Snapchat In Trade Show Booths: Does It Make Sense For You?

As a company, you want to interact with your consumers as much as possible. From updating new products, or showing them the behind the scenes of how your company works, Snapchat has made it easier to do so. Have you ever wondered if it makes sense to use Snapchat in your trade show booth? Like with almost all technology, it depends on your customers and whether they do/would use it! Snapchat is a messaging app that allows fellow Snapchatters to send photos and videos to one another. Users can also follow celebrities and (you guessed it) brands! You can add fun lenses and filters, captions and doodles; but don’t spend too much time perfecting your snap, because it will self-destruct within 10 seconds of the recipient viewing it.

Does such a fleeting interaction have a place in your trade show booth?

QUICK SNAPCHAT FACTS

Before delving into trade show applications, let’s take a look at some quick facts about the app so you can think about how it might fit with your current social media marketing:

• The core audience is 13-25-year-olds – ideal if your target market is teens and young adults.
• Most users are women; roughly 70% – ideal if you’re targeting women with your product or as a decision-maker.
• 26 million users – while not as many as other social media giants, those users are sending 400 million snaps per day.

SNAPCHATS FOR BRANDS

If you’re going to incorporate Snapchat, you’ll want to go about it in much the same way as you do other social sites:

• Create your brand account.
• Promote your presence – you may do this through your other social sites, your website, or through email marketing.
• Create relevant content – while Snapchat is a fun and casual platform, you still want to think about what your followers will find valuable and relevant.
• Don’t overshare – as with other social media, you’ll want to find a good balance of fun and promotional snaps. And just because other Shapchatters are sending hundreds of snaps per day, doesn’t mean you need to follow suit. Respect your followers, just like you would on other social sites.
• Cross-promote content – save your snaps and share them on your other social sites for your non-Snapchatting audience.

SNAPCHAT IN YOUR TRADE SHOW BOOTH

You’re always looking for new trade show booth ideas, and technology and social media is consistently topping the charts. Here’s how to incorporate Snapchat into your booth strategy:

• Take lots of videos and pictures – even if you’re not sure how to use and share them just yet, Snapchat is known for its candid real-life video and picture quality. It’s not professional, and it’s not filter-fanatic Instagram. It’s like your followers are at the show.
• Introduce your booth staff – short intro videos and, if you’re feeling silly enough, use the filters in the app for doe-eyed and bunny-eared “headshots.” Showing a human side to your staff is a great way to seem approachable for your followers walking the show floor.
• Show a product demo – not a professional video. Think real-time videos of visitors demoing your product in your booth. Are they amazed? Excited? Confused? Walk your visitor – and behind the camera audience – through the situation, so they feel like they are really there!
• Give a tour – show followers your booth, or walk the show floor to give them a “day in the life of” experience.
• Make a Story – a loop that contains videos and pictures of your day that’s available for your followers to view for 24 hours after you post it.

If you have a young audience of Snapchatters, trade shows are a great place to capture media and share the experience! People want instant news and Snapchat videos are even better. You can continually post and get people talking about your brand and booth. Give it try at your next show and have fun with it!

Have you used Snapchat in your trade show booth? Tell us your experience in the comments!

By: Cam Rooney – December 8, 2016