Who's Making Money Online?

What are the best Web and digital media strategies for show producers? How can shows make money on the Web? Who's doing what online? These are some of the most common questions show producers are asking.

To shed light on these issues, Tradeshow Week, the Society of Independent Show Organizers and the Jordan Edmiston Group Inc. recently surveyed show producers on their use of the Web and digital media. The study, "Exhibition Online Marketing & Management Trends," focused on the use of the Web for marketing and extending the relationship with attendees and exhibitors 365 days a year.

The survey, conducted in May and June, was sent to CEOs and senior executives at for-profit show management firms, business-to-business media companies and associations with large shows.

The main finding: Most show producers are still experimenting with online media, although e-mail and Web marketing have become critical.

The survey asked leading show producers what functions of their Web sites are most often used by attendees and exhibitors. Online registration and housing are the two most popular uses for attendees. Interestingly, reviewing interactive floor plans has become the third most popular use, as attendees spend more time online preparing for events.

Similar to attendees, exhibitors are most interested in online registration, housing and accessing floor plans. Thirty-eight percent of show producers said their exhibitors used store fronts or online booths that were accessed by 31 percent of their attendee base. The survey also indicates electronic lead follow-up services, used by 36 percent of exhibitors today, will become more important to the industry in the future.

Web links are also important. Show sites are most often linked to their sponsors and association and magazine partners. Only 23 percent of shows link to blogs.

Interestingly, using paid search is not very common. Only 37 percent of respondents say they used paid search services from major search engines like Google and Yahoo as lead generation vehicles. Even fewer, 26 percent, use paid search services from vertical, industry-specific search engines to generate leads. This is probably due to the lack of established vertical search providers in many industries and the fact that the best engines may be seen as competitors.

The most popular lead generators for reaching attendee and exhibitor prospects are online advertising, partnership marketing and online subscription vehicles such as e-newsletters.

Can show producers make any real money on the Web? While some show producers privately say it's hard to do, 54 percent of the survey respondents said their Web sites were driving ancillary revenue.

Most of this revenue comes from advertising banners: 85 percent, according to show producers who are making money online. Other revenue streams are posting exhibitor directories and offering exhibitor and product search.

Besides the question of how to make money, show managers are asking themselves how to use technology to develop a stronger show or build an industry community after an event. The challenge is staying connected, adding value and providing services to attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and even non-clients year-round.

Can show managers really be expected to handle this? And what does "building community" mean, anyway? Don't show producers have enough to do running their shows?

The survey asked to what extent event producers are responsible for developing relationships that extend beyond events. At many B-to-B media companies it may be more appropriate for magazines and other media managers to handle ongoing community contact. In fact, 48 percent of the survey respondents agreed that developing relationships is a responsibility shared with other media platforms within their organizations.

But there's a split of opinion on this, as 42 percent said developing relationships beyond the event is entirely the show producer's responsibility. As many show producers are still experimenting online, it's not surprising that 88 percent of them said it's extremely important to extend the relationship with event attendees beyond an event, even though only 48 percent said they do this well. And 39 percent said this was not being handled well at all.

Among those who are working to stay in touch with attendees and exhibitors throughout the year, most, 78 percent, use an e-newsletter. Fifty-four percent said they kept in touch via a magazine. Less popular approaches included hosting online social media sites (29 percent), blogging (24 percent) and RSS feeds (12 percent).

There were several other approaches:

• developing audience relationship teams
• discussion boards
• Web casts
• audio and videotapes of keynotes and key sessions
• matchmaking

Building community is not just about using the Web, of course. Traditional off-line strategies include having staff attend other meetings and shows, working with the media and mailing print newsletters. Good old-fashioned sales calls and advisory board meetings also keep the dialogue going.

Some of the most commonly cited online marketing and management challenges are related to developing compelling content and revenue models, determining ROI and staffing.

The five most frequently cited online opportunities follow:

• fostering year-round contact with attendees and exhibitors
• developing new revenue streams and partnerships
• encouraging social networking and matchmaking
• building content-based communities
• Web-casting event activities and content

Most show producers feel that the Web and digital media will only become more important to the events industry over time. Hints at what's to come include the fact that 33 percent of show producers said they included user-generated content on their sites. Thirty-three percent also currently provide online matchmaking or appointment setting for attendees and exhibitors. But only 12 percent do any mobile marketing, such as sending messages to cell phones, iPods or PDAs.

Interestingly, 71 percent said they believed online video would be extremely or somewhat important to exhibition producers over the next two to three years.

The debate about whether or not show management and B-to-B media groups need to morph into technology companies will continue for several years. The Web likely will always be a tool and an ancillary revenue stream for show producers.

There's a long way to go, but event producers shouldn't forget that for most industries the strongest, most important community development often happens on-site during their events.