The Whys of WiFi – Part 2 – Why Free and Fast WiFi is a Must for Your Next Event
In the first article of our “Why Free WiFi is a Must for Your Next Event” series, we discussed “How to Boost Your Event’s Social Media Buzz.” You can check it out here.
Setting Up Your Exhibit as a Wi-Fi Hotspot
Today, many of us carrying around an ever-growing number of wireless devices for both personal and professional use. And when we attend any event we expect to continue right on using our multiple devices without a hitch.
This means as people flock to an event they anticipate seamless, fast, WiFi service. And as we know, anything less than that leads to disappointment and bad reviews. In fact, according to a white paper published by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, the most important issues for event attendees include consistent WiFi and phone service.
However, as an exhibitor, just because you realize that any decent tradeshow or event planner needs to provide good WiFi, doesn’t mean they will. So, it can serve you well to cover your bases and plan for your own booth WiFi especially if you’re going to need that connectivity to run various aspects of your booth.
There are numerous ways to set your booth up as a hotspot. You essentially need a compatible device which is then connected to a carrier. If you’re looking for an easy solution take a look at eTechRentals WiFi Services.
But no matter which equipment you choose to set up your booth as a Wi-Fi hotspot, that should not be where you’re planning and lucrative goals stop. And don’t look at the need to invest in your own WiFi as a downside, consider this an awesome opportunity to turn your booth into a hot lead generation machine.
How to use your Booth Hotspot as a Method for Generating Leads
Beyond the actual WiFi equipment you’ll need, it’s important to understand reasons why attendees will need your hotspot so you can utilize their need to stay connected as part of your marketing and booth activities.
Here are some of the top reasons attendees will come to your booth to be able to stay connected online:
- keep their business running
- use travel apps
- check email
- promote their own events
- stay in touch with their special interest groups
- manage employees
- use social networks (more than 500 million tweets go out every day!)
- use mobile meeting apps
- mobile connections – Wifi can be lifeline for international travelers who are dealing with prohibitive roaming fees
- networking
- plan meetups
Let’s take a simple example of how you can utilize one of these needs to help you generate hot leads. We’ll start with the first item – they need the internet to keep their own businesses running. Your probably know from experience some of the basic tools you might need to keep a business going:
- laptop or iPad
- printer
- fax
- scanner
- a comfortable place to sit
- post-its or little notebooks
- pens and pencils
You can provide all of these things at your booth, maximize them to help you generate leads, and then give event-goers free access.
So let’s take another look at the list with the addition of how you can utilize each to improve your brand visibility and generate leads.
- laptop or iPad
You can rent iPads or laptops and load them with a splash page advertising your event special, new product or service. They use the device, track down the information they need for their business and take a few notes.
- post-its or little notebooks, pens and pencils
While your booth visitor is accessing their business information either via your provided iPad or with their own device, they find themselves needing to jot down a few notes (yes, there are still a lot of people who take notes with real paper). So, they reach for one of your thoughtful, and branded, notepads.
- printer
Or perhaps they need more than a few notes, they need to print something out. You have, of course, provided a printer for free use which is cleverly loaded with paper which has a subtle header or footer with your event special or brand tagline.
- FAX
Then maybe they need to FAX what they have just printed, and voila, your brand is being spread out into the world beyond the event.
- A comfortable place to sit
While they are attending to their business needs, they are sitting in your well-thought-out comfortable seating which gives you the opportunity to chat with them while they are waiting for the printer to print, or the FAX to complete.
You get the idea. Go down the list of needs people have to stay connected, and figure out ways you can respond to those needs in ways that tie into your company goals.
Keep in mind that you want them to not only use what you’ve provided, but also to respond to your call-to-action. You can have easily visible signs that tell them to ask you about your such-and-such a special while they’re waiting for the report to print, etc. The possible ways to turn your booth hotspot into a lead generation machine are endless.
And as a last note, don’t forget that all those phones and technology your booth visitors are using need to be charged so you can expand on your hotspot ideas by including a charging station, too.
Need help selecting a venue in Southern California? We can help and we look forward to being part of your team.
eTech Rentals Experts in:
Recommended technology includes: iPads, 4K displays, charging stations, phones and WiFi.
Recommended technology includes: laptops, 4K displays, phones, printers and copiers
Recommended technology includes: charging stations, 4K displays, virtual reality equipment, iPads, WiFi
- Entertainment Offices: Writers’ Rooms, Production Accountants
Recommended technology includes: iPads, 4K displays, Apple rentals, printers, copiers, WiFi
Recommended technology includes: charging stations, phones, virtual reality equipment, 4K displays, WiFi
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Article Resources
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