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Getting More Out of Trade Shows with Geotargeting

By Ioana Benea

Trade shows are a great time for industrial companies to find new business prospects. However, many visitors to the show are busy and have limited time. Therefore, it is important to get as much exposure as possible. At Bernard & Company, we make sure our clients get traffic at trade shows. Geotargeting is one of the newest marketing tools in this digital age.

Geotargeting, also known as geofencing, refers to the practice of delivering content to a user based on his or her geographic location. This can be done on the city or zip code level, via IP address or device ID and even GPS signals. Marketers geotarget users on their computers, mobile phones or tablets. Each person’s location has something to say regarding their environment and mindset. The main idea is that location helps marketers deliver the right message at the right time.

There are two types of campaigns that we can run, namely search and display. Search uses keywords to have a client’s ad appear in text format at the top of Google’s page. This is ideal for gaining exposure prior to a show, as attendees most likely spend this time searching for information. The exact placement of an ad depends on how many competitors are bidding for the same spot, the keywords they use and the amount of money they are willing to spend per click. You only get charged when users click on your ad. The most important measure of a campaign’s success isn’t the Cost per Clicks, but the impressions. Impressions, or how many times your ad was seen, are a great predictor of success. Impressions can range anywhere from 50,000 to 250,000 depending on the size of the show. That’s a lot of eyeballs! We’ll also work to outbid any of your competitors. In addition, Bernard & Company keeps its clients up-to-date throughout the trade show with a final summary.

Display ads are graphics that we design at the agency which include company logos, trade show logos, the booth number with a product photo and a call to action (if necessary). Typically, we create ten or more ads that are seen by visitors at the trade show. For clients looking to get their message out before and during a trade show, we generally recommend display ads because we want to give our clients maximum exposure. The success of this strategy is backed up by Google stating that the ads are seen on any of Google’s 2.5 million partner websites and apps. Your ads will appear when a user is within a five mile radius of the show. Ads will run one day before the start of show and end the evening of the last day. In this way, we make sure those that are interested see them early, as well as think about them often.

Geotargeting effectively drives traffic to our clients’ booths. More traffic means more people interested in our clients’ products. With more leads, geotargeting can increase our clients’ profits.

Thus, geotargeting is a cost-effective way to have your company stand out at future trade shows.

We would be more than happy to discuss our geotargeting program and all the other ways we can help you. If you are interested in finding out more, please call Kevin Koval at the agency.

Thank you!