If getting the majority of your exhibitors to participate in an exhibitor training session is a Herculean effort, try giving them their own social network instead. IPC, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries, did just that for its IPC APEX Expo and IPC Midwest shows. Branded for each event, the sites are chock full of important information, like exhibitor training Webinars, ROI toolkits, money-saving tips, checklists, deadline reminders, documents and forms, service offers and other special deals, and hotel and travel details.

Exhibitors can visit the network at their convenience to read blog posts, get quick answers to questions, find out when an important deadline is coming up or connect with other exhibitors to troubleshoot common problems. Like mainstream social media sites, IPC’s social networks show users who’s online including their photos (so people can easily put faces with names) and lists recent activity on the sites. Created through Groupsite.com, the networks are user-friendly and intuitive. “We wanted a more exclusive way to communicate with exhibitors that wasn’t just marketing speak,” says Sarah Martino, Exhibit Operations Manager at IPC. “Now, we’re communicating with them on another level.” Martino says the networks were originally launched six months prior to the events and are cleaned up before the next show cycle starts.

To begin, Martino first invites the main booth contacts to join the network, and later invites additional booth staff. Exhibitors can also send a link to other staff members to join at any time. Martino serves as the dedicated staff member who maintains the networks, periodically adding new content including blog posts, discussions, photos, important dates/ reminders and links, which she says typically only consumes about 20 minutes a day.