Digital Trail

Next week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the great and the good of social media will do the trade show thing at Olympia in London at Social Media World Forum Europe or #SMWF if you are looking for tweets and to keep your teeth in. 

Alterian can be found at Stand 39 and we will happily talk to you about social media, monitoring and the value of social media data as a driver of business insight. Please do disturb us.

I have been doing some trade show research on the web for the best ideas of how to make the most of being involved or as one blog put it, “How to bring your A game to a trade show”: 

• Pack your phone charger – make sure you have juice for the day to tweet and add those LinkedIn connections. You may need to prioritise whether or not you check-in on Foursquare if battery power is likely to get critical by 11.30am…
• Wear comfy shoes. Social Media World Forum runs for two days, no one wants a blister on day 2.
• Have your business card at the ready, whether you are looking to meet people or enter a competition or two (Keep your eyes peeled and follow @AlterianSM2 for a BIG competiton at the show). Either way, business cards are essential.
• Plan what you want to see and the workshops you wish to attend but be flexible. If they fill up quickly then you may need to sacrifice a session to get in to a later one on that key topic you wanted to hear about. Competition for a seat or a popular talk can bring out the worst in some people at trade shows.  
• Pre-arrange meet-ups with familiar faces and new on Twitter beforehand to give your day purpose and structure. 
• Set yourself targets. What outcomes do you want to get from your attendance? 3 new business opportunities, 10 new contacts, 2 product demonstrations, a fine collection of free pens, etc. 
• Ask great questions. Yes, there are people there looking to shift product and yes, there is an agenda for any business that has made the investment to have a presence at the show. On the whole, with a room full of people interested in social media, most people will be happy to talk about what they do. So make the most of the opportunities.

Got anymore you would like to add? Comment below.

WIN TODAY: If you would like the chance to be at Social Media World Forum Europe next week, we have three full conference passes to giveaway by 5pm today. Enter our simple competition to be in with a chance.

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