Exhibitor Tips for the 5th Annual Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair.

Thank you for exhibiting at our Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair! We realize that it’s a huge investment for your business so we wanted to put together some tips to help you make the most of this opportunity..

When exhibiting please think about the 4 P’s:

• Promote
• Prepare
• Present
• Pursue

Promote: Reach out to your customers, clients, Social Media followers, etc. to let them know you are exhibiting.

• Hand out flyer when someone comes into your location(s).
• Send out an email blast to your list with your table# to let them know about any promotions and giveaways you are offering at the Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair.
• Upload our flyers and promotional materials to your Social Media sites.
• Post on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram profiles letting people know that you’ll be at the Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair. Is there something you are offering that they won’t want to miss? Use hash tag #habexpo and #ushaitianchamber when posting.
• Event Registration link

We’ve created some sample social media posts for you to use on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Don’t forget to tag us in your posts so we can help spread the word to our followers.

Here are the sample social media posts:

Twitter:
“Excited to be participating in the @habexpo on May 20th! Looking forward to connecting with other small businesses and job seekers in the community. Come visit us at booth! #HABExpo #HaitianAmericanBusiness #USHaitianChamber”

Facebook:
“We’re thrilled to be part of the Haitian American Business Expo and Job Fair on May 20th! Join us at the event to connect with other Haitian American businesses and job seekers, and learn more about our products/services. Be sure to stop by our booth! #HABExpo #HaitianAmericanBusiness #USHaitianChamber”

Instagram:
“We’re excited to be exhibiting at the Haitian American Business Expo and Job Fair on May 20th! Come visit us at our booth to learn more about our business and connect with other Haitian American entrepreneurs and job seekers in the community. Don’t forget to tag @haitianamericanbusinessexpo in your photos! #HABExpo #HaitianAmericanBusiness #USHaitianChamber”

Prepare: If you prepare in advance you’ll avoid a lot of headaches the day of the Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair.

• Determine who will be manning your table and consider doing it in shifts. This way everyone will have the opportunity to walk around, meet other exhibitors..
• Decide what marketing materials you’ll be handing out. You may need to order some.
• What type of giveaway (promotional item, coupon, candy/food, etc.) or raffle will you have at your booth? Giveaways and raffles are always a huge hit and will help bring a lot of foot traffic to your booth.
• How will you capture attendee information? Will you have a fish bowl for business cards, an iPad for people to enter their email addresses or a clip board with an info sheet for attendees to fill out?
• What do you want your table to look like?
• What is going to make your table/booth engaging and appealing? Remember: A smile ALWAYS goes a long way!

Present: You made the investment to have a booth at the Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair, so make the most out of this opportunity!

• Make the commitment to be 100% present while you’re there. Attendees will pick up on it very quickly if you are not engaging them (this includes spending a lot of time on your phone).
• Consider this your opportunity to present your products, services, business/organization to hundreds of people. Make sure your booth presentation reflects you and your business.
• Practice your talking points in advance so you are able to get your point across quickly and effectively.
• You may want to consider scheduling appointments with attendees/exhibitors on the spot. (Imagine leaving with a calendar full of meetings!)
• Get to know your neighbors! This is a great time to network with the businesses and organizations that have booths right next to yours.
• Remember to capture email addresses and collect business cards so you can follow up with business and consumers. There are huge B2B and B2C opportunities at the 5th Annual Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair.

Pursue: Just because the 5th Annual Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair is over, that doesn’t mean that your work is done… It’s actually just beginning!

• Post photos and videos of you and your team at the Expo on Social Media. Encourage people to comment, like, share and interact. Use #habexpo and #ushaitianchamber when posting. (Remember to post the winner of your raffle, if applicable.)
• Send out a thank you email blast with photos and videos to your existing list. Include a short recap of the day.
• Follow up with the contacts you made the day of the Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair. You can do this through email, Social Media (why not send specific businesses a tweet to tell them that you enjoyed meeting them?), phone or direct mail.
• Start planning for next year’s Haitian American Business Expo & Job Fair. Make notes that you can go back to: what worked, what didn’t work, etc.
• Join our Chamber as an official member to promote your business and get access to valuable resources through out the year. Goto: www.ushaitianchamber.org

.TIPS SUMMARY:

• Set clear goals for what you hope to achieve by exhibiting at the event
• Design an attractive booth to make a great first impression
• Train your staff to be knowledgeable and engaging with attendees
• Promote your participation on your website, social media accounts, and email newsletters
• Prepare marketing materials to distribute to attendees
• Network with other exhibitors to learn about their businesses
• Follow up with leads and contacts after the event to continue building relationships