Member Avatar for MktgRob

One of my clients have a number of partners who they would like to feature more prominently than the usual reciprocal link page on the corporate website. Has anyone used Facebook or another social network to create some sort of online trade show where your community can look at numerous products from your corporate partners? And if so, would you be willing to share some tips in how to best do this?

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raised the right question: a partner page is passive; a mini virtual trade show is interactive and measurable. showed that partner-driven content and member outreach can work — the next step is to design a repeatable, trackable experience you can scale.

Start with clear goals and a small pilot. Define 2–3 KPIs (visits → clicks → leads → closed sales) and run one or two industries or partner tiers for 4–6 weeks. Build a simple, templated “mini-booth” for each partner: a short headline, one shareable asset, a single primary call-to-action, an embed for a short promo/demo, and a compact lead form that captures partner ID and source. Keep the template mobile-first, fast, and visually consistent so partners can brand without breaking layout.

Make measurement mandatory. Tag every partner link and asset with source parameters, log clicks, downloads and video plays, and push leads into your CRM with the partner ID. That lets the sales team follow up within 24–48 hours and lets you tie closed deals back to the show. Track conversion rates at each funnel stage (CTR, lead rate, qualified-opportunity rate, win rate) so you can report true ROI to partners.

Operational controls matter. Provide an asset checklist, strict file-size limits, clear deadlines, and a QA pass on multiple devices. Protect partner IP (watermarked trials or gated downloads), and spell out privacy/consent rules for leads. Start small, iterate on the booth template and promotion plays (email, partner social, timed live Q&A), then expand once the metrics and fulfilment process are proven.

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Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

I actually something like what you mentioned but on an old Yahoo career group I created. The Yahoo Group did not allow for banner exchange (at least back between 2002-2006) but I did:
1. Let the associated partners to upload a brochure/file about their services
2. I wrote an email to the members introducing the vendor and how their services helped me with my career development
3. Asked the vendors to provide a discount for the members.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

Thanks for the details on how you did it. The way you approached it sounds interesting but I was thinking more in terms of a mini-virtual trade show. Microsoft currently has a multimedia utility for their recent Convergence show in New Orleans and there is a virtual trade show in it. Basically, the companies have their own separate 'booth' where they make available data sheets, offer a streaming video demo and offer access to free demo software. They are also able to brand the booth as necessary. I would image what I am talking about is a bit design-heavy but I was wondering if anyone new of a software app that allows you to build something like that.

Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

I actually saw a virtual exhibit booth on a nephrology site - http://www.vbooths.com/

I truly do not know the metrics of success for these vendors and I wonder how often doctors who are on the site would actually click to it.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

I actually saw a virtual exhibit booth on a nephrology site - http://www.vbooths.com/

I truly do not know the metrics of success for these vendors and I wonder how often doctors who are on the site would actually click to it.

The purpose of the one I want to set up is to do something a little more compelling than the standard partner page where you see a logo, a link and some standard boilerplate about the company and product.

The metrics we would be looking for would be click throughs and closed sales.

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