How to Prepare for Your First Virtual Jewelry Trade Show

In the previous blog, you learned about the features to look for when shopping around for a virtual trade show platform. Now, let’s discuss how to get your jewelry business ready for the big event. Dive in!

What is a Virtual Trade Show?

A virtual trade show is the online equivalent of a traditional trade show. Organizers host the event online and use other virtual event technology to facilitate seamless connection and networking between attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors.

This digital approach to events, especially with today’s mobility restrictions, helps keep some industries going. Additionally, it reduces the overall costs while expanding audience reach at the same time.

What to Do After Registering for a Virtual Jewelry Trade Show?

So you have finally released all the qualms and taken the plunge—you’ve registered for your first virtual jewelry trade show!

Congrats!

But what’s next?

Just because the trade show is happening online doesn’t mean that it’s easier than the traditional one. Surely it’s not as time-consuming, especially because it eliminates the time you used to allocate for travels; however, there are still some important things left for you to do to ensure that your first virtual jewelry event would be a sparkling success.

Yep, it’s not as easy as getting your stocks ready and turning on your computer while sitting comfortably on your couch, tea-sipping in your elevated loungewear. Don’t panic though! Below we’ve prepared a brief checklist before sending you off to the digital world.

Read on!

A Brief Checklist for a Successful Virtual Jewelry Trade Show

1. Familiarize yourself with the platform and the format.

The first thing to do, on your way to the big event is to get familiar with the online platform you’ll be using and the format of the exhibit. It’s a big advantage if you can request a demo with the organizer or platform provider to test the technology beforehand.

Some basic tech features to test include the following.

Avoid being overconfident and too comfortable because while the features above seem too basic, they are often the most common causes of annoyance in virtual events.

Avoid over-depending on the internet when planning a live product demo. We suggest having a PowerPoint presentation, images, and videos ready along with screenshots of proofs in case live web page references decide not to function.

Furthermore, load all online handouts and organize all your jewelry product photos and videos in one folder ahead of time so you know where to pull them out when attendees ask for them. Be as organized as possible.

2. Prepare your workshop for live product demos.

Decide ahead of time where you’ll be conducting your live product demos so that you can prepare the area for the event. Your space should be free from clutter, has proper lighting, and quiet. If possible, alert the people in your house about the event to prevent them from gatecrashing your presentation.

3. Set up your audience engagement activities/tools.

According to statistics, 49% of marketers believe that audience engagement is one of the contributing factors to having a successful online event. So, if you have audience engagement activities or tools that you plan to use during your online jewelry exhibit, set it up before the event.

If you are going to run contests and polls, add it in the system already and double-check that all choices are correct and complete. Further, list all your Q&A questions and prepare answers in advance.

Q&A is an excellent way to spark discussion and to get to know your audience better. Don’t forget to set up the system to capture attendees’ answers so you can analyze them after the event. This data will give you more insights to improve your virtual jewelry trade show in the future.

4. Promote and dispatch all pre-event communications.

After testing the platform and other technology features, it’s time to promote your event!

Don’t forget to send all pre-event communications to your intended audience. Remember, the success of your first virtual jewelry trade show depends on your attendees. Needless to say, the more quality leads you have, the greater chances of converting them; thus, make your event known and encourage them to sign up for appointments.

Use the power of social media when promoting and if you have coupon codes and discounts to give during the event, mention them in your marketing communication materials as they will attract more attendees. Sell the benefits to make them feel rewarded for signing up.

5. Get the schedule right.

Create an effective schedule for your online jewelry event and ensure that your targeted attendees are aware of it.

The most critical factor in setting up your schedule is getting the timing right. For instance, if you’re targeting an international audience, ensure that your event schedule is convenient for people wherever in the world they are. Setting a clear schedule will also help you organize your event activities effectively as it will keep you and your attendees informed in terms of when you can interact with the attendees and whether someone in your team will be available to respond to the needs of your attendees.

Getting the time right means better networking opportunities.

6. Write down your follow-up strategy.

Finally, write down the ways you’re going to follow up with your attendees to close leads quickly.

Follow-ups are an excellent way of nurturing post-event leads and it’s critical in maximizing your ROI for the event. You must map out your follow-up strategy in advance so that you can follow up between sales and marketing straight away after the event. Following up is a critical step. If you fail to do it, your rival brands will benefit from your hard work.

There are many ways you can follow up. For instance, send a “thank you” note to your attendees as you recap the high points of your jewelry exhibit. This will allow them to relive the experience. Your nurturing or follow-up strategy should align with your marketing goals. It’s best to identify them in advance so that your follow-up strategy can be implemented while your jewelry event is still fresh in the mind of the attendees.

Conclusion

The current health crisis has definitely changed the event landscape and we’ve seen the jewelry industry adapt to this unexpected change. This year and beyond, you’ll be seeing a lot of in-person (hopefully!) and online events. In fact, hybrid events are on the rise, although technology remains to be one of the biggest challenges for many.

While it’s new territory for some, you cannot also discount the fact that it has opened more opportunities to network and increase sales. So, prepare as much as you can and when you’re ready, take the plunge and sparkle on!