The time has come to assemble your social media plans in order to maximize your impact past the trade show floor in Orlando this weekend. Over the next few days, it’s important to prepare yourself and your team to be successful using social media during PMA Fresh Summit with these tips: 

Social Media Strategy for Fresh Summit

Craft and schedule content before you leave.

Many of you may have already left for the show, but there’s still time to work with your social media support team to craft content before Friday. In addition to your regularly scheduled content, make sure you have at least one post per day per platform scheduled to promote your activities at Fresh Summit.

Those who aren’t able to attend the event make up a third audience, and you’ll want to be able to give them the inside scoop they’re looking for from home. It’s also important to include your booth number, the event hashtag (#FreshSummit), and tease some interesting things attendees can expect to see when they visit your booth. Schedule this content before you leave for Orlando to send in the morning while other attendees are checking their phones before heading to the show floor or meetings.

Leverage live social media updates during the event.

During a trade show, it’s ideal to post on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn 3-4 times a day, but there is no limit to the amount of times you should be tweeting. The lifespan of a tweet is only 18 minutes, so the sky’s the limit here. Consider live tweeting certain segments that are applicable to your industry and business. Engagement is the key to success during an event. Retweet, reply, comment, like, tag, reach out to and message as many attendees and stakeholders as possible.

Tag brands and people by username.

Based on who you hope to see and connect with at the show, work from a list of prospects and research their social media handles before you get to Orlando. When it comes time to walk the show floor, you’ll be equipped to include their usernames in your posts when applicable. These mentions will also help a social media manager (who may or may not be attending Fresh Summit) stay connected and engage with social mentions more easily.

You can view the list of 2016 exhibitors here.

Make time to take quality photos.

Social media posts that include images tend to garner higher levels of engagement. Designate someone to take quality photos of your booth and be sure to show off your staff having fun on all social media platforms. Avoid taking photos in front of direct sources of light or projector screens (the light will wash out details in the shot). Use photo filters and editing tools (we like VSCO) to make quick touch-ups before you click upload.

If you’re sending a photo to a remote social media manager, be sure to provide any details and context you can so he or she can share appropriately. Include names or usernames and provide some details about what’s happening in the photo for him or her to include in the social message in a way that’s relatable to other attendees.

Let the apps do some of the heavy lifting.

There are tons of free apps out there that will help you organize, share and engage live from the show floor with ease.

Here are a few of our favorites:

1. Hootsuite – Syncing your Twitter account with Hootsuite is free and a breeze. You’ll be able to setup streams with specific hashtags that you refresh in the app without having to start a new search in Twitter each time.
2. Layout for Instagram – Layout is the official collage app for Instagram that allows you to create amazing photo collages with ease. Whether a few group shots or a few different booths you’re excited about on the show floor, you can share them together in one post with this useful app.
3. Repost for Instagram – This app allows you to repost (or #regram) photos that have been shared on Instagram. Instead of re-creating great photos yourself, use this app to regram them on your account in a snap. You can also show attendees a little extra love by regramming the great picture(s) they took with you or at your booth with a special thank you caption.

Pro-tip: turn on real-time notifications for all your social media apps, so you can chime in on conversation and respond quickly to @mentions when you have a few free minutes.

Successfully executing a social media plan during a trade show can be overwhelming for sure, but trust us, it will be well worth the connections you’ll make and the content you’ll have to share with your followers. With this checklist in hand, we believe that you’ll be a social media pro at Fresh Summit this year.

Have something to add? Leave us a comment below or reach out to us on Twitter @TheCoreBlog!

{{cta(‘fbc3d34f-cf67-49f8-9826-6a9a4c06733c’)}}