The Sports and Grounds Expo (SAGE) approached Nifty Communications to assist with their social media and graphic design ahead of their inaugural event at Worcestershire’s Three Counties Showground in 2021.
Billed as the UK’s largest outdoor trade show for the sports and grounds maintenance industry, SAGE required a significant amount of brand development to establish its presence within the industry and cement its place as a must-attend event for future years.
Nifty worked with the organisers to build a social media strategy that leveraged organic and paid social media content to support the business aims and assist the business development team with generating leads and acquiring new exhibitors.
To maximise efficiency of content and build engagement, several key tactics were implemented:
- Built a list of key professionals within the industry we wished to target / attend
- Used competitions / giveaways to incentivise page likes and registrations
- Worked closely with exhibitors to offer regular opportunities for digital exposure
- Posted on behalf of the event in Facebook industry-specific groups
Content included:
- Sponsors’ webinar: a ‘live’ panel discussion involving all the sponsors, enabling us to capture user data
- LinkedIn exhibitors carousels: showcasing the on-boarded exhibitors for additional exposure and highlighting some of the big names to expect at the show for visitors
- Chatbot: an AI programme to deliver responses to frequently asked questions on social media
- Spotify playlist: followers were encouraged to submit their favourite songs to listen to while on the job, with a playlist created to be used at the Sports and Grounds Expo and available to download post-event
Due to it being the first year of the event, there was a lack of imagery and photography which could be utilised. Nifty’s in-house design team worked around these constraints by producing bespoke creatives and sourced suitable stock imagery for promotional purposes.
The design team also created several key marketing materials for the event such as programmes, printed collateral, signage and documentation.
Achievements included:
- 105% increase in Twitter followers, 60% increase in LinkedIn followers
- Started a new Facebook page and organically grew to 169 likes over a six-week period
- 92% increase in impressions across all networks
- 900 event registrations
- 40+ exhibitor sign-ups
- 100+ social posts