One of the great innovations might be geographically based applications like FourSquare and Whrrl. Both let people “check in” their physical locations, so it's possible to track and involve attendees in real time on the show floor.
“You can detect people on the floor and message them as they get near your booth,” said Will Burrus, chief digital problem solver at 247Interactive. “You can call them to your booth.”
Denise Quashie, managing partner at Events by Canvas, has used a slightly different approach. She asks attendees at trade shows to download the free Whrrl app, then gives them access to a dedicated “community” of exhibitors created just for that show. Throughout the show, exhibitors can broadcast special offers, while attendees can check in at each booth they visit.
“I've heard exhibitors say they were able to better promote their products and got better exposure,” Quashie said.
Because these applications, networks and sites are all free, there is very little investment involved for any company that wants to incorporate some element of social media into a trade show. The only cost is management of the program.
“There's no cost to you, and you're able to monetize it,” Quashie said.
That last point, however, might be up for debate. At this stage in its development, social media seems full of virtually endless possibilities, but there's still no widely accepted way to translate an innovative trade show social media program into hard dollars and cents.
“It can't just be about the conversation,” Burrus said. “At some point, we're going to have to prove the value of what we're doing.”
Until then, large marketers still see an upside.
“There's tremendous potential for it,” said Ken Fredman, senior e-marketing manager for the treasury services business at JPMorgan Chase & Co.. “It's amped up what people can do.”
