6 Trade Show Booth Ideas for Industry Newcomers

It’s all falling into place!

After all of your hard work and preparation, your business is gaining ground and ready to be taken as a serious competitor in your industry.

Now it’s time to take that marketing strategy and put it to action in order to generate more leads and build up your brand.

One of the best ways you can start that process is by getting your name out there via meeting face to face with new clients.

What better way to do that than by participating in a trade show?!

If you have no previous experience with setting up at an event, don’t sweat it!

Here are 6 trade show booth ideas to get you rolling in the right direction.

Trade Show Booth Ideas for Your First Time!

Grab that sales table and gather up some ideas before hitting the road for your first-ever trade show!

1. Have Hand Outs That Help Refuel

Trade Shows are an all-day affair, and when they’re done right, they can make people lose all sense of time.

Because of that, they’ll be too busy walking around to different tables and checking out other events to notice they either skipped lunch or haven’t eaten all day.

That’s when it’s beneficial for you to have small snacks (such as small chip bags you can buy in bulk) or bottled water available for those that visit your table.

You’d be surprised how quickly word gets out that you’re handing food out in exchange for a few moments of their time.

This will help you get face to face with certain people that may have otherwise overlooked you AND give people a reason to come back a second time, which always works in your favor!

2. Make That Booth Stand Out!

Here’s a tip: If you notice there’s a certain pop-up backdrop or sign template your competition is using for their sales tables… DON’T use it.

In a room or outdoor space filled with over 50 sales tables, it’s already easy enough for your table to mesh in with the rest.

That’s why it’s up to you to incorporate certain features to make your space pop out to anyone walking by.

For example, if you’re a brewery known as “Blackbeard’s Favorite Brewery” and are set up at a trade show, find somewhere to rent a ship display and hand out beer samples from on top of it.

While that may be a bit unrealistic, you get the idea.

Make your brand stand out with a setup that will have visitors saying “I need to visit that right now” as soon as they walk into the trade show.

3. Interact with Your Guests

Even if your business isn’t a restaurant or brewery that can hand out samples, you can still make your trade show booth interactive for those that walk through.

Think of ways that you can incorporate a sample of the product you sell into your sales table.

This will help potential clients get a sense of what it’s like to work with you and get a better understanding of your product/service.

If you’re starting a photography business and are at a career building trade show, offer free LinkedIn professional photos to all that visit your booth.

That’s a good way to start building up your email address listings for future email marketing endeavors!

4. Create a Trade Show Exclusive Deal

Visitors of any trade show you attend will get a list full of all the vendors and companies at the event as they walk in.

So what’s drawing them to come by your booth when they can just visit the other tables and lookup yours on the internet after they leave?

A great way to combat this is by setting up a deal that’s exclusive to the event: a “one time offer” if you will.

This can be anything from a special bundle or a discounted rate on certain products.

It doesn’t have to be anything too extravagant, but letting all visitors know there’s a special benefit to visiting your booth during the trade show will create more traffic.

5. Giveaway Prizes

Trade shows can be an absolute success without selling a single product if you’re able to build your email list or followers on social media.

One easy way to do that is by having giveaway prizes for anyone that places their email on your list at the event.

The giveaways themselves should be as individualistic as possible, yet no one would dare turn down a good-looking writing pen as well!

Worried about the logistics? Buying shipping containers can help make it easier to ensure the giveaways are safe leading up to the trade show date.

Figure out a giveaway that gels with your brand and have them ready to throw to the masses at trade show events!

6. Spread the Word on Social Media

Before you even pack up your trade show booth equipment the night before, you should be pushing the event on social media!

Everyone love’s a good marketing tease, and you’d be wise to dish out small hints on Instagram and other outlets leading up to the big day.

Is there a hashtag for the trade show? If so, plant that sucker on each post the week of.

Also, make sure to take several pictures at the event to stockpile quality pictures you can use for social media posts for months to come.

You’ve Got This!

Hopefully, these trade show booth ideas have gotten the brainstorming started for your first one!

This is a big first step that all companies make at some point in time; you’ll have this down to a science in no time!

Happy Trade-showing, and remember, no one knows your brand better than you, let that shine through at all events from here on out!