bett ebook - how to use pr to get more people to your stand at bett

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Catherine Lane Public Relations

2nd Floor, 145 -157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY | Tel: 020 7117 6015 | Enquiries: [email protected]

The Bett eBook

How to use PR to get more people to your stand at Bett

If you want to be certain you’ve taken advantage of all the opportunities

around Bett, this eBook is for you. Inside, you’ll find tips on how to

engage potential customers before the exhibition itself and how to

make your business stand out above your competitors, so that more

people visit your stand. It is full of hints and tips and insider knowledge

that can only come from the experience we have gained since we first

started working with clients at Bett in 2005.

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Table of Contents

The greatest show on earth (for teachers) .............................................................................................. 3

How to secure a speaking opportunity at Bett ....................................................................................... 4

How to write a winning Bett award entry ............................................................................................... 6

How to secure coverage for your products in Bett previews ................................................................. 9

How to make the most of social media for Bett ................................................................................... 11

My Bett PR checklist ............................................................................................................................... 16

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The greatest show on earth (for teachers)

If you’re in the business of learning technology, you’ll already know that the Bett Show in January is one of the

most keenly anticipated events in the sector. People come from all over the world eager to learn about fresh

ideas, hoping to be inspired and ready to invest both in established global brands and innovative new

companies.

Return on investment

There’s no doubt that Bett is teeming with opportunities to present your products or services directly to the

education market, but it can also require a considerable financial outlay on your part. So how can you extract

the maximum amount of value from your investment? And how can you be sure you aren’t overlooked in a sea

of more than 750 exhibitors, all vying for your potential customers’ attention?

Stand out from your competitors

If you want to be certain you’ve taken advantage of all the opportunities around Bett, then you need this

book. Inside, you’ll find tips on how to engage potential customers before the exhibition itself, how to make

your business stand out above your competitors and how to give yourself the best chance of securing a

coveted speaker slot.

Now is the time to start laying the groundwork for a really successful event.

Don’t forget to use our handy checklist to discover when you should be doing what and, if you’d like further

help or advice, please contact us on 020 7117 6015 or email [email protected].

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How to secure a speaking opportunity at Bett

One of the most effective ways to increase awareness of the benefits of your product or service at Bett is to

present a talk in one of the event’s Learn Live theatres. These theatres are open to all attendees and give

teachers the opportunity to hear about the latest learning strategies and technology from educators and

industry experts.

Bett speaking opportunities offer you the chance to share your story for free with a packed audience thirsty

for information and tips on how to make their teaching life easier. But how do you get picked for one of these

sought after slots?

1. Ask an existing customer to speak on your behalf

BETT openly invites organisations and practitioners to submit a synopsis of a story that they’d like to share.

The story can be anything related to education and technology, from primary to secondary, further education,

higher education and SEN.

One of the best ways to ensure your slot is picked is to get one of your customers to share their story on your

behalf. In general, both the Bett organisers and the attendees themselves are more interested in what a school

or college has to say than what a business has to say. If your customer has achieved some impressive results

from using your product – e.g. it’s played a part in raising achievement, reduced the number of staff taking days

off sick or enabled better management of finances – why not put them forward to speak?

You will need to ensure the slot is well-balanced and is not just about your product. The Bett organisers want

genuine presentations that will provide helpful insights to teachers and this is what you should be aiming for.

This is not the place for sales pitches.

http://www.bettshow.com/page.cfm/Action=Form/FormID=17/t=m

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2. Be newsworthy or fill a gap in knowledge

If you are offering yourself as the speaker, rather than a school or college, perhaps offer to breakdown the latest

government policy that has recently been announced or help schools understand what the removal of national

curriculum levels will mean in practice. You could even explain how the latest developments in internet security

will help teachers.

People come to Bett to expand their knowledge and the organisers know this. If you can fill that gap for them,

they will choose your speaker synopsis over others that are submitted.

3. Be different

Why settle for a presentation? Why not offer to run a workshop or roundtable instead. The Bett organisers are

always looking for innovative ways to spice up the exhibition and you may have a great idea that will help them

achieve this.

4. Draft a winning synopsis

Once you’ve decided on what type of speaking opportunity you’re interested in and the topic you’d like to

cover, you’ll need to submit a synopsis to the event organisers.

The team will receive hundreds of these so you need to make sure yours stands out. It needs to be a short (no

more than 100 words), succinct summary of your idea.

Follow these rules to write a synopsis that will grab their attention.

a. The title: give the reader a taste of the seminar and the outcomes achieved at the school eg: Targeting

bullies and protecting victims using the power of the internet

b. The issue: open with the specific issue or problem that will be discussed.

Smith College had over 100 incidences of bullying reported in 2010 and no student felt 100% safe in

school….

c. The resolution: briefly describe how the issue or problem was managed and the outcomes achieved.

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d. The speaker: if your chat is about an issue rather than a case study, also tell the reader about the

speaker’s credentials and why it is relevant that they speak on the chosen topic.

5. Submit your synopsis

You can submit your synopsis to BETT online here.

The deadline is the 11th September but we recommend you submit it as soon as possible. It gives the

organisers the opportunity to see your synopsis early, and may put you in a much better position to have your

talk get selected early on in the selection process. If you need any help with this process, feel free to give us a

call on 020 7117 6015.

How to write a winning Bett award entry

Award entries are a great way to get recognition for your brand and your products. Winning a gong for one of

your products at the Bett Awards means potential customers have external confirmation that your product is

best of class. It can also lead to additional media and social media interest and so the accolades are a good tool

for ensuring more people know about you and your products.

The downside is that the entries themselves can often take a long time to put together, so you only want to

invest the time if you are certain you will get the recognition you deserve. So what do you need to do to

increase the likelihood of you winning the award you’re after?

Here are our tips:

1) Choose something that deserves to win

Talk about stating the obvious, but it is likely that if you designed the product, you will think it is the best thing

since sliced bread. However, if there are 10 other products on the market that do exactly the same thing, it is

unlikely that yours will make the award judges sit up and take notice.

http://www.bettshow.com/page.cfm/Action=Form/FormID=17/t=m

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A well written award entry alone may get you into the shortlist for an award but it is genuinely the best

products, or the most innovative services that actually win the accolades, so choose what you put forward

wisely.

2) Start off strong

Think about it from a judge’s point of view. They may have 100 award entries to sift through in a day. If yours

is number 89 in the pile, it will need to be pretty special to make them pay attention.

Your first couple of paragraphs will be key. Start with a strong quote, or illustrate what impact it has with an

example. If it is a lesson planning tool for teachers, instead of stating that ‘it is the best lesson planning tool

available’, why not start with something around how much time a lesson plan takes an average teacher to

complete and why it is such an important job, to set the scene.

3) Assume the judges know very little

It is easy to forget how much internal company jargon you use – a phrase you think is in everyday use in your

company may be unfamiliar to a judge.

Spell out any benefits too. The judge may not automatically see that making a core process quicker for a

teacher will mean that they can spend more time teaching or planning lessons. Make sure you make this link

for them.

4) Prove it

Every time you make a claim try to prove it. You saved schools or colleges money – great – but how much

money? Use comparisons if possible – 90% of schools are satisfied with your product – fantastic – but even

better if you can compare that to an industry average that is much lower.

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5) Get your customers to back you up

It is one thing you saying that you are fabulous, but it is quite another if you can get a customer to do it.

Ideally, quotes or case studies you use should be peppered with facts to back up any claims being made.

6) Think about the language and examples you use

Use emotive language to demonstrate the importance of your offering – rather than stating ‘our system is

reliable’, you could demonstrate it by saying that ‘1,000 teachers rely on our system to deliver engaging maths

lessons on a weekly basis so it cannot fail’.

7) The word count is there for a reason

The judges will not have time to read 10 brochures you have attached to the award entry. Select what you

send carefully, and use the option of sending supplementary information only if there is something that truly

supports the claims you make in the award entry.

Entering the BETT awards

The deadline for submission of your Bett award entry is 30th September 2015. To enter, please follow this link:

http://www.bettawards.com/ and if you would like us to write your entry for you, please call us for a quote on

020 7117 6015 or email [email protected]

http://www.bettawards.com/

mailto:[email protected]

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How to secure coverage for your products in Bett previews

Every year, i2i circulates a schedule of free publicity opportunities related to Bett. It is a list of publications

that run preview articles of what products will be launched at the show. If you are exhibiting, you are invited

to send in a press release or description of your products, with the chance that they will be featured in these

articles.

This is a brilliant opportunity to encourage readers of these key education publications to make a point to visit

your stand when they are at the show. However, simply submitting information about your company or

products does not guarantee that you will be featured, especially when you are competing with 750 other

exhibitors for a chance to be included. This is why it’s important to spend time on writing a short product

description or press release that will make you stand out from the rest.

Here are some tips on how you can do this.

1. Find out what your USP is

Your product might be a great new maths app, but chances are there are 30 other great maths apps being

launched at Bett this year. Have a brainstorm with your team or ask a few customers to find out what really

makes yours different from what is already on the market.

Perhaps it helps teachers to engage lower ability learners or enables pupils to access the content on the school

bus. If so, focus on this key advantage and not the product’s technical features to ensure your press release

catches the eye of the editor.

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Example

Below is a typical Bett press release headline:

Company X launches new maths app for GCSE students at Bett 2015

Instead of this approach, look for a unique angle, for example:

App makes maths as easy as 1,2,3 for hard to reach learners

or

On the buses: GCSE students brush up on maths skills on the way to school

2. Less is more

It is tempting when writing a product description to reel off a list of every single feature and benefit of using it.

This is not what a journalist or blogger wants. Focus on your top two or three key points and stick with them.

If there is a genuine need for more information, the journalist or blogger will always call you. And if your boss

is really insistent that you mention the fact that the product has been tested to ISO standards, consign that

information to a few bullet points at the end, under the title ‘notes to the editor’ so it does not detract

attention from your main copy.

3. Step away from the techno speak

When a teacher or trainer experiences a ‘simple user interface’ they tend to describe it as ‘really easy to use’

and when they use ‘single sign on’, they might say ‘with just one password I could access everything.’ Take a

leaf out of their book – use human language and dump the techno babble.

Using everyday language makes your copy so much easier to read (no matter how technically-minded the

reader) and also means people are more likely to make it to the end of what you have to say.

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Top Tip

Read your copy aloud and imagine you are in the local pub. If you think the average person next to you

(sipping on their favourite tipple) would understand you, and be engaged by what you have written, then you

have hit the right note.

4. Create a story behind your product

One of the most effective ways to distinguish one product from another is to create a mini story for it. It will

help your product seem more interesting and save you focusing on features and benefits which may be fairly

similar to those of other competitors.

Examples could be using an interesting story about how the product was invented (especially if it was created

by a teacher), a story from a customer (‘it gave headteacher Jane her weekends back’) or a story from a

learner themselves (‘James had been expelled three times from different schools before his teachers allowed

him to use x product’). Adding real-life elements to your product will make the information you send through

stand head and shoulders above the others vying for space in the same publications.

How to make the most of social media for Bett

Social media channels provide an excellent opportunity to engage with potential visitors to an exhibition well

before they step through the doors of the show. It can ensure more people make a beeline for your stand to

see what’s new.

The education community is one of the most vibrant on social media, with 90 per cent of teachers reporting

that they use social media in some quarters. Most school staff go online to search for lesson resources, to

debate changes to government policy or simply catch up with colleagues. By engaging in these conversations,

you have the chance to raise the profile of your brand and ensure that more of the people you want to reach

make a point to visit you at the show.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/395683517232494064/

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But getting the balance right is critical in the social world. Simply drafting posts about what you are doing at

the show will only make people switch off. To help you get it right, we have compiled our top tips for getting

the most from social media in the run up to Bett.

1) Start by listening

Social media is not a broadcast media. If people wanted to know what you are launching at Bett, they

would simply visit your website. Social media is about engaging people in topics that interest them.

Start by listening. Find out what your target audience talks about on social media and consider

carefully what you could add to these conversations. Then craft tweets with the focus on providing

information that adds value to the debate or provides a link to some helpful tips on the subject.

If you do this well, you will also be able to add a few tweets into the mix to let them know what you

are exhibiting at Bett. When you do, your followers are more likely to pay attention as what you have

told them so far has interested them.

2) Make the content engaging

If you think about why you return to certain blogs, Twitter feeds or LinkedIn groups, the reasons are

often because you are entertained, find out what is new, or because they tell you how to do

something related to your job or personal life more easily.

Apply the same guidelines for what will be interesting in your own social media content and you will

not go far wrong. Here are some examples for you to consider:

a) Infographics

Infographics are still the most popular item to share on social media (and sharing is what you want

to make sure as many people as possible hear about what you are doing).

You could produce an infographic on some research you have conducted of your customer base

that would be interesting for other teachers, for example. You could also make it a bit more fun

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/48972.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Savicom&utm_campaign=Reasons%20your%20list%20post%20stinks&utm_term=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ragan.com%2FMain%2FArticles%2F48972.aspx&utm_content=catherine%40catherinelane.com

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and have an infographic of what shoes not to wear to Bett, how to survive Bett, or simply what

you will be showing on your stand.

An emphasis on fun always helps ensure sharing – especially if it focuses on a specific audience,

such as network managers or language teachers.

Remember to add a strip at the end of your Infographic stating that you will be at Bett, your stand

number and what you will be exhibiting.

b) How to articles or lists

People love tips on how to do their job more easily, especially if it is formatted in a list. If you

supply resources to support the new computing curriculum, for example, you could write blogs on

the following content:

How to engage hard-to-reach pupils in the new computing curriculum

Ten top tips for getting to grips with the new computing curriculum

20 ways to make lesson planning easier for computing teachers

c) News

Keep your audience informed of the latest developments in your sector or any new research that

they may find interesting. Try and put your own angle on the news rather than simply posting a

link to the news article, so people find out a bit more about you/your company in the process.

d) Competitions

Run a themed competition before Bett or reveal any at show competitions to improve footfall to

the stand. Think about how you can focus the competition to just science teachers in the UK, for

example, as without these guidelines you will have everyone joining in.

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e) Content from customers

Run a Twitter chat with a teacher who will be presenting on your stand at the show and ask them

to write a blog for your web site too.

f) Live tweeting

Post and tweet from the Bett show itself with pictures, videos and news. Perhaps set up a Things

we love about Bett 2015 page on Pinterest or Instagram. Remember quirky photos may go down

well here – but only those that will reflect well on you as a company. If ever in doubt about how a

post will be received, simply do not post it.

3) Building followers

Simply posting great content will not necessarily mean people will read it. You need to gain a following

too, so here are our tips to ensure people see what you have written.

Make sure your Twitter handle and other social media sites are referenced in your email

signature, at the end of presentations and on your brochures so people are encouraged to visit

the sites.

If you have not done so already, add content sharing buttons on your website eg ‘Like’ and

‘Share’ buttons so people can share an interesting blog via their own social networks.

Use the official event hashtag #Bett2015 when tweeting

Remember to tweet at times that teachers will be logging on to social media (i.e. often after

the school day ends)

Promote any blog posts on Twitter and LinkedIn. Republish them on appropriate LinkedIn

groups too as this can significantly increase traffic to your web site. If the content is really

useful, you could even ask an education blogger if they would consider publishing it as a guest

post on their site. Make sure you add your Twitter handle to the end of the post, so the new

readers you gain from the post can keep up to date with you.

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4) Find relevant conversations

As mentioned before, the key to successful social media use is to engage with others and provide

content that is useful to them (and that you have some expertise on). To find relevant conversations,

use key word searches and relevant hashtags:

Follow the Bett hashtag #Bett2016 and engage with others that are tweeting about the event

or subjects you know about.

If you use Tweetdeck or Hootsuite for Twitter, set up ongoing key word searches on popular

hashtags for your sector or key words such as ‘VLE’ if relevant, so you can see which teachers

are asking for help and advice and can respond to them.

Join in any relevant Bett Twitter chats on subjects that are relevant to your business. But only

post if you have something genuinely useful to add to the debate.

5) The selling

The aim of all this is to get people to Bett to see you so, as far as possible, have links to further content

on your web site so they can browse around and find out more about your products. When you have

built a strong following, why not consider asking people to book appointments with you at the show

via Twitter or Facebook or arrange a product demonstration.

6) Do not stop when Bett is over

Share reviews after the event, talk about upcoming events and keep the momentum going. You do not

want to lose any hard won followers after the event.

https://twitter.com/Bett_show

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My Bett PR Checklist

June/July

Start planning your PR strategy. Particularly think about:

o which products or services you’ll be promoting at the show

o would one of them make a strong awards entry?

o a customer, client or practitioner who could act as your brand ambassador and present a talk

at the show

Keep up to date with the latest announcements regarding Bett. The easiest way to do this is to make

sure you are following Bett on twitter @bett_show

August/September

Check the deadline dates of award entries and make sure you don’t miss it!

Keep an eye out for the list of the publications that run preview articles, and note the corresponding

deadlines. Maximise your chance of being featured by focusing on USPs in your writing.

Confirm who is happy to present a talk on your behalf and submit your synopsis for a speaker slot.

October/November

Get involved in social media around Bett. For example #Bettchat that last year took place every

fortnight on a Tuesday at 4.30pm in the run up to the show.

Target key journalists and write personalised invitations for meetings, being clear regarding what

you’d like to discuss. Think about where you could meet – would you like to take them for lunch or

coffee off the premises, or use the press room on-site?

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December/January

Use Twitter to check out who else is going, and what people are interested in talking about. The

official hashtag is #bett2016

If you haven’t been before, work out how to get there and make sure you are wearing comfortable

shoes. Not strictly PR, but sound advice nonetheless as there is a lot of walking to be done!

February and beyond

Use social media to continue to connect with contacts made at the show

Follow up with the journalists you met, and also the ones who couldn’t make it.

Measure the success of your campaign. Did you achieve what you had set out to? What could you do

better/differently next time?

At Catherine Lane PR, we have been helping our clients get noticed at Bett since 2005, representing key

education brands like Capita SIMS and GL Assessment. If you want help or advice on your Bett campaign or to

raise your organisation’s profile all year round using PR, just give us a call for a chat. We would be happy to

help.

Email [email protected] or phone 020 7117 6015.

www.catherinelane.com @team_clpr

http://www.catherinelane.com/

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