Exhibition World Issue 2 – 2021 | Page 39

Opinion

Ready , steady , go

Ahead of show floors reopening across the globe , Jon Benjamin , MD of event tech specialists ASP gives his top tips to ensure your show website is match fit
part from organisers who have been busily running events in the likes of China , Korea and the UAE , the rest of our exhibition industry has been patiently waiting to welcome back their visitors and exhibitors to the live showfloor again .
For Dubai World Trade Centre , it has been a case of ‘ masks on , business on ’. Trixie LohMirmand and her team have shown the exhibition world the brilliant bright light at the end of the tunnel by successfully and safely running their highly popular tradeshow Gulfood , in both 2020 and 2021 .
A key to the success of Gulfood , has been the continuous and captivating content on their event website ,
all year round . Here below are ASP ’ s top tips on how you can also ensure your online platform is fighting fit and forever relevant to your global audience :
1 . TIME TO SHINE
Allow your exhibitors to enjoy a content-rich experience and promote their products by using profile tools . Organisers can use these moments of limelight to increase exhibitor exposure and enable them to generate leads . We ’ ve found these tools can be a serious revenue stream of US $ 100,000 + just from their website alone .
2 . MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
Encourage exhibitors , sponsors and visitors to build their own content profiles . Not only does this give them extra show presence , it also allows them to be matched with visitors and exhibitors who fit their personalised profile .
The benefit of exhibitor content is also huge for the organiser . If you have 2,000 exhibitors who all uploaded three pieces of content to their profile , that would create 6,000 urls for Google to index which would have a big impact on your website ’ s SEO .
“ Use your website to build upon the anticipation of those exhibition floors reopening .”
Jon Benjamin , MD of event tech specialists ASP
3 . GET IN THE ZONE
Create areas on your website that relate to the showfloor experience . Most people have not been able to go to a show for over a year , so use your website to build upon the anticipation of those exhibition floors reopening . Add searchable product and company libraries , list out your showfloor zones , demos and talks and fill these online sections with pictures and videos to bring to life the brilliance and story of your event .
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 2 2021 39