Smart Video Marketing at B2B Trade Shows

Today, we’re featuring a guest blog from Kathy Cabrera of Red Clip Video, a strategic multi-media services partner to Carabiner. Kathy shares her insights on smart video marketing practices at trade shows: 

Recently, I was at the JavaOne and Oracle OpenWorld events in San Francisco. As a video marketer, I was impressed by the number of savvy exhibitors using video in their booths to engage passersby, and to add an interactive element to their one-on-one conversations with attendees.

On that same note, based on my experience helping clients produce videos that enrich the prospect’s experience at every touch point of the buying cycle, I have identified five elements key to the success of any trade show video strategy:

1. If your budget only permits for one flagship video for a set time period – be it a quarter or six-month period, slightly tweak it to be a custom piece of content so it’s specific to each trade show you attend. Include information on your booth and follow-up promotional offers available to show attendees, and add information tailored to each audience where you can.

2. Utilize slightly altered versions of your video at different points in your trade show marketing plan. Ahead of the show, have the video serve as a sneak preview on what attendees can expect when stopping by your booth. At the show, use it as a form of real-time engagement marketing to hold booth visitors’ attention. Then after the show, use it in social media and email communications to drive viewers to your website. You can increase its value at this point by adding incentives such as content offers, a free trial or special promotion.

3. Treat the trade show as if it’s a movie premiere for your video. Use social media advertising like Facebook-boosted posts and sponsored Twitter and LinkedIn updates to push it into the newsfeeds of attendees who are following trending topics about the show. Sponsor key bloggers at the show so they push it through their social networks, and also require staff and partners connected to your brand to do the same.

4. If budget permits, make more than one video and consider mixing up content for attendees. This allows you to offer something new each day of the show so that your one staple video doesn’t seem like a rerun to those who pass by your booth more than once.

5. Use the trade show – a meeting point for peers and customers relevant to your industry – to your benefit by generating more video. Conduct on-camera interviews using a quality smart phone or other mobile recording device at your booth or other happening places. Talk to customers, staff and industry pundits like analysts or members of the media. Then, professionally edit that content and integrate it into post-show communications on your blog, in your email marketing and on social media.

Case in point: I took the opportunity to interview two savvy company marketers at the JavaOne conference. Both spoke on the value that video brings to their trade show marketing and customer relationships:

Smart Video Marketing Interview – Tetiana Fydorenchyk, Jelastic

In this interview, I spoke to Tetiana Fydorenchyk, director of Marketing and Technical Documentation at Jelastic, the first company to deliver Platform-as-Infrastructure. Jelastic produced a trilogy of entertainment-minded branding videos called “The Most Interesting Developer in the World” (http://jelastic.com/tmid), and debuted the third episode at the conference.

Smart Video Marketing Interview – James Falkner, Liferay

In this interview, I spoke to James Falkner, community manager for Liferay (www.liferay.com), a provider of open source portal and social collaboration software for the enterprise. Falkner describes how important video is to Liferay’s overall marketing strategy and how it helps the brand connect with customers and build relationships.

How are you using video in your trade show marketing?

If you’re looking for fresh ideas on video marketing in 2015, be sure to book a strategy session with Red Clip’s creative team!