Setting Up Engaging Booths at Community Events

There’s nothing worse than setting up a table at an event and watching every single attendee ignore you. Oh, wait – there is. To add insult to injury, most likely you paid for this privilege.

As someone who is involved in planning and carrying out large-scale community events, it’s really painful for me to witness this. While I’m grateful for businesses that are willing to pay big price tags to participate in events, I want to see everyone having a great experience and finding it worth their time and money.

Some participants just magically know how to engage a crowd and it shows; they’re generally the ones with big groups of people around their table or tent. Some of the most engaging event participants I’ve seen have done things like bring a prize wheel, have really exciting raffle prizes, offer face painting to children, or set up a little table where kids can paint a pumpkin or plant a seed.

If your company is participating in events and looking for better ways to engage with the community, here are some suggestions for easy activities you can employ at your booth space:

•  Swag     Everyone loves free stuff! Just having it available on your table top is a bit dull though; try having a prize wheel that people can spin and let them ‘win’ the swag. Fun swag people love: pens, USB thumb drives, Post-it notes, notebooks, chip clips, cups, drink cozies, key chains, and coasters.

• Kids Activities     The beauty of this is multi-layered. First of all, kids are experts at dragging mom and dad to things they’re interested in seeing/doing up close. Second, by entertaining the kids for a few minutes you now have a little time to talk to the adults about your business. Ideas: face painting, coloring, applying fake tattoos, pet a support or service animal, plant a seed, any quick make-and-take craft.

• Fill a Need     When people are at events there are often things they need while they’re there and don’t want to leave to fulfill that need. If you can anticipate what people might need they’ll likely flock to you and listen to whatever you have to tell them in order to get that thing. Some of those things might include: a bottle of water, a little snack, to charge their phone, or a place to sit for a minute.

• Demonstration     People are more likely to buy your product or service if they can test it, try it, see it in action, etc. If there’s a way to demonstrate what your company does within a booth space at an event, set it up! So go for it – vacuum up the dirt on the street, perform facials on-site, paint the stemware. 

• Entertain     While the event probably has entertainment set up, it wouldn’t hurt for you to add a little excitement to the mix. Things you can do at your booth that won’t interfere with your ability to talk with attendees include having a juggler at your table, having an artist set up an easel and paint the scene around you, getting a musician to play the guitar quietly in the corner of your booth, or set up a bubble-blowing machine.

• Contests     Back to the whole “winning” thing, there are many, many ways you can host a contest or raffle that will entice people to visit your event table. The key is to have great prizes people truly want to win. Try things like: how many gumballs are in the jar?, draw a name from a fishbowl once an hour, play a trivia game (no Googling allowed!), best photo caption wins, or a new product/service suggestion competition.

A great way to enhance engagement at events is to decorate your booth in an inviting way. Create an atmosphere that entices people to come and spend time with you. Ultimately you want to create a memorable experience for event attendees. Select the style or feel you want for your booth. Should it be cozy/comfy? Maybe it should be bright and colorful. Perhaps it should reflect the theme of the event or the season? Here are a few ideas to help you make your booth more attention-grabbing:

• Plants and flowers are a wonderful way to bring nature into your booth. They bring beauty and put people at ease.
• Fairy lights help illuminate your tent or table - even in the daylight they can help increase visibility
• Backdrops for your canopy help close in your space for a cozier feel, but also give you the opportunity to add branding, color, and/or scenery in your space
• Large items/props give people something to look at, explore, ask questions about. The items might be prizes in your raffle or tools of the trade in your line of work, or perhaps just something out of the blue and unexpected that is a good conversation starter
• Selfie Frames are a wonderful way to provide entertainment for event-goers, take up space in your assigned area, and get a lot of attention
• Themed decor helps you fit in with the season or the overall event. Maybe you have hay bales and cornstalks to mark the boundaries of your booth. Perhaps photos of famous athletes are hung all around your canopy to inspire participants in the fitness event you're participating in.