Trade show exhibiting is an ever-changing, ever-evolving world.  To explore the new developments in the industry, we polled Skyline dealers throughout North America asking them one question: “What do you think the biggest trend in trade show marketing will be for 2012?”

Increased Use Of Social Media

From Facebook to interactive webinars, the growth of social media is the top trend for 2012.  Pre-show promotions using Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin and at-show promotions rewarding those who “check-in” at the show are already growing in popularity.  Exhibitors want prospects to be able to access data at events and have giveaways associated with their social media plans.  Drawing traffic to your trade show booth and brand through social media is certainly a trend that will continue throughout the year and beyond.  Rick Bengermino, from Skyline Maryland says, “I think clients want to have more interactive elements to engage prospects.”

Greater Integration Of Technology Into Exhibits

The tablet and iPad craze will be built into more trade show exhibits for an exciting visual aspect in 2012.  Incorporation of these devices will allow exhibit staff to demonstrate new products, one-on-one with attendees, anywhere in the booth.  Shipping and storage costs will begin to decline due to the ability to now display products without actually bringing them to the show.  All of these benefits will allow staffers to reach more attendees and capture more leads.  Most recently, trade show exhibitors have seen integration of the tablet with CRM programs.  The major benefit being it gives quick access to the best leads and the ability to create a customized fulfillment plan.  Jodi Maitlen of Skyline Oklahoma agrees, “An overall greater inclusion of technology on the show floor” will be the ticket to success.

Exhibit Design Continues To Evolve Towards Modular

Booth size will start to change and continue throughout the year.  More exhibitors are venturing beyond the standard 10×10 booth into 10x20s. A turn to modular booths is becoming popular due to the need for customization and versatility.  “We are going to see exhibits change into more of a set of elements as opposed to one big structure,” according to Erik Streight, from Skyline Houston.  Jim Cummings, from Skyline Ottawa adds, “2012 may see a move towards differentiation, customization and unique designs.” Comfortable seating and lounge spaces will also be a key aspect in booth design.  Lightweight displays that are easily set up and mobile will be a must-have item for many exhibitors.  Added to that will be the use of lightweight stretch fabric, LED and backwall lighting, video monitors and interactive elements to engage prospects.

Exhibitors Seeking Best Value

Purchases in general are on the rise and the size of the clients’ booths continue to go up.  Pricing is becoming very competitive as exhibitors are looking to get the most bang for their buck.  The economy is getting better but in the past few years people have gotten good at spending as little as possible for the most value.  They will continue to look for the best deals along with low asset management costs.  “Clients are still stretching their dollars and want more flexibility for each penny,” according to Jody Myers from Skyline Exhibitor Source in Knoxville.

Justify Return On Investment

Of course, all of these trends would mean nothing if there was no way to justify the spending.  Focusing on ROI and measurement are at the top of the list for many exhibitors this year.  “You’ve got to set objectives and measure against them,” says Scott Price from Skyline New Jersey.  “You must focus on ROI to justify investments made in trade show marketing,” agrees Alex Litynsky from Skyline British Columbia.  If all of these new and revisited methods are generating traffic and gathering great leads you will know you’re going in the right direction.  If you’re not seeing the results, it may be time to incorporate some of these trends and build a new plan.

These trends look awfully similar to trends you’ve seen over the last few years!  That’s because they’re trends, not fads.  These trends will continue to shift how exhibitors use trade shows for years to come.

For more ways the trade show marketing world is changing, read the The Evolving Role Of The Exhibit Marketer white paper.  This guide will explain new challenges, opportunities and much more for today’s exhibitors.  Click here to request your free copy. 

You will see our booth just as you enter the exhibit hall.

Skyline would love to see you in our booth, #1325, at EXHIBITOR2012, March 5 to 7, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It promises to be an excellent show.

Many exhibit marketers have renewed their strong trade show schedules, and are looking to expand their booth spaces to take advantage of the face-to-face nature of trade shows.

But because our industry tends to lag the economic cycle, there are also exhibit marketers attending EXHIBITOR2012 who are in expansion mode, just now making up for the reductions they made during the downturn.

But all exhibitors have adjusted to the new reality:  They need a responsive exhibit partner who can augment their smaller team, boost their trade show results, all the while maximizing their highly scrutinized budget.

We look forward to meeting with exhibit marketers who attend the show, to demonstrate how we can help enhance their exhibiting success.  If you need a free pass to the exhibit hall, click here, and enter in promo code 4206 when registering.

5 Reasons To Visit Skyline At EXHIBITOR2012:

Free Trade Show Seminars

Skyline will host 12 “bite-sized” seminars in our booth.  You can get the best nuggets on insights about 6 popular trade show topics such as promotions, social media, booth staffing, exhibit design, and more.  We will present each 10-minute session twice during the show, every hour on the hour that the show hall is open.

Here’s our free seminar schedule (you may want to print it and take it with you to the show):

Expert Advice
After each seminar we will take Q&A from the audience, answering questions about the session topic or any trade show or marketing questions you have. You can also visit the booth at any time to talk with our experienced staff.

Useful, Elegant Gifts
Attendees to our seminars will receive a cool, aluminum-clad notebook.  The elegant notebooks give you a place to jot ideas and reactions to our seminars.  The aluminum covers also evoke the clean, elegant look of our metal exhibit systems.

Chocolate
To complement our “bite-sized” seminars we’re offering bite-sized chocolates.  Stop by anytime during the show when you need a boost, and get a crunchy, creamy nugget of Ferrero Rocher chocolate.

Meet With A Trusted Exhibiting Partner
Whether you are an existing Skyline customer wanting to see what’s new, or an exhibit marketer looking for new ways to achieve trade show success, you can request a meeting with us.  Just click here to ask for a date and time to meet, or stop by to visit us in booth 1325.

Trade shows are a valuable marketing medium.   But they’re also hard work.  You need help you can depend on to succeed.  We hope to see you at our booth at EXHIBITOR2012.

Again, if you need a free pass to the exhibit hall, click here, and enter in promo code 4206.

What kind of Skyline Trade Show Tips blog posts got the most attention in 2011?  Funny posts?  Informative posts?  Insightful posts?  Useful posts?  Why, yes!

Of the 80 blog posts we’ve published so far this year, these are the 10 that most caught your eye, and then made such an impact that many of you told your friends to read them, too.

Just click on the article headlines to view these 10 most popular posts of 2011:

#1.  19 Chuck Norris Exhibitor Jokes

Chuck Norris jokes are not only popular on the Internet; they are apparently tops for trade show exhibitors, too.  Chuck did a round-house kick to readers’ funny bones, and they shared several of their own Chuck Norris jokes, too.  This blog post from August 2011 will finish the year with over 10,000 views, and hopefully almost 200,000 laughs.

#2.  Don’t Be “That Guy” At Trade Shows              

Trade shows allow us to meet our clients and prospects face to face, which helps us build stronger relationships with the people we do business with.  But what if that person just doesn’t seem to get it?  This June 2011 article showed all the ways “that guy” could bungle his trade show marketing, from what he says, how his booth looks, what he does in his tradeshow exhibit, and more.

#3.  Are QR Codes Worth Putting On Your Trade Show Displays?

One of the most-talked about new technologies for trade show exhibitors are QR codes.  They are 2-dimensional bar codes that, when scanned with a properly outfitted smart phone, can take you to a web page.  Skyline tested QR codes in our Exhibitor Show 2011 booth, tracked the less-than-inspiring results, and reported the experience in this April 2011 article.

#4.  Why Didn’t That Attendee Stop In My Trade Show Booth?

For all you do at trade shows, getting attendees to stop in your booth is the key first step.  But what if they don’t?  This September 2011 article outlines 8 possible reasons attendees don’t stop in your tradeshow displays, and what the main actions exhibitors can take to get attendees to visit them, and thus start the process for a successful show.

#5.  Will Your Trade Show Booth Staffers Make This Elephant-Sized Mistake?

After visiting the Fancy Foods Show, Scott Price was surprised at the treatment he received at one of the trade show booths.   He felt that one booth staffer was too focused on saving a little money on a giveaway and missed the mark on building their brand.  This June 2011 article stirred the most heated conversation of any blog post this year.

#6.  10 Ways To Use Social Media To Get Attention At Trade Shows         

Guest blogger Nate Riggs gave a presentation about Social Media for trade show exhibitors at the Skyline Central Ohio office, and this April 2011 blog post summarized his popular session.  It’s filled with practical, accessible tips on using social media.  It was popular with your fellow readers, who shared it a lot with their own peers via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites.

#7.  5 Quick Measurements To Improve Your Trade Show Results

While most exhibitors feel the pressure to measure their trade show results, many don’t know where to start.  While it’s best to measure the metrics most important to your bosses, it’s also possible to measure things that will provide insights into significant improvements in your trade show program.  So this April 2011 article gave exhibitors 5 fast items they can measure to drive positive change.

#8.  23 Trade Show LOL Cats Make Exhibitors Laugh Out Loud

On the Internet there are “memes” – topics or ideas that take hold and spread because they are funny or unique.  One of the most endearing — and enduring — memes is the LOL cats.  These are pictures of cats doing cute and wacky things, with photo captions that are written in a style reminiscent of Tweety Bird.  This September 2011 blog post featured 23 images that combined the absurdity of LOL cats with the absurdity of trade shows.

#9.  Get Better Trade Show Results By Leaving Your Brochures At Home

Because they are often overwhelmed by the mountain of logistical tasks required, trade show exhibitors can default to doing the same thing repeatedly rather than try new approaches.  In this January 2011 article, Judy Fairbanks advocates trying something new by leaving your brochures at home.  She gives 6 reasons why this change will be for the better and help you boost your results while lowering your costs.

#10.  19 Made-Up Trade Show Statistics

While there is a wealth of statistics about the value of trade shows, there are certain gaps that I felt needed filling.  Such as, what percent of U.S. booth staffers only speak one language?  What percent of booth staffers were hired by their company in the past month?  Since I couldn’t find stats like those, I made them up.  But while they are fictional, they still retain a ring of truth.  Readers added their own made-up trade show statistics to this March 2011 article, too.

I hope you enjoyed reading these top articles during 2011, and look forward to proving you with more informative, insightful, helpful, and occasionally funny tips in 2012.

While these are the top 10 tips from 2011, what was the most-requested white paper?  Hands-down, it was the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper, which you can get for yourself by clicking here.

9.11.11

This week has been filled with TV specials, articles and events centered around the 10^th anniversary of 9/11.  And rightfully so.  Having lived through that awful day watching the towers fall from roughly a mile away I have vivid memories of not only that day, but the following weeks and months.  I actually try not to think about it too much, but now seems an appropriate time to remember and honor those who were lost and those who carried on in their absence.

The stories of the families who lost loved ones are heart wrenching.  While my company did not lose any staff, that day we did lose 40+ companies with whom we did business as well as 6 individual client contacts who perished in the towers.  In the aftermath a number of clients moved their business west to New Jerseyor north to Westchester, so the net loss is hard to calculate.  In addition to the financial loss, those who track such things report that 1 of 5 New Yorkers who were in Manhattanthat day still, 10 years later, experience some form of residual negative effect (sleep disorder, irrational fear and anxieties, etc.).  My own children experienced their own version of anxiety as I left for work every morning at 5:15am to head back to our 18^th Street office.

As we remember those we lost, I would like to also recognize those who carried on in the time after the 9/11 attacks.  Around the country, as the economy faltered everywhere, it took persistence and dedication to continue to work and recover.  But for those of us in New York Cityit took much more.  Every week there were reported threats to buildings, tunnels, places of worship and other public venues.  Our local 8^th Avenue post office was the one targeted for the anthrax scare causing us to open the mail wearing rubber gloves just to be safe.  There were random “police actions” and occasional subway closings for no specified reason.  So while it took resilience and determination from the rest ofAmerica to go to work every day, I salute my staff who needed real courage to travel into the city on the subway and trains every morning.  I myself saw the smoke rising from the towers site every morning for months as I drove past the soldiers holding automatic weapons in full army fatigues at the Lincoln Tunnel.

So we remember the many first-responder heroes who rushed into the towers that day saving thousands of lives at the cost of their own.  And we recall those at the Pentagon who died as well and, of course, the brave airline passengers who risked and then lost their own lives as they foiled the attempt to take a fourth plane into another target (presumably the White house or Capitol building).  But while my heart goes out to the families of those who lost loved ones, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to my staff and the rest of the business community who persevered to rebuild the New York local business economy.  By doing so we made the events of 9/11 a day of the tragic loss of life, but not one which permanently crippled the livelihoods of the rest of the city.

We will never forget the events of that day.  And I will never forget the courage and fortitude of those with whom I work every day.  You are heroes in your own right.  Thank you for helping us defeat those who would have us fail.

Looking for proof that trade shows are still a powerful marketing medium?  You’ve got it!

Skyline and EXPO Magazine have combined resources to create a new white paper called The Value of Trade Shows.  Use this report to help justify and enhance your trade show program and get more people to your trade show booths!  Click here to request your copy of this report.

Based on extensive surveys with over 500 trade show exhibitors and attendees, this report reveals that even in the midst of recent technological changes, exhibitors and attendees still find significant value in trade shows, and expect to for many years ahead.

In this new, 24-page white paper:

• Exhibitors tell how they are increasing their trade show participation, why they value trade shows, and how they are exhibiting better at trade shows than before.
• Attendees share the high value they place on trade shows for sourcing products, comparing and meeting suppliers, and keeping up on industry trends.  Attendees also reveal what exhibitors can do most that will catch their attention.

Why Exhibitors Value of Trade Shows

Exhibitors value trade shows because they are effective in achieving a number of critical sales and marketing objectives.  The top reasons why exhibitors participate in conventions and trade shows are to raise awareness of company and brand, capture leads from new buyers and prospects, and create and/or strengthen industry relationships or partnerships.

Exhibitors also gave other reasons they value trade shows:

• Exhibitors that responded to the survey plan on average to increase their budgets by 9.6%, and increase the number of events they exhibit in or sponsor from 21 events in 2010 to 23 in 2011.
• 63% of exhibitors indicated their organizations’ rate conventions, trade shows and conferences as “extremely” or “very valuable.”
• An extremely high 91% of exhibitors say that conventions, trade shows and conferences will remain to be critical to marketing over the next five years.

Why Attendees Value Trade Shows

Without attendees, there would be no trade shows.  Fortunately for exhibitors, attendees find great value from going to conventions:

• A significant 88% of attendees say that conventions, trade shows and conferences are an important part of their product sourcing and buying process. An even higher percentage (91%) agrees that conventions, trade shows and conferences are essential for comparing products and meeting suppliers.
• 90% of attendees feel that business events will continue to be critical to their product sourcing and purchasing over the next five years.
• 73% of attendees say their organizations rate conventions, trade shows and conferences as “extremely” or “very valuable.”
• Travel and event attendance budgets are expected to increase by an average of 4.1% this year.
• 57% of attendees say they or their organization make a major purchase, or finalize an important deal, within three months of attending an event.

How to Exhibit Better

This white paper provides exhibit marketers with a blueprint for justifying — and enhancing — the value trade shows have in their company’s marketing plan.  Exhibitors also share in this report how they are marketing at and selecting trade shows differently, and what are the most common methods exhibitors have used to improve their trade show programs over the last two years.

Prove — and improve — the value of your trade show program.  Click here to get The Value of Trade Shows, the new 24-page report by Skyline Exhibits and Expo Magazine.

Want to be remembered by visitors to your trade show exhibit?  Then do a great product demo in your booth.

This really hit home for me when I recently read new research about memorable exhibits shown by Joyce McKee on the CEIR blog. While Joyce’s article focused on the changes in impact the various reasons make in exhibit memorability over the last ten years, I was struck by this important insight:

Product demos are the most important element you can control in your exhibit to create more memorable exhibits.

Here’s why.  The top two reasons for remembering exhibits, “Product Interest” and “Well-Known Company” are factors mostly dependent on what your company has done before the show and outside the exhibit hall.  (See the chart below.) So, as the exhibit manager you can have less immediate effect on these two (although you can affect it long-term).

But product demonstrations take full advantage of the face-to-face, interactive trade show environment.  A good product demo can set you apart from other exhibitors who just sit there, even if they have a popular product and a well-known company.

This is jump-up-and-down, shout-it-from-the-show-hall-rooftops news.  This is where you can make your trade show marketing more powerful, more memorable, and more effective than your competitors.

So if you are not doing a demo in your booth, create one.  And if you are, congrats – now make it even better.

To help you, here are 7 elements that make a great trade show demonstration:

1.  Motion:  The eye is drawn to movement, so use motion to catch those eyes as they walk down the aisle.  You can even start a demo before there’s anyone in your booth, to help draw people in and gather a crowd.

2.  Makes your benefits obvious: Do you know what are the most popular and unique benefits of your product?  That’s good.  Now create a demo that makes those main benefits obvious to your prospects, too.

3.  Proves your product works: Your prospects are skeptical about the marketing claims they read on your website and in your brochures.  At a trade show you have the perfect opportunity to overcome their skepticism by demonstrating how your product really does what it says it does.

4.  Interactivity: If you can get your booth visitor involved in the demo, by either a discussion or actually getting hands-on with your product, they will engage more of their brain (and thus memory), and also be more likely to believe your claims as they are experiencing them themselves.

5.  Practice: Train your exhibit staff how to do the demo, so that it flows smoothly and without a hitch.  And train more than just one person, so that person can take breaks, or if your booth is large enough, you can do demonstrations in multiple places.

6. Technology: Especially for services, there are products your booth visitors can’t actually hold in their hands.  For those products you can use presentation technologies to demonstrate your benefits and to get people engaged.

7.  Space: Rather than consider a demo after your trade show booth is built, design your exhibit from the start with the demo in mind, giving it space, lighting, supporting graphics, and any architectural elements needed, such as a stage, table, or kiosk.

Do a great demo and you’ll entice more people into your booth, overcome their natural skepticism, and be remembered after the show.

What has been your experience using demos to make a greater splash at trade shows?  What else do you think makes a demo more memorable and effective?  Let us know in the comments box below.

Learn more exhibiting best practices by getting the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper.  Request your free, 32-page copy by clicking here.

You’re probably aware of the major trends about trade shows:  More exhibitors measuring their ROI; doing more with less, perceived competition from virtual trade shows; the shift to fabric graphics and custom modular exhibits , more interactive technology in booths, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Yeah, we know those big trends.  But what other trends are happening that will affect the trade show world?  Trends that are perhaps less obvious and hopefully less serious?  Gaze along with me into my crystal ball and we’ll see:

1. SHOWS GROW: United States trade shows will return to growth for the entire 2011 for multiple reasons:

• Exhibitors will be past their smaller 2010 budgets set during the harsh 2009 conditions, and will have their replenished 2011 budgets ready to go.
• Companies awash in cash will invest in marketing to compete with aggressive competitors and spur growth.
• Larger number of new products developed during the less scary 2010 need to be introduced at 2011 shows.
• The weaker U.S. dollar (“quantitative easing”) will boost U.S. manufacturing sales (who are most of the larger exhibitors), and also make travel and exhibiting at U.S. shows less expensive for foreigners.
• B2B marketers impatient with their inability to demonstratedly drive enough sales volume with harder-than-it-looks social media will re-allocate more dollars back to proven trade shows.
• Recently hired entry-level professionals will be sent to get training at industry shows.

2. PICTURE THIS: Almost all exhibitors will finally have attention-getting mural graphics on their 10-foot pop-up displays because Front Runner fabric (that carpet-like fabric popular in the 1980s and 1990s) has been discontinued.
3. GREEN WITH ENVY: Sustainable exhibiting will be the trend of the future … again.
4. WHADDYA INK? Booth staffers will start favoring pens that write with blue ink over pens that write with black ink.  You saw it here first.
5. COLOR ME FASHIONABLE: Lime green and bright orange on trade show exhibits will start to go out of style.
6. I WANT IT NOW! Literally waiting to the last minute, a disorganized exhibitor will demand from an exhibit house a spec design for a 30 foot by 40 foot exhibit…for a show happening later that day.
7. SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY: Rather than fear social media, almost all show producers will embrace it to get more attendees to their events.  And it will work, increasing attendance and interactivity.
8. CRACKING THE CODE: QR Code use by exhibitors on their trade show graphics will multiply fourfold … going from .25% of exhibitors up to 1%.  (Yes, I made those numbers up.)
9. CHOICES, CHOICES: More new shows will launch as show producers feel confident enough in the economy to experiment with growing niches.
10. I AM NOT A CROOK: Exhibitors will stop saying “Can I swipe your badge?” and instead say, “Can I scan your badge?”
11. TRASH CHIC: Grey plastic wastebaskets will become so last season.  In 2011, stainless steel wastebaskets will be all the rage.
12. FLOWER POWER: Trade show floral trends for 2011: Mum’s the word!
13. NI HAO: U.S. exhibitors will be more attentive to international trade show attendees who visit their booth, because their foreign economies are growing faster, and more U.S. exhibitors will exhibit internationally.
14. SWEET TWEET: For the first time, an attendee will converse strictly through Twitter with a booth staffer — while they are both standing in the very same tradeshow booth.
15. NO-GROPE ZONE: Regional trade shows will get an unexpected boost from people who drive to shows closer than their national conventions to avoid TSA body scanners and aggressive pat-downs at airport check in.
16. SMARTER THAN SMART PHONES: Conference presentations will improve as presenters create more interactivity to better compete with attendees’ ever-present smart phones.
17. TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: Thanks to their portable size and touch screens, I-Pad use in booths will explode, used for presentations, lead retrieval, demos, and catching up on the latest Justin Bieber videos.
18. WHILE YOU’RE HERE: More exhibitors will shift their budgets from pre-show to at-show promotions.
19. EXHIBITING 2.0: More exhibitors will effectively use social media for trade show promotions.
20. FREE PRIZE INSIDE: The iPad will replace the iPod as the most offered trade show contest giveaway prize.
21. HAVE WE MET? At the world’s most micro-targeted regional trade show, an exhibitor will sit in front of a mirror and talk to himself.

What do you predict will happen in the world of trade shows in 2011?  Gaze into your own crystal ball, read the tea leaves, deal yourself a hand of Tarot cards, and let us know in the comment box below.

All these trade show changes mean your exhibit marketing job has changed, too.  Find out how in The Evolving Role of Exhibit Marketers, a free white paper you can lay your hands on by clicking here.

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s natural to want to look back and see what worked best. While we thought all 67 posts this year had the potential to get your valuable attention, only the best of the best garnered enough eyeballs to make this top 10 list.

So here are the ten most-read articles of 2010 from Skyline Trade Show Tips.  Just click on the article headlines to view the entire post:

#1: 16 Fun Things To Do At A Trade Show

As Cyndy Lauper said, “Girls just wanna have fun.”  And apparently boys do, too.  This lighthearted story was the runaway top-viewed story for 2010.   This February 2010 article shares 16 things you can do to make trade shows more entertaining, whether you are an exhibitor, a booth staffer, or an attendee.  And when we have fun, we also make stronger face-to-face connections.  Talk about your win-win situation!

#2: How To Write Your Social Media Plan In 8 Steps

Because many trade show marketers are also becoming responsible for their company’s social media strategies, I wrote this originally for the Trade Show Exhibitor Association’s newsletter.  When it hit our blog in April 2010 it got a good tweet from David Meerman Scott, one of the top authors and speakers on Social Media, and then went viral.  The post had over 400 tweets linking back to it, so many that it was among the top 100 on Twitter the day it came out.

#3: Lady Gaga Announces Partnership In Polaroid’s CES 2010 Trade Show Booth

Lady Gaga is not just the top music act on YouTube, she is also a brilliant marketer.  So when Polaroid announced that she was becoming the Polaroid Creative Director in their CES booth, to help with new product development, that was news.  And when it was announced in a Skyline-built island exhibit, that was news for Skyline Trade Show Tips in January 2010.  Lady Gaga is one of the very top search terms on the web, so new visitors come to read this every day.  Hopefully some exhibit at trade shows, too!

#4: 100 Trade Show Lead Generation Ideas

The top reason B2B marketers exhibit at trade shows is to generate leads.  So any story with 100 trade show lead generation ideas is likely to be popular.  The 100 ideas are divided up among 5 areas:  Selecting Shows, Exhibit Design, Pre-Show Promotions, At-Show Promotions, and Booth Staffing.  Many thanks to Brian Carroll who helped spread the word on this May 2010 story on his B2B Lead Generation Blog.

#5: Your Trade Show Booth Staffers Are Animals

This is a very fun blog post from May 2010 that is surprisingly on-target.  Twelve animals are profiled with very specific characteristics that both good and bad booth staffers echo on the show floor.  Giggle while you read this, and try to see how many of your own booth staffers you can recognize.   And if you are really brave, ask your fellow booth staffers which one are you most like!

#6: Overcoming 5 Common Obstacles To Trade Show Lead Follow Up

As mentioned earlier, the top goal of B2B marketers at shows is to generate leads.  But all too often those leads run into road blocks that prevent them from getting into the right people’s hands and getting followed up.  This March 2010 blog post was very popular because it shows marketers what usually gets in the way of good lead follow-up – and then how to overcome those obstacles.   Not as fun as exhibit design or promotions, but just as essential.

#7: Read This If You Think Trade Shows Don’t Work

In the space of one week, two show organizers told me that their exhibitors who most need help improving their trade show performance are least likely to either seek proven advice.   That prompted me to write this article in June 2010, challenging trade show naysayers to answer how they choose shows and staffers, how hard they work to get booth visitors, how they spend their time before and after the show, and what they value most from the show.  Only after answering those questions could they honestly disparage trade shows.

#8: 6 Things To Say When Your Boss Asks “Why Are We Spending So Much On Trade Shows?”

Steve Hoffman deftly reveals the value of trade shows.  Points include the ability to actually meet face-to-face the same people your other marketing is targeting… just to see them.  You get all in one place your clients, the trade press, prospects, potential partners, in an environment you control.  And you get to take the pulse of the industry, keeping up-to-date and preventing expensive mistakes.  Many trade shows have shared this September 2010 article with their exhibitors.

#9: Trade Show Marketing In 9 Steps

In this June 2010 blog post, I give the 9 steps exhibitors can follow to put together a complete trade show marketing plan.  This is the one post you need to read if you are only reading one!  The article covers things exhibit marketers must do, such as set measurable objectives, pick good shows, design effective exhibits, and more.  Also includes good stats from CEIR (Center for Exhibition Industry Research) on the value of trade shows.

#10: 16 Reliable Exhibiting Tips for Before, During and After Your Trade Shows

Judy Fairbanks masterly packs into one post her best advice gleaned from her years of experience as both a trade show exhibitor and vendor.  She covers what to do before the show (plan, plan, plan!), during the show (execute well) and after the show (measure and react).   This August 2010 article is filled with concise advice on what to do, and why to do it.  You will get many actionable ideas from reading it.

I hope you read a few of these top articles from 2010.  We will do our best to keep serving up to you more insightful and inspiring trade show tips for you in 2011.

Which did you like best?  Let us know in the comment box below.  And thank you for your visits and comments, and for sharing these articles over the year with your tweets, Facebook likes, and more.

Get more great trade show ideas from the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper, which shares best practices revealed by over 170 exhibitors.  Click here to get your copy now.

Skyline Trade Show Tips is taking part in the virtual book tour Maddie Grant [http://twitter.com/maddiegrant] and Lindy Dreyer [http://twitter.com/lindydreyer] are doing to explore concepts from Open Community: a little book of big ideas for associations navigating the social web [http://opencommunitybook.com]. In this post, Maddie and Lindy answer a few questions for our readers.

First, tell us a little bit about the book. Why did you write Open Community?

Lindy: Well, the community forming online around a conference and trade show is bigger than you may think. That’s an opportunity and a challenge.

Maddie: Lindy and I have talked to thousands of association executives who have voiced their frustrations about the social web–from the overabundance of tools and the disorderly experimentation of staff (and members!), to the lack of organizational support and the unwieldy processes for monitoring and managing social media, and that’s just the beginning.  We decided to write Open Community as a way to address those frustrations and redirect the thinking about using social tools to build community online.

So, what is “Open Community,” and what role can it play for exhibitors at an association trade show?
Lindy: Here’s the gist. Open Community is the people who are bonded by what an organization represents and who care enough to talk to each other (hopefully about the trade show!) online. Connecting with and supporting the Open Community is really important, because if you don’t, someone else will.

Maddie: In the event community, we sell the importance of face-to-face and the kind of deep networking that happens at our conventions and tradeshows.  Naturally, the idea that someone might be able to form a deep bond online was met with some skepticism at first.  Over the last few years, that initial skepticism has transformed into optimism.  Now the question is, how do we connect online with face-to-face in meaningful ways?

Lindy: And exhibitors have a huge role to play.  As exhibitors, you know the industry, and you have the relationships.  You can provide a lot of value to the community online by acting as a connector and a champion. You can tell your clients and prospects about places the community is interacting, and you can share content in those places.  So long as you don’t cross the line between providing value and self-promotion.

How commonly are show owners proactively helping exhibitors connect with attendees through social media?  Do you have examples?
Maddie: Not commonly enough. Every show organizer should spend some time educating exhibitors about the best ways to use the show’s social media channels to connect with attendees.  It all goes back to what Lindy was saying about exhibitors being champions–they have the motivation to spend some time helping the community flourish online.

Lindy: We’d love to hear your readers dish about which shows are doing a good job of this. We’ll be asking a lot of show organizers about this very question when we’re at Expo! Expo! in December.

I can say that we’ve seen some exhibitors band together on their own to do creative work on Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare. If you have partners who will also be exhibiting at the tradeshow, it makes a lot of sense to team up on the social media side of things–you can share each other’s stuff and be much more conversational that way.

How often are show producers creating a common space to aggregate their show’s social media outposts – combining LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and their blog into one location?  Or using a third-party application that gives them a custom social media site?  Or do they just let exhibitors and attendees search it out for themselves?  Again, examples would be great.

Lindy: In the book we talk quite a bit about the balance between outposts and the organization’s homebase.  We really like that shows are looking at ways to expose outpost activity to more of their attendees.  The custom, white label social networking sites that we’ve seen a lot of events experimenting with are kind of a different animal. You’re asking people to change their normal web use patterns, and include your space in the mix.  Tricky stuff.  SEMA has done some really interesting work in both areas.  They’ve had both a buyer-matching social site and also a site that aggregates chatter about the show from outposts.

Maddie: I think from the exhibitor perspective, the most important thing to remember is to go where your customers and prospects are.  If that’s Facebook and Twitter, then go there.  If that’s the show’s custom social media site, then go there.  The whole idea behind the Open Community is to connect with them where they are and where they want to be.

What’s next?
Maddie: Well, we see the book as a conversation starter–we hope lots and lots of people will get the chance to read it, and think about how the concepts affect their organization.

Lindy: And we hope to gather lots of great stories about Open Community in action, which we’ll continue to share in lots of ways throughout the year. So here are some questions for all of you to consider…

• Have you exhibited in a show with an active Open Community?
• Did the show organizers help you engage with the community online?
• Did connecting with the community help you be more successful as an exhibitor?

We’d love to hear about your answers to these 3 questions in the comments box below!

Learning Social Media is just one of the new responsibilities added to Exhibit Marketer’s day job.  Discover more in the new white paper, The Evolving Role Of Exhibit Marketers, by clicking here now.

As an exhibit marketer, you’re bound to have issues.   So which issues are the most important?

Exhibit marketers picked the cost of trade show marketing most often when answering the question, “Which of the following are major issues for you?” for our new white paper, The Evolving Role of Exhibit Markers.  More than three-quarters (76.6%) agreed that it’s a major issue for them.

Exhibit marketers’ second major issue is getting better results from their trade show program (61.4%).  In third place, nearly half (45%) said having to do more with fewer people is a major issue for them.

Other major issues for exhibit marketers include Justifying trade show marketing to management (39.8%), Work/life balance (33.9%), and Depending on vendors I can’t control (22.2%).   (So, does that mean working late, double-checking on a vendor, to ensure you have a provably good show?)

Here’s how 171 exhibit marketers rank 8 major issues:

Two issues felt more by island trade show exhibitors

Larger exhibits are more complex and require interaction with more vendors and more internal team members.  Perhaps that’s why island exhibitors are two and a half times more likely than inline exhibitors to agree that “Depending on vendors I can’t control” is a major issue, and more than three times more likely to feel that “Getting multiple stakeholders to agree on direction” is a major issue.

Enduring Problems

Surprisingly, answers to exhibitor’s top two issues were already detailed in Skyline’s previous two white papers:

• Exhibitors revealed in The Trend To Custom Modular Exhibits that their main concerns with high exhibiting costs were show labor, drayage, material and design, and transportation costs.
• Exhibitors also told us last year for our What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper that they best improved their results with pre-show marketing, better show and space selection, exhibit design, and lead management.

Well, no one said exhibit marketing would be easy.  So for the 19.3% that answered that learning the skills to exhibit well is a major issue, we dedicated this blog to you.

Learn more about how exhibit marketers like you have adapted to today’s changes by getting your own copy of The Evolving Role Of Exhibit Marketers, the new 36-page White Paper from Skyline Exhibits and Tradeshow Week Magazine. Get your free copy by clicking here now.