guesswork component of media relations is eliminated and efficient face-time is assured.

For instance, Interphex, an annual trade show focused on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, hosts thousands of industry professionals. Companies exhibit to showcase their products while journalists from key industry publications – Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Contract Pharma, Pharmaceutical Outsourcing among them – come to report on industry advancements. All the pieces of the PR puzzle are in one room… so why aren’t you fitting them into your schedule?

Trade show booth interviews are an efficient, effective form of “journalist speed-dating”: 10-minute conversations with key editors that at best will lead to valuable editorial exposure and, at worst, a connection with an important influencer who is now far more aware of your company for future editorial consideration.

Genuine relationships with relevant media outlets are paramount to public relations success. Why not make sure your newsworthy items get the attention they deserve? Trade shows present a condensed, convenient opportunity to let the media play megaphone for your key products and services.

Some things really are better in person. Thankfully, Turchette’s team has established longstanding relationships with editors in pertinent sectors through years of trade shows and niche-specific marketing programs. We know that fostering in-person relationships with editors at key media outlets is critical to securing ongoing coverage and exposure for our clients.

If you’re looking to optimize your trade show experience through booth interviews, call us at 973-227-8080 x 136.