Trade Show TalesBlog

Archive for October, 2012

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Why Blog? What Bloggers Say.

October 23rd, 2012 Mel White COMMENTS

Why Blog?

We’re often asked by Classic Exhibits Distributors about the benefits of blogging:  “Isn’t it time consuming? How do you decide on topics? How often should I submit posts?” I have a hard time answering those questions because the answer is, “It depends.” I ask them if they enjoy writing about our trade shows and events, or if they feel they have something to share about sales, marketing, or small business. They do, even if they don’t realize it. That’s the first reason to blog. Everything else is frosting on the cake.

Blogging may seem a little old fashion compared to Facebook and Twitter, but it’s not. Good content (and the catharsis that comes from writing) is important. So why should you do it? I did a search on “Why Blog?” You might enjoy the answers, along with links to the original posts. Enjoy.

Build Trust

People are skeptical. They are skeptical about strangers on the street and they are even more skeptical about strangers on the internet. A blog with consistent, truthful and helpful content will allow you to bridge that gap between distrust to trust.

Growing Stream of Organic Search Traffic

It’s hard to think that anybody would doubt the benefits of blogging to improving your organic search engine efforts, which in turns drives more traffic to your site, but in case there are any unbelievers out there…here’s the evidence:  people who’ve blogged five times in the last 7 days will get 6.9 times more search traffic.

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/7-reasons-why-blogging-is-still-important-in-2012/39225/

But influence may be the grandest reason to blog. Garnering influence means building an online voice and thought leadership with every word you write, and every piece of content that you would share online.

http://wpengine.com/2012/08/why-blog/

Writing Leads to Understanding

Blogging forces you to write down your arguments and assumptions.  This is the single biggest reason to do it, and I think it alone makes it worth it.

When you move from your head to “paper,” a lot of the hand-waveyness goes away and you are left to really defend your position to yourself.

http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2011/08/why-i-blog.html

A business blog is an informal, easily maintained method for regularly communicating with your customers. A business blog offers a more approachable, informal information-providing approach in which customers find enjoyment, get to know your company, and learn about your products, achievements, and innovations.

A business blog is an informal, easily maintained method for regularly communicating with your employees. Whether you host your internal employee blog on a commercial site, on your webpage in a password protected location or on your Intranet, you have created a strong communication tool.

http://humanresources.about.com/od/businessblogs/a/business_blogs.htm

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Business Tips, Mel White | No Comments »

Finding Your Voice at Trade Shows — American Image Blog Post

October 22nd, 2012 Mel White COMMENTS

Admittedly, I read a lot of trade show blog posts. Partially, because it’s my job, but also because I enjoy seeing how Classic Distributors, industry suppliers, and competitors tackle familiar topics. As you can imagine, there’s a fair amount of repetition. There’s only so many ways to list “critical” trade show supplies or how to handle leads. But, there’s also a lot of creativity.

I really enjoy the bloggers who take the familiar but make it entertaining and often bizarre.  Then there’s someone, in this case Charles Dugan at American Image, who writes about a topic I haven’t read before — “Finding Your Voice at Trade Shows.” I thought I’d tease you with some of it and then link to his blog post. Hey, we can all use links to our websites. 😉

Finding Your Voice at Trade Shows

In many ways, the planning and creation of trade show booths are the easiest part of participating in a trade show. Sure, airports and hotels can be a pain, and getting to the show site a day or so early and putting up the trade show booths can sometimes be an effort and a time commitment.

However, once they are up, many participants seems to feel the hard part is over. You can often see company representatives sitting and waiting for potential clients to come to them. It is almost as if they feel that they have earned a rest after all of the preparation.

In reality, the interaction and speaking to customers is the actual trade show. Your trade show booths need to attract visitors, but the rest is up to you and your sales team. The personal touch is the part of your presentation that you can control during the show.

Many people have difficulty with speaking to clients, either by feeling too much anxiety or acting with too little sensitivity to the personal space and receptivity of the passing customer. Here are a number of things to keep in mind when actually speaking with clients, ideas to remember about your voice and what you can do to project the best possible impression through vocal salesmanship.

Never, ever raise your voice: No matter how loud the sales floor gets, no matter how far away the client, never raise the volume of your voice while working in your trade show booths. This isn’t a stock market, even though it may feel like it at times. If you are trying to get the attention of somebody, use non verbal tricks.

Make eye contact.

Smile.

If you are ten feet away, put your hand out to shake theirs.

Very few people will refuse to shake the hand of a stranger if it is offered with eye contact and a smile. In this way, you seem like a friend even though you are meeting for the first time. When they respond with a shake and a smile of their own, feel your anxiety melt away

Continue to the blog post . . .

Cheers!

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

*********************************

Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions and engineered aluminum extrusions (ClassicMODUL). Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100.

Posted in Mel White, Trade Show Exhibit Tips | No Comments »

Audio Clips in Exhibit Design Search

October 22nd, 2012 Mel White 2 COMMENTS
VK-1662 iPad Pedestal

VK-1662 iPad Pedestal

One unique feature of Exhibit Design Search (EDS) is the Audio Clips. It seems a little odd to refer to “audio” as unique, but the internet is dominated by video and text which makes audio-only files unusual. That difference, I would contend, is a difference of distinction. It’s one way that distinguishes your Exhibit Design Search site from other online display websites.

Now, I recognize it’s just one feature. It’s hard to “hang your hat” on one feature. However, and yes I’m probably going a little too far on this, I would maintain that the audio coupled with the “See Photo Examples” adds a personal touch absent from most display sites. Allow me to share a few of my favorites. There are over 80 different audio clips throughout EDS.

I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts about the audio clips, good or bad. Have you ever listened to them with a potential client while on an appointment? What was their reaction?

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

*********************************

Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions and engineered aluminum extrusions (ClassicMODUL). Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Exhibit Design Search, Mel White | 2 Comments »

It’s the Village that Matters: Word on the Street — Oct. 15th thru Oct. 19th

October 21st, 2012 Mel White 11 COMMENTS
It's the Village That Matters: Word on the Street -- Oct. 15th thru Oct. 19th

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Never have I hoped and prayed that a statement was truer!

You would have had to live in a cave not to hear the news this past week about Lance Armstrong. And those who know me well, know that I have always been a very passionate supporter of LIVESTRONG as well as Lance. To put it plainly, he is a hero of mine. But the reason, as the title of one of his book says, It’s Not About the Bike. Sadly, I am not sure he necessarily believes that statement, but that is another story. For me, it never was about the bike. It was about LIVESTRONG and the community of support within LIVESTRONG and all the work they do and have done over the years.

I received countless emails and phone calls over the past week asking if I was OK. Listen, I am disappointed in the man. But with age comes wisdom as they say. And especially in the past handful of years, I have come to realize that you can’t and shouldn’t ever put too much faith in Mankind. You will always be left with some disappointment and/or hurt.

But the organization, LIVESTRONG, has become more than Lance. Better said, it became more than Lance a longtime ago. Evidenced by Nike’s decision to drop Lance but maintain their unwavering support of LIVESTRONG. Kudos to Nike on both counts.

One particularly bothersome email to me read, “Have you received any flack for all the fundraising you did all those years for that cheater’s organization?” I decided not to respond, but let me say this, “No, you freaking idiot!”

The truth is, I am not only proud of the nearly $100K I have personally raised over the years, but also honored and thankful for the vehicle that LIVESTRONG provided me to raise money that went directly towards helping those who are and have been affected by this dreaded disease. Every year from 2002 through 2011, I was blessed to have the health and opportunity to ride “In Honor of” and/or “In Memory of” many friends and loved ones — and many of yours too.

Whether Lance, the man, ever comes to grip with this or not, he inspired something much greater than he even ever aspired to be personally. Unfortunately, as is often the case, it appears his own pride and strive for personal greatness caught up with him. My only hope is that the humility he felt back in 1996 when he was first diagnosed is something he can still find inside himself. It would help him on a human level more than he might remember.

But the organization, the Village that is LIVESTRONG still stands strong and hopefully will continue to.

In the end, YES I am disappointed like anyone who lifts another person up to a very high pedestal only to see them fall in disgrace. It does suck, but it’s only to be expected when you think about it.

To the other 40 or so who sent me messages last week,  thanks for “getting it.”

LIVESTRONG! And thanks for reading something entirely non-trade show related. 🙂

http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/19/14551552-livestrong-celebrates-successes-but-faces-crossroads?lite

Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Kevin Carty, Word on the Street | 11 Comments »

NEW Exhibit Design Search — 3 Minute Tutorial

October 18th, 2012 Mel White 1 COMMENT

Exhibit Design Search, the world’s largest trade show design database, has been updated. The updates include a streamline home page, simplified search options, and a reformatted Design Detail page. See all the changes and how best to navigate through EDS in this brief tutorial. You’ll be impressed by the changes . . . we promise you.

Mel White from Classic Exhibits guides you through the changes in this 3 minute 44 second video.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asBdMTWgMeo)

For more information about Exhibit Design Search, please contact Mel White, Jen LaBruzza, Reid Sherwood, or Kevin Carty at Classic Exhibits. As always, we welcome your suggestions about EDS and are delighted to conduct “tips and tricks” webinars on how to get the most from EDS with your clients. Just let us know.

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

*********************************

Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions and engineered aluminum extrusions (ClassicMODUL). Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Exhibit Design Search, Mel White | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »