The best exhibition hashtags

Social media x exhibitions is the success formula for a successful business network. We have written about this before. The fact that social media plays an increasingly important role in exhibitions and trade shows is nothing new. In fact, it has been emphasized quite often. If you decide to actively share your exhibition participation on social media, you want as many relevant people and companies to see or read your content. Hashtags are the perfect tools to achieve this exposure.

Why hashtags?

Hashtags are used to 'tag' words in a sentence, making them traceable to anyone looking for that topic. For example, if you put a message on twitter with the hashtag #gamescon2018 during your participation in the Gamescon, your message will be displayed in an overview with all messages that have been placed containing the same hashtag. People who are interested in this topic (read: potential customers) view these messages, and thus reach your message and profile. The most popular hashtags are written in English so they can be found by people all over the world. 

General hashtags

General hashtags are broadly formulated terms that are related to the subject you are writing about. These are often the words that a large target group is looking for. These words are important for the findability of your message and profile. The most popular stock exhibition hashtags in this category are:

#tradeshow
#tradeshows
#tradeshowlife
#tradeshowdesign
#meetingprofs
#networking
#networkingevent
#tradeshowbooth
#exhibition
#exhibitionstand
#eventmarketing

Specific hashtags

These are the hashtags that have something to do with the fair or event you are participating in. Chances are that these hashtags have a smaller reach because they are formulated more specifically. Yet they are very efficient because they reach potential customers and people from the same industry. Nowadays almost every fair has its own hashtag. The best way to find out what the used hashtags is by searching on the social media pages of the relevant exhibition. They are often built up this way:

#event name
#event name + current year 
#abbreviation of eventname
#abbreviation of eventname + current year
#eventname + expo

Some examples are: #gamescom, #formnext, #prowein and #IBC. When you add the year of the fair to the hashtag, a more recent overview is displayed. This is mainly effective during the fair. The real power of using these hashtags is timing. If you use them during an exhibition you are immediately visible and findable for interested persons and companies. They can follow you real-time, and therefore contact you or visit your exhibition stand during the event. This way, you attract a very focused audience, and at the same time create brand awareness.