Digital Marketing Bought to Life: Online Tactics In-Person

Are you a digital marketer, looking to make the leap into the world of events?  

What if the jump wasn’t as far as you might imagine?  

There are, in fact, a few ways in which the techniques you use to grab attention and create conversions online, overlap with the techniques you use in-person.  

Let us explain. 

1. Hook Their Interest 

Social media campaigns work best when the language used, and the content produced, hook people. 

You’ll have seen it before:  

• ‘The best marketers do this one thing’ 

• 'One product will solve your cleaning woes’ 

• ‘This single makeup tip will change your life’ 

It’s clear how statements like this make scrollers stop in their tracks: they open up a question which then needs answering. And where’s the answer? Easy. It's buried in the social media post somewhere.

The concept is simple enough. Psychologically speaking, these posts hack the human brain, giving it a feeling of accomplishment when the question is answered. Dopamine. Hooray! 

But that same effect can be reproduced on your exhibition stand. For example, you can advertise a live event/demonstration, with flyers, posters, and graphics which read something along the lines of:    

• ‘What delicious, tail-wagging ingredients go into our dog food? Come to our cooking demonstration at 3pm to find out’ 

• ‘What’s the best advice an insurance broker can give? Find out—come along to our talk at 2:30’ 

The formula is this: offer a question, or touch on a common pain point. Then, offer your event, live demonstration, or discussion as the solution to that. 

Years at Crufts 2026- Featuring gamification, a live cooking demonstration, and all manner of social proof

2. Gamification 

When businesses run giveaways on Instagram, their aim is to promote engagement with their brand and interest in the product.  

This aim can be pretty universal and is something you will likely carry across to your event.  

Including a game as part of your exhibition stand functions in the same way as offering an online giveaway. It incites intrigue around your particular corner of an event, drawing people in, and encouraging them to actively engage with your stand, rather than just looking at it from afar.

Games are also a powerful tool for inspiring word-of-mouth connections. In the same way that giveaways often function based on entrants sharing a particular Instagram story of yours, thereby getting the word out there, an in-person game will get people talking. They’ll encourage friends to enter and, in that way, word spreads. 

3. Personalised Experiences and Dynamic Content 

Personalisation is very important in marketing. It’s the topic that every participant in our Experiential Edge series mentioned.

The importance of personalisation has been evidenced by research: ‘77 % of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for brands that provide a personalised experience’. 

Personalisation in e-commerce, email marketing, and on social media involves including people’s names in correspondence, using algorithms to offer products of specific interest, and correctly segmenting and separating your audience.  

In-person, we have to get a bit more creative.

The simplest option is to have members of your team on hand to conduct one-on-one conversations with visitors, and answer any questions and clear up any confusions. Though conversations are the most natural thing in the world, they do also do wonders for the feeling of personal connection that comes out of your exhibition stand.

But it can go beyond the conversation and form an integral part of your exhibition stand design, too, with features such as screens/kiosks with tailored content. Powered by quizzes that visitors can complete via the touchscreen, the app or website can take them to specific products that may be of interest.  

That can also come full circle and be an excellent way to promote further conversation, as you explain the product, and how its suited to that particular guest. 

Concept for BFree - Featuring storytelling, an area for 1:1 discussion, and product display area

4. Social Proof 

When it comes to committing to that first purchase, people are pack animals. They’re more likely to convert if they see that others have had a good time with your brand.  

This is called social proof, and it works in a similar way, online, to how it works in-person. Splash your stand with graphics that act as social proof: testimonials, ratings and reviews. It's a great way of drawing people in, making your brand stand out, and offering proof that your brand does what it says on the tin. 

But often it's simpler than that. The event itself is a form of social proof.

Let us explain.

Social proof is invaluable in a digitally-saturated world, where everything is purchased online. People cannot see the product, so they rely on the word of others. But, at an event, they get to come face-to-face with your team, your product, and your work.

That is, in itself, a great way of converting warm leads into customers, which is why it’s so important to run frequent events. 

5. Influencer Marketing 

Did you know that influencer marketing is a form of social proof too? Getting a well-known face to commend your brand acts as an endorsement from someone that people trust.

It works because, while you have a vested interest in bigging up your product/service, an influencer doesn’t so much. They don't, after all, have to take the commission; they’ve chosen to. 

Influencer sponsorship posts are commonplace online. They're a good example of user-generated content. But it doesn’t have to stop at Instagram. You can also integrate influencer partnerships into your exhibition stand. 

A great example of this is our collaborations with Mielle. This is a brand who knows their audience.  

Mielle teamed up with justttjuiceee (Photo: @Justttjuice)

Using that knowledge—and the understanding that this audience thrives in a social media landscape—they work with an influencer partnership as part of their brand experience. The influencer, @justttjuiceee whose audience is made up of similar demographics to

Mielle’s own, could then share photos on their primed selfie stations, spreading the word, building trust, and adding another human face to the brand. 

A Journey For Your Brand 

At Image, there is no real distinction between tactics for marketing online, and tactics for marketing in-person.

Your events slot into the calendar of your campaigns, adding new audiences and different value. They are part of your campaign; not separate to it.

That’s why we work with you from the first moment: your big ideas, pooled with ours, creating an experience that is unique. 

If you’ve got big ideas let us know. We’d love to hear from you.