I spend a lot of time at trade shows. I’m getting ready to go to ProMat 2015 in Chicago. I’ve been following their Twitter Hashtag and thought I would share a bit about how I like to engage at trade shows. Here’s a few things I do:
1. Find the Twitter Hashtag. For ProMat, I keep up with the feed and see what’s going on. If I find something interesting, I might post a reply or retweet and head over to the seminar or booth mentioned.
2. Connect with People on Twitter. If someone makes a cool comment, I might reply on their Tweet and make a connection that could turn into a meeting.
3. Take notes. If I’m in a seminar, I’ll tweet while at the show and take notes of what is said with the hashtag #ProMat2015
4. Get business cards. As I meet people that need engineering services, I grab their business card and then take a shot with Evernote which digitizes the card. I get rid of paper and let my OCR system preserve the information.
5. I follow up. With all the new contact information I get, I use my Google Apps Contacts and Star the Contacts I want to follow up with a note to resume and discussions we had at the show.
Trade shows can be random or a bit more focused. I use some simple processes and tools to stay organized and make the most of the show.
I also like to review my Twitter feed to see what I experienced in hindsight. It’s quick, easy and convenient.
How do you manage your time at trade shows?