“Buzz.” It makes attendees visit your trade show booth, but how do you even get it in the first place? These three simple steps can help garner attention and get attendees talking about your brand well before your show even begins.

At the most basic level, you should sit down and figure out where you want to share your messages and how you want them to sound. Consistency is key in social media event marketing.

Know your audience and find the platforms they’re on. That’s where you want your presence to be. Depending on the demographic, the tone of your messages will be different too, so remember to know your audience and be consistent. You have to cut through all the other content they’re seeing and be clear about your message. Be as innovative with your copy as possible—remember, we’re inundated with marketing every single day, so you’ll really need to grab your reader’s attention here.

To take advantage of your event marketing, try using these three tips to get as much benefit from social media as possible:

1. Tease your audience

A curious audience will be more likely to post and get involved in your trade show marketing. This could involve posting pictures of intriguing parts of your booth, like a high-value contest prize or an interactive booth element. You could also involve giveaways with a social media spin. An example could be, “When 20 people tweet with the hashtag #BrandName2018, the giveaway grows by $50.” Take care not to be too elusive. Include your trade show booth number when you post about the show, and include it in your bio for the sake of ease.

2. Encourage sharing

The more people share your posts, the more buzz will surround your trade show booth. Involving a giveaway helps, but you don’t necessarily need to give away free things to make your trade show exhibit sharable on social media. Encourage visitors to want to take sharable photos with interactive photo booths, photo-worthy props (believe it or not, something as overdone as ice sculptures still attract tons of photos!), or roaming mascots/characters.

3. Interact

The whole point of social media marketing is to build a more intimate relationship with your client base. Check in regularly to respond to comments and questions. Be a responsive brand. Follow and interact with the show’s official pages too to keep an eye on what other exhibitors are doing, and what attendees are talking about. Use and follow show hashtags too, but add your own to create a unique sense of community with your audience. Just remember to keep it simple and consistent.

Social media, when done right, can work wonders for your brand at its show. For a more comprehensive guide to social media event marketing, download our free ‘Exhibitors’ Guide to Social Media’ for advice on pre-, during-, and post-show social media strategies, and how to get attendees flocking to see your trade show display.