Instagram is tops for pre-PG Live activity, check out Nicola’s tips to join in online fun
Everyone knows social media is big these days and, in the greetings industry, it gets really busy around trade show times, especially PG Live.
So, to find out what’s going on, PG Buzz asked PG Live social media maestro Nicola Webster, of NJ Webster Consulting, for her favourite online activity in the lead-up to the UK’s only specialist greeting card trade show, which kicks off tomorrow and Wednesday, 4-5 June, at London’s Business Design Centre, as well as tips about how you can join in to get noticed.
“Instagram is the place to be for pre-show activity,” Nicola said. “The PG account has had 533 new followers in the past three months, with a lot of these being retailers. The engagement on Instagram is much higher than last year.
“In May alone, there were over 75,000 impressions – an impression is a view – with over 2,653 profile views and more than 728 pieces of content shared across grid posts, stories and reels.
“Instagram followers love seeing the pics from last year’s show, like in this reel and this one.
“It’s been great seeing everyone’s posts sharing the behind-the-scenes build-up for PG Live 2024. the BDC shared this reel below with highlights from previous years.”
Nicola added that collaboration posts are a great feature of Instagram with exhibitors such as Arrthi Little and Dots Allowed, and first night party drinks sponsor Loxleys joining forces with PG Live, as well as the BDC reel, and hot drinks sponsor Windles has been posting too.
“Pets feature heavily in show preparations too,” Nicola laughed, “the Heyyy Cards dog has been helping build shelves in the garden, and I really liked Loxleys’ post about what PG live merch could look like. A great example of stopping the scroll by posting something unexpected.
“The not-so-secret secret to getting results from social media is being social! Greeting card folks are very social at PG Live, and it’s no different on social media. There have been lots of fab conversations in the direct messages, and comments on other exhibitors’ posts make a real difference to the collective impact of social media.
“Retailers have been sharing the invites that they’ve received, and Retas finalists have also been sharing lovely congratulations cards they’ve been sent from publishers.
Meanwhile on LinkedIn, engagement is steadily building, with lots of publishers sharing previews of their stands and links to view their ranges in Progressive Greetings magazine – it’s easy to view LinkedIn as corporate and formal, but it’s very much a social media network and LinkedIn prioritise content with video and pictures – perfect for the very visual greeting card industry. It’s a great place to get content seen by decision makers at major retailers.”
And Nicola’s top tips for making the most of social media at PG Live are:
- if you’re a small team it can be hard to keep on top of social at the show. Pin a post to the top of your grid or page to let followers know you’re at the show and where to find you, and set an auto reply to dms saying you’re at the show so come and see you.
- Make sure you tag @pglivelondon and use #PGLive so that we can see and share your posts.
- Consider taking a second phone, camera or tablet and setting it up on the stand to timelapse record. You can use this footage after the show to share highlights and create engaging video content.
- Remember to take photos at the start and end of each day, even if you don’t get time to take any in between! Capture a pic in portrait and landscape then you’ll have images in the correct format for all platforms ready to post with your show highlights.
- We’ll be sharing lots of live posts from the show, give me a wave when you see me and ask if you’d like to create some joint content.
