AST April 2018 Magazine AST April Magazine (3.30.18) | Page 53

Volume 22 April 2018 Edition • According to BlitzLocal, “longer posts typically gener- a message to your audience. ate less interaction”; according to their research, the • Instead of advertising, present your content as if sim- ideal post ranges from 100 to 119 characters. ply sharing something interesting with a friend who • Aesthetic appeal is vitally important as well. Whether it has similar interests. be the amount of text, image quality, or the way text is • The more people feel they know and understand your displayed with attractive colors and fonts. brand, the more likely they are to trust in your product, • The liquidity and quality of a post can positively or neg- service, or cause. atively affect how people assess the credibility of your • This is how you capitalize on brand integrity and lever- brand. age it to increase ROI. It’s far too easy in today’s digital world to scroll past 2. Give the People What They Want something without even noticing it. • Instead of writing a post with the thought of, “what information do I want to share?” ask yourself, “What Audiences need to be captivated before they will take interest in your message. carries value for my audience?” • With so much information available today online (es- pecially during trade shows), users are looking at a However, when social media is used correctly, it can multitude of content all at once, and it should be your serve as the perfect buffer between users and your first objective to garner their attention and get them company website. interacting. With an exceptional tradeshow campaign, audiences will • People want their thoughts to be heard, and they want be wanting more when it comes to a particular product to listen to what others have to say. • This is especially true when it comes to conducting or service, and they will be able to get it from your site. product research prior to purchasing. • Nowadays, when consumers visit a company’s website or enter a distributor store, they are more aware of the traditional marketing tech- niques used by advertisers to get their money. • However, seeing a testimony from a satisfied customer or informed thought leader, appeals to potential buyers. • They feel they are bypassing the corporate trick- ery and going straight to the source that will inform them of actual benefits or flaws of the product. • With this in mind, although not easy, it is ex- tremely important to create a platform where customers and booth visitors are compelled to share their experiences, while still maintaining some sort of quality control system. 3. Keep it Simple • With a limited amount of time during trade- shows for live messaging that is effective, brevi- ty and clarity are crucial components. Kevin Friedman, President, Maize Marketing 51