Calling all Fairs & Exhibitions! The time is now to begin marketing to your audience for 2016. While it sounds like a long way off, and we all know you deserve a break from the prepping and planning for this year’s fair, there’s no time like the present to plant a seed in the minds of this year’s visitors about next year’s event. The people who are attending your fair right now (and having a great time) are your best potential customers for next year.

There are plenty of great ways to make people remember you. Here are 3 ideas for kicking off your 2016 fair marketing strategy right now:

Exit SWAG

There are numerous promotional companies out there that are willing to slap your logo onto just about anything you can imagine. Handing out small items as people leave the fair that feature your logo and next year’s dates will give visitors a constant reminder to come again next year. The trick with exit gifts is making sure that they are items people will actually save and use until 2016. Refrigerator magnets that stay in a prominent place in people’s homes are great; lanyards or pens that can be easily lost, not so much.

Ticket Giveaway Contests

Your event is the perfect time to have people help you promote this year’s fair, and to give them a chance at discounts for next year. Running a social media “Photo of the Day” contest inviting visitors to post their pictures onto your Facebook page is a great way to get people engaged, not to mention gain the reach to all of their friends. The winning photo can earn its poster free tickets to next year’s fair, guaranteeing a repeat visit.

Holiday Promotions 

As the preference for experiences over things continues to grow, gifts that allow people to spend time together are becoming more popular. So while your potential customers are mulling over which cable knit sweater to put under the tree this holiday season, why not spread the cheer on your website with ticket sales for 2016’s fair? Don’t forget to bring the festivities to your social media channels to keep the conversation going throughout the winter months.

No matter how you do it, you need to make sure the people who are at your fair now know that you will be there again next year, and that you want them back. Kick your 2016 fair marketing strategy into high gear now and it’ll pay off at your turnstiles – and your bottom line – next year.