Made Futures is just 6 weeks away and as the second virtual exhibition The Made in Group has held, we wanted to share with you 5 things you ought to know as an exhibitor. From stand opening times to what information should be available on your stand, we offer these ‘top tips’ to ensure your stand receives the success it deserves.
The Made Futures exhibition is all about supporting job seekers in a time of desperate need. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic over 1.72 million people were reported unemployed, a figure that is likely to increase to 2.6 million by the middle of 2021. The Manufacturing sector makes up for around 23% of the UK’s economy and with a visible skills gap within the industry already, we wanted to showcase the tremendous job opportunities and amazing businesses within our manufacturing sector.
Whether you have jobs available now or would just like to promote your company as a great place to work, the Made Futures jobs board and exhibition is a free feature for you to attract the right talent to your business, as a Made in Group member.
1. Set your own opening hours on your stand
The Made Futures virtual exhibition will be open 24/7 but it doesn’t mean you need to be there the whole time. You can set your own opening times of your stand to let visitors know when a member of staff will be available. For example, if a member of staff can only man a stand for 2 hours a day you can mention this under “Stand Greeting” when editing your booth at the back end of your microsite by selecting the tag “Virtual expos”. You can also promote this via social media by posting the “We are open” graphic, available in the resources section, along with the allocated time a member of staff will be available.
For any visitors that enquire during closed hours of your stand, messages will appear automatically at the back end of your microsite under “Live Chat”.
2. Employee Brand Angle Content on Your Stand
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If you exhibited at Backing Britain Live in 2020, you will be aware of the content that we require for your stand. This includes relevant brochures, a product or company video for your virtual TV, and a personal greeting. However, whilst Backing Britain Live was aimed at other businesses to encourage networking and collaborations amongst members and visitors, the Made Futures exhibition is slightly different.
As many of our visitors will be job seekers, graduates, and potential apprentices, it is important that the content on your stand resonates with these people. Ensure to include content on your company culture, the training you offer, and the values of the business. For your virtual TV video, you could record a facility tour or a demonstration of how your company’s products are made. You can join our masterclass on Employee Brand Angle by clicking here.
3. Uploading Job advertisements has never been easier
As a member of the Made in Group, you should be aware of how to upload news to the backend of your microsite. Similar to this feature, patron - bronze members can now upload job advertisements via this platform.
Simply just log in to your Made account and select “Jobs” on your dashboard. Follow the steps to add the required information regarding the opportunity available and you’re done! This will automatically be aggregated on the MadeFutures.com jobs board, which job seekers can use similar to other major job finding tools. And better yet, the board is available for free with your membership. To find out more about uploading jobs to your microsite, contact a member of staff today.
4. Marketing your business’ presence at the exhibition
Now that you have set up your stand and opening times, it’s a good time to start generating some buzz around your presence at the exhibition. The resources section on the back end of your microsite is a great place to start. Use the graphics under ‘Made Futures’ to announce that you have “pledged” to advertise job opportunities, encourage visitors to register for the exhibition, and add the email signature graphic to your emails. Better still, you can use our social templates in the resources section to make things easier.
To make it even more personalized, you can use our letter template which can be adapted for newsletter type communications too to send out to your contacts.
5. Attend Made Futures Masterclasses and Roundtables
The Made Futures events have been created to connect businesses and job seekers, whilst our masterclasses offer advice to visitors to the roundtables - Meet Britain's Makers give insight into working in the manufacturing industry straight from the business leaders. Make sure as an exhibitor that you attend as many events as possible, to interact with your potential employees and learn from other business leaders. Check out our full list of events here.