Whether or not you’re using Twitter in your trade show marketing strategy, you probably know what it is — a site that allows people to share thoughts in 140 characters or less.
Understanding this principle will also serve you well in your booth. It’s always smart to spend 80 percent of time listening to attendees’ needs, wants and frustrations, with only 20 percent of your time spent talking. But to do that, you need to understand the concept of speaking in sound bites (or tweets).
Most people use far more words than necessary to explain a simple concept or answer a basic question. So why not role-play some of those scenarios ahead of time and develop a shorter answer? As Mark Twain said, “If I’d had more time I could have written less.” The key is to think it through so you don’t allow yourself to ramble in the heat of the moment. Practice your responses, Twitter-style, and free up more time for attendees to share their needs with you.
And don’t be surprised if they end the conversation by saying how great it was talking with you!
Marlys
© 2009-12 Marlys K. Arnold (Reprinted from the November 2009 TradeShowTips Online. To receive tips like this in your inbox every month, please take a moment to fill out this request.)
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About the Author:
With experiences as both an exhibitor and a show organizer, Marlys Arnold has a unique perspective on trade show exhibiting. She travels the country consulting and training both exhibitors and show managers, and is the author of Build a Better Trade Show Image (2002), host of the Trade Show Insights podcast and creator of the ExhibitorEd training kit. She can be reached at www.imagespecialist.com.
