Virtual Trade Show Production Tips for Increased Engagement

Virtual trade shows are rapidly gaining popularity, particularly as in-person trade shows have fizzled out as a result of COVID-19. If you’re finding that virtual trade shows don’t seem to have the level of engagement that you are accustomed to from your in-person trade shows, we totally understand. Fortunately, we’ve got some virtual trade show production tips that will help you take your virtual trade show engagement from o-100 in no time! 

We like to say we know a thing or two about virtual trade show production. After all, Beverly Boy Productions is a full-service production company with more than twenty years’ experience producing trade shows, hybrid events, virtual events a variety of other major productions. Our film crews specialize in corporate videos and believe that virtual trade shows are an incredibly impact to our industry.

So if you want to increase engagement at your virtual trade show, follow these tips from the virtual trade show production experts!

Connect Before the Show

Since you’re hosting a virtual trade show, it’s important to get actively involved in connecting with your target audience of attendees long before the show actually kicks off. This means you’re going to send emails, introduce the trade show events and exhibits, and otherwise engage with your audience ahead of time any chance you get. You should also encourage attendees to checkout any vendors that will be included in the trade show so that they’re on the same page. Consider hosting a vendor landing page for the show so that viewers can visit there for updates on regular basis. 

Get Involved & Share Pre-Shot Events

Virtual trade show production doesn’t begin during the event, it starts several weeks or potentially months in advance depending on how large the event (and the audience) is. Get your production crew involved in the event well-ahead of the game so that they can help you create content that you can share with your audience.

Create videos that introduce your event sponsors and exhibitors individual and share those with your audience. Consider also hosting individual interview sessions with each of the vendors leading up to the trade show. It’s also important for you to host a pre-event brief in order to give your event sponsors and exhibitors the details on how the event will go, how production will be coordinated, and any other news that might be needed ahead of time.

Talk with Your Producer about Gamification

Only the best production companies are going to know anything about gamification, but it’s absolutely an amazing activity to include in your event. Use gamification to get your audience engaged and hyped up about your virtual trade show. Production companies can help you come up with ways to gamify the event so that your audience will have fun interacting with one another vie various means while they collect rewards, tokens, or other games or prizes as a result. A points based system can be created to allow those who attend an opportunity to gain amazing rewards or inventive for their activity within the virtual event.

Many audience members love the idea of digital swag, too. Consider offering digital products that are relative to the trade show or to your organization specifically in exchange for their engagement in the virtual trade show event. There are limitless ideas for organizations and brands to encourage interaction and engagement in their virtual events.

Make the Content Easy to Find & Engage With

While it should be a no-brainer, that content on the virtual trade show platform should include content that is organized and easy for attendees to engage with, it’s equally important to  you work closely with your virtual tradeshow production team to ensure the event is user-friendly. You want people to be able to easily find others to engage with, and for your vendors to gain valuable insights into any information that your audience has shared. Most of this will come along with your choice of trade show platform but it’s equally important to think about it ahead of time.

You’ll also want to work closely with the virtual trade show production company to schedule in specific time slots for your audience to engage in breakout sessions or other forms of group activities that can build trust and increase consumer satisfaction with the level of engagement that occurs with your show.

Offering up opportunities for engagement isn’t always a homerun to getting your trade show attendees to actively participate. You’ll often find that attendees need a cohesive user experience in order to slowly warm up to one another and feel comfortable. Keep this in mind as you not only offer ample engagement opportunities but also as you initiate any follow-up post-production!

There’s certainly a ton of detail and important consideration that goes into the planning of your virtual trade show production but with a supportive crew and the right initiative, you can host a powerful event that your audience, vendors, exhibitors and sponsors will absolutely love. To learn more about virtual trade show production, or for immediate assistance in hiring a professional film crew to assist you, give Beverly Boy Productions a call!