Can 70% of trade show attendees find you?

Trade shows and event marketing account for twenty percent of B2B companies’ average annual marketing budget according to a 2014 Forrester Research study. With one fifth of a company’s budget going toward an events like a trade shows, conferences or seminars, and the explosion of programmatic digital advertising and mobile devices, it is vital companies implement state-of-the-art marketing technologies into their arsenal.

There is no doubt that traditional tactics work. Utilizing pre-and post-show emails, inviting clients, writing press releases, website landing pages, purchasing flashy new exhibits and staffing booths with intelligent, outgoing employees is a must. But what else should you be doing to outshine your competitor in booth 103?

To answer this, ask yourself: what is my potential client is doing before, during and after an event like a trade show? The answer is: Research on the internet. And the best way to place your company in that research is through search engine marketing (SEM).

Seventy percent of event attendees plan out who they will visit before and during the show. According to AdWeek, eighty-one percent of consumers conduct online research before they make a purchase, and sixty percent of those consumers start their research on a search engine before heading to a specific website. Although some of this data relates to consumer purchases online, combining these statistics helps us understand how attendees behave. It makes the most sense strategically to place ads on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and their network partners where attendees will be conducting research. This is a perfect storm for digital trade show marketing.

The ability to advertise your company, products and presence before a trade show is of tremendous value and a new, effective way to stay ahead of competitors. But you might be asking yourself, how can SEM help me during the show? How do I drive potential customers to my booth?

Since we know consumers conduct online research before visiting a booth and/or making a purchase, and with the advancement of the search engine marketing (SEM) platforms, companies have the option of targeting ads to within a mile of a specific location. With other location based optimizations in place within your account, you can be confident attendees searching for you keywords on a mobile device or desktop at a trade show are served your company’s ad. Seeing that sixty to seventy percent of viewers prefer search engine ads targeted toward their immediate location, and that thirty-two percent of viewers who were served location-based ads visited a specific store/location made a purchase (Search Engine Watch), this tactic is sure to increase visitors to your booth.

Utilizing search engine ads allows attendees to find your company before, during and after a trade show or event. But most importantly, placing these ads where your customers will be searching drives traffic to your booth, and serves as one of the most efficient ways to bring value to the largest expense in your annual marketing budget.