In my previous article, I talked about what SXSW was, briefly. Now, I will share some cool marketing tips, but first to add some details on SXSW as some of you have requested. SXSW (South By South West) is divided into three segments. The first segment is the interactive, as it attracts tech addicts and business from all over the world. The second segment is the film, which brings in people from the film industry to participate in the film festival. Now, the third and the biggest segment is music. South By South West brings in a huge amount in attendance; musicians who have already established their career or who are looking to advance. So, all in all, over two hundred thousand people attend the event. Yes, that is over 200,000.

From an attendee's perspective, what people are looking for is free stuff like beer, food and music concerts. So, basically it is like a scavenger hunt, and this gives opportunities to local bands to perform in front of a smaller audience to get appreciation and build up confidence. It also helps them in the long run with their business contracts and careers. If you have free time, I definitely recommend SXSW for you. It's a totally fun place to be with your friends. There is so much to discover, and the best part that you will love about it is that there are so many shows that are free to join and watch and the venues are delighted just to see you come over.

Are You Ready?

Now, some marketing tips as promised. Recently I talked about representing yourself and what you have to offer. This actually happened when I was with my fellow marketing executives, and we were at this event where someone was demonstrating how his technology could make a difference, and all of a sudden there were technical difficulties. This happened quite a few times, and when things weren't going his way, he lost his temper and the audience lost attention. This is a big event. I would not advise anyone on making this investment an after-thought.  You must plan your marketing. Have everything tested and re-tested before you attend this size of an event.

Does Fancy Marketing Work?

Another pro-tip, well actually it's related to attraction. I have noticed booths using women to attract the audience, which always works, but the point that I want to make is that the women you use are not technology experts or in any way related to your domain. Instead of hiring them to market, a better approach is to get more tech people or domain related experts onboard. People will only look at those attractions, and in reality they will have nothing to offer. I had an experience with a booth similar to the one I described above. The people had the coolest idea, but lacked what experts could have added, which was  depth!

Will You Remember Me?

After visiting a few booths and events, I noticed only a few of them actually made an impact. At the end you have to go home and forget about everything. This is where you have to play your role to make sure your audience doesn’t forget you so easily. What you can do is design cool flyers with your personal name and how they people can contact you, or you can use business cards for that matter. But, I personally would recommend the flyers. So, the people that attend and listen to you – hand them a flyer. Yes, this actually helps!