7 Interactive Lead Generation Ideas to Try at Your Next Trade Show

Let’s face it: generating leads at trade shows isn’t as easy as it once was. Vibrant booth displays and creative signage may catch the eye of trade show attendees, but this alone won’t result in new leads for your business. We’ve rounded up a few interactive lead generation ideas that you can use to maximize the success of your next trade show.

To draw in high-quality attendees and get their information, you need to make sure they are engaged with your booth. One of the trendiest ways to boost engagement at your trade show booth is to create interactive experiences for your visitors.

Interactive experiences are highly effective for lead generation because they allow visitors to learn about your product or brand in an engaging way. And if you’re thinking that this will no doubt be expensive to execute, don’t worry — interactive lead generation exercises can be created on any size budget.  

Interactive Lead Generation Idea #1

Host a Fun Trivia Game

Make learning about your industry more engaging with a fun trivia game. Half the fun of trivia is winning, so you’ll want to have some cool prizes and giveaways. Although everyone should leave your booth feeling like a winner, be sure to reward the actual winners with something of higher value than what you give everyone else.

Interactive Lead Generation Idea #2

Use Digital Games to Draw Visitors

If you’re marketing to millennials and the generations after them, digital games are a wise investment. Digital games provide a fun experience for attendees and can help you drive qualified leads — if you use them correctly.

Before visitors play your games, collect their contact information with some sort of lead capture app. Many exhibitors neglect the importance of this step and wind up with everyone playing their games for nothing in return. Be sure to have an event lead management plan in place, so that once you capture your leads you’ll actually be able to do something with them (at least send a “Thank you for stopping by!” text/email). 

Interactive Lead Generation Idea #3

Let Visitors Spin a Wheel

As cool as technology can be, who doesn’t love a good spinning wheel? These flashy, colorful wheels may not be original, but they are extremely effective at grabbing the attention of passersby.

If you use a spin wheel at your next event, be sure to have quality prizes. Cool tech giveaways are always a winner with audiences, they fit into any promotional budget and they’re guaranteed to be held onto long after the event is over.

Interactive Lead Generation Idea #4

Use Virtual and Augmented Reality

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) may not be new, but both technologies are novel enough that they are guaranteed to captivate your audience and drive traffic to your booth. In fact, don’t be surprised if people form a line!

Best of all, VR and AR are surprisingly cost-effective lead generation strategies. It can take some technical know-how to get them up and going, but virtual reality headsets with your logo on them are extremely appealing.  

Visitors will be so eager to try your AR and VR that getting their information will be easy. Ask them for it during the setup process.

Interactive Lead Generation Idea #5

Let Attendees Test Your Product

Allowing visitors to test your product is both a fun experience for them and an effective way to turn a casual visitor into a potential customer. By removing some of the anxiety from the purchasing process, you’re already one step closer to converting your lead.

Interactive Lead Generation Idea #6

Set Up a Branded Photo Booth

Renting a photo booth for your trade show is far easier now than it was just a few years ago. Today, branded photo booths are sleeker and easier to set up than their bulky forebears.

Best of all, they can benefit your brand in so many ways. Not only can they increase engagement, but modern photo booths can easily be customized to promote your brand’s message and collect consumer data.

To capture visitor information, simply give visitors the option of entering their email to receive their photo digitally. Then they can share their photo on social media and provide your brand with even more exposure.

Interactive Lead Generation Idea #7

Display Touch Screens with Interactive Content

Touch screen displays are now a common sight on the trade show floor. But today, the content we use in these displays is far more engaging. Interactive content such as quizzes, games, product demonstrations, digital product catalogs and videos can spark engagement among visitors and easily double as a lead generation tool.  

In addition to being a great lead capturing tool, interactive content is a great conversation starter. Everyone will want to share their quiz results or the score they received on one of your games.

Conclusion

After spending months planning and budgeting for your trade show, you no doubt want something to show for all your hard work. Offering interactive experiences to your booth visitors will give you the edge you need over the competition and drive qualified leads for your business.

And, if you’re looking for an event lead management solution be sure to check out Lead Liaison’s GoCapture! app (which includes an onsite lead capture app AND “back office” capabilities to make it easier to take action ASAP!). 

Author’s Bio: Kelsey Stage is the VP of Business Development at PROMOrx. She enjoys sharing marketing and branding tips through blogging and local meet-ups. Outside the office, you can find her at the yoga studio and playing with her dog, Luna.