One of the most common hurdles companies tell us they face when starting a blog, along with finding enough time, is figuring out what subjects to write about. Determining blog topics shouldn't be hard. Even a single trade show can produce 3 months or more of topics to discuss on your blog.
Read on to learn how you can use your next trade show as an excellent source of pertinent blog topics.
Trade shows offer you a unique opportunity to interact with an engaged audience of your prospects, industry peers, competition and customers. Rarely will you have all of those resources in the same building. To get the most out of your trade show experience, it's important that you:
Before arriving at the trade show, make sure you have a small pocket notebook to jot down ideas throughout the show. Many times, the best topics for blogs can occur when you don't expect them. You could be deep in a discussion when suddenly the "That would make a great blog post!" light goes off. Capture those moments immediately following your conversation before you forget them.
Now, here are a few things to listen for when interacting with your prospects, customers, and competition.
Most likely, the primary reason you're attending a trade show is to meet prospects and drum up new business. However, prospect interactions offer a unique opportunity to hear directly from your target demographic.
Your competitors will most likely be in attendance at most trade shows. While you may not want to overtly approach their booth and ask what they're up to, try to observe and listen to what others are saying about your competition.
You could also bring along a staff member and have them visit your competitors' booths for information gathering purposes. I know we've personally visited exhibitions for clients and visited competitor booths. Not only have they handed us brochures that we can use for further keyword research, but we hear their sales pitch and get volumes of ideas from hearing them talk. Because they do like to talk...
Running into existing customers at trade shows presents a great opportunity to build the relationship by asking about their experience with your company. Those conversations often yield highlights that you can share on the blog or potentially develop into more in depth case studies.
Since trade shows are more relaxed than a typical office environment, you may choose to bring along a video camera (your HD cell phone camera will suffice) to record their experiences with your company. This, too, makes good blog and website content.
It's a good idea to write a blog post about your experience at the trade show itself. What did you learn from speakers or presenters? What new technology or methods are emerging in your industry? A timely post discussing your experience with show highlights, photos, and key takeaways demonstrates that your company is active and participating in industry discussions.
In addition, if you're speaking at the trade show, record that session and offer it as an on-demand download on your blog. That type of fresh video content makes for terrific lead generation offers. Try to post these blog updates as soon after the show as possible, when the experience is still top of mind for attendees.
And there you have it! Next time you head to a trade show, have some fun and keep these tactics top of mind. You'll be amazed at just how many content opportunities arise when you listen for them.