Utilizing trade shows as a marketing technique is a great way to generate more leads as well as put a face to your brand. Trade shows are year-round, worldwide and have many different show types. From MAGIC (a fashion-based trade show) to SEMA (an automotive specialty products trade event), there are trade shows for anything you could think of. There are many different techniques for this marketing strategy in order to get the best success out of your experience. The trading industry has been around since the 1700s where groups of people in villages would make, sell and exchange items for money or other goods. They would display what they have and the consumer would negotiate prices or for something in exchange. That is where the trading business truly began. Now, the trade show industry is booming with exhibitors as well as attendees and companies are taking this opportunity by storm for creating success for their companies. Here are some essential tips for a first-time trade show exhibitor. 

Set Your Plan

• Choose which trade show you want to attend. This will give you an idea of who your audience will be. If your business is based on home goods, setting up a booth at a trade event like the L.A. Mart, Gift + Home trade show would be a great place to showcase your products. Keep your location in mind and do your research as to how much each booth will cost and how many will be attending.
• Plan your budget. Create a spreadsheet as to how much your banners will cost, the price it would be to rent the booth, any live talent you will have assisting you at your booth, any travel expenses, etc. The trade show industry can be extremely competitive as each booth has a goal to gather crowds around their product or service. Win more traffic at your trade show booth by creating an experience that leaves your future customers raving about their perception of your company. Word of mouth at trade shows can also bring crowds wanting to know more about what you have to offer.
• Attend a trade show if you have never experienced one. This will give you an idea as to what you will want your booth to look like. Putting time and money into your booth to make it eye-catching will give attendees a reason to stop at your booth and want more information. Live talent is crucial to the success of your booth.  
• Utilizing live talent is a huge plus to the success of your trade show experience. From booth babes to booth brains, live talent can be generating new leads or even creating long-lasting relationships with future clients as you are talking business with other future customers. Give your audience an experience they will remember. The appearance of your booth is of course extremely important; also keep in mind the personal contact they receive as well. Hiring spokesmodels, brand ambassadors, models or even product specialists to aide you will make your goals a reality as well as give your audience something to talk about. Trade show staff will boost your sales strategies! Hiring trade show staff just became even more simple than looking on social media sites or searching for talent through an agency.
• Hiring talent just became easier than ever before. Innovative casting starts with Castango.com. Castango is an online job marketplace that allows companies to post their jobs and experienced talent to apply for the requested positions. Not only can you search through Castango’s database of talent to find the right one, the talent actually comes to you! You have the ability to connect directly with your desired talent whether that be a model, crowd gatherer, spokesmodel, brand ambassador or even a product specialist. It doesn’t stop there, to make it even more convenient, Castango has a payment gateway that allows you to set your rate and once the gig is done the talent gets paid through the site. You also have the ability to rate their performance as well. Castango is the way to go when hiring live talent for your trade show. 

Attending a trade show as an exhibitor is a phenomenal way to get your product or service out there for your targeted audience to see. For a first-time trade show exhibitor, it is proven that this marketing technique has a high success rate when putting a face to your brand and generating more traffic to your company. Take in the tips listed above and set your goals into motion. Start by going to a trade show as an attendee, get a feel for any competition you may have, plan your budget, design a booth that will keep people talking (word of mouth goes a long way), 

hire live talent and create an exciting experience for your future customers! Revisit this blog if you are a first-time trade show exhibitor for the best tips on how to execute this marketing strategy and make it successful.