If you market your products and services through trade shows but haven’t attended one in a while, it’s time you did. What you’ll find is a rough and tumble neighborhood where getting your message out can be like herding cats. You’ll see a lot of booths and exhibitors, see a lot of foot traffic and overhear lots of casual conversation—in all, a whole lot of distraction which makes it exceedingly difficult to stand out and get noticed. Fortunately, there’s a way for you to cut through all that background noise and grab the spotlight.

Your Secret Weapon

People love video, especially when it’s engaging and professionally produced. A well-executed trade show video will catch the eye of trade show attendees and hold their attention long enough to persuade them that your products and services are worth their money. So, what are the keys to producing a winning trade show video?

Here are 4 tips for creating a trade show video that works:

Define your target audience: much has been written about buyer personas, those semi-fictional characters who represent your ideal customer. That’s all well and good, but the buyer persona you create has to be an accurate depiction of who it is you’re trying to reach. Take the time to research who trade show attendees will be, what problems they have and what objections they’re likely to raise regarding the products they want. Take the time to write these down as they’ll form the backbone of your script and provide direction in the production of your video.
Observe the 5-second rule: 5 seconds—that’s about how long the trade show environment will give you to grab the attention of trade show attendees with your video. Keep in mind that you’ll likely be looping your video, so you can’t assume that the first thing they’ll see is the first 5 seconds. And that means your video has to be attention-grabbing from start to finish. To ensure every piece of your video is engaging and interesting, create a strong script and effectively insert eye-grabbing components like identifying titles and graphics. Then test your video with members of your team and others throughout your business. Solicit their honest impressions and use these to edit, deleting any portions which don’t hit the mark and enhancing any which are good but not great.
Observe the 5-minute rule: remember how many booths and exhibitors there are at a trade show, and that every one of them is trying to do the same thing you are—pull in and impress passersby. No matter how good your product or your presentation, they’re not likely to stick around for very long. Figure that you have a maximum of 5 minutes to engage them and keep your video no longer than that. Once again, editing is your best friend. You can begin with a longer version of your video, then pare it down to the most engaging and persuasive elements, those which most effectively present the benefits of your product.
Remember that quality counts: you might think that your product sells itself, or that one video is as good as another—both big mistakes. Even the best product needs a powerful presentation, and people will judge your product in part based on the quality of your presentation. Your trade show video is an investment, and this isn’t a time to pinch pennies. Make sure your video screams professional production quality. Don’t go to market with grainy images, scratchy voiceovers inferior graphics. A one-time investment in professional video services will pay for itself many times over.

Trade shows represent a smart investment for B2B and B2C marketers. According to a recent study from Tradetec, 92% of attendees at trade shows want to see new products, almost half are executives or upper-level managers, and 81% have the authority to make sales decisions. That represents a potent market for your products and a great opportunity to boost your sales. Investing in a professionally-produced trade show video is among best ways to get your products noticed and achieve your business objectives.