Thursday, March 26, 2015

Digital Content Production At Trade Shows

Timely publishing of good content maximizes the effectiveness of your social media efforts in many "live event" situations.  Especially when the event is well attended both in person and virtually by a motivated tribe of individuals.  Trade shows are the perfect environment for this "speed to publication" strategy and if you have a little insider knowledge along with some cool new content creation technology, it is not that hard to stand out amidst the noise of the event.

Let's face it, content that gets digested in today's crowded digital media space is short and to the point, and normally takes the form of digital imagery and videos.  Heck, when a trade show is going on, no matter how much you love the written word, your tribe's bandwith is limited during the event and they just don't have the time to read your six hundred word blog post.  But, they will watch your 90 second video (assuming it’s not a straightup sales pitch), or check out your quality images of the event happenings and probably "follow" your social footprint in hopes of seeing more ... and that is a WIN!

Configure your content so that it can be consumed at engagement outposts like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or wherever, and then the strategy is to invite them back to your home base to take whatever that next-action is that you define as success.  Important Note: This strategy will FAIL if you consistently violate the cardinal rule of social media content: Thou shalt not publish content that will not have a perceived value to your intended audience.

In this writer's opinion, Twitter is still the best social platform for leveraging this opportunity, but I have high hopes for a new social platform, Meerkat, that allows for live broadcasting and with its tight integration to the Twitter universe it is easy to promote. That said, don't let me discourage you from experimenting with other social platforms since experimentation should be an important component of any social strategy.

The key to Twitter success is using the show hashtag.  Believe it or not, there really are interested individuals following and using the show hashtag that are looking for your content.  If you don't believe me just log into Twitter and search the hash tag #TRANSACT15 ... you will be pleasantly surprised at all the pre-show activity on this channel. The show hashtag allows you to personally deliver your content to interested individuals, and if they find value in your content they will share it downstream with members of their tribe.

OK, so let's back to the speedy creation and publication of content that will be digested by your tribe.  During trade shows you've got to make your posts easier to consume on the go. You have a limited window of opportunity with a captive audience that is interested in anything pertaining to the event. Short is good, and what better way to get your message across with limited words than by adding pictures and video to make your content stand out?

You are communicating with a business audience so  you have to "up your game" a notch to get noticed, but in no way am I saying that you need to create a corporate-quality production. Social imagery that is directed to a business audience needs to be targeted and to the point, in focus, and clearly audible.  "Targeted and to the point" is dependent on your insights and creativity, but in focus and audible is easily improved with some tools to enhance your recording device.

My suggestion is to travel light so you are "ever ready" to catch that content moment.  I accomplish this by taking advantage of my iPhone 6's built in camera and accessorizing it with some photo and video tools to improve the quality of my imagery and videos.  I have attached a picture of my digital content session kit and would love to find out what you are doing.


If you are attending TRANSACT15 feel free to stop by booth #1617 and I'll show you my gear.  Even better, if you have some value to add to the “conversation” stop by and let's create some good content.  Hope to meet you next week!

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