The following post is part of our “Small Business Experts” series, and is brought to you by Mindy Sanderson, Vistaprint’s Small Business Marketing Specialist.

On Sunday, a few colleagues and I attended the Great Bridal Expo in Boston, Massachusetts to exhibit Vistaprint’s redesigned wedding stationary collection. We were excited to interact with couples and help answer questions they may have had about creating their wedding stationary with us. We also provided paper samples and discount sheets to all those interested in learning more about our company offers.

To exhibit with the Great Bridal Expo, companies were asked to provide a sweepstakes for attendees to enter. Attendees were given a booklet of entry forms when they entered the hall and were allowed to submit for giveaways with the different exhibiting companies. This tactic is commonly used with a bridal expos or other consumer based trade show to assure attendees are moving through the expo room and visiting all of the booths.

In the weeks leading up to the show, our team decided to take the contest to another level. We created a photo station of a bride and groom with a hole in the brides face (see image). When brides entered our booth, we allowed them to drop their entry form for our giveaway prize ($500 in free printing). We then offered brides the chance to enter a second time by allowing us to take their picture in our photo station and post the image to our Facebook and Flickr pages.

As a result of our photo station, we achieved the following:

• Show Floor Buzz – Soon after the show kicked-off, brides were discussing our photo station and making a point to visit our booth and get their pictures taking. The interaction we were having with potential customers was a lot stronger because we were offering fun interactive activities at our booth. We even had photographers for the show coming over to take pictures of our booth.

• Increase Leads – Leads are an important part of any show, as the ability to connect with individuals after the show is vital to measuring the success of a show. While we were likely to obtain information for most brides, having the booth allowed us to obtain contact information from relatives and friends of brides (groups could increase their chances with each person who snapped an image). While those folks may not be in the market for our wedding content, we may have other products that appeal to them.

• Social Media Lift – After brides had their pictures taken, we handed them a card with a link to the company Flickr page where they could go and view their image. We also published their photos on the company Facebook page and encouraged them to visit our page and tag their photos. While the show was only a few days ago, we have already seen an increase in our traffic to our social media sites (see here why social networking sites are important to your small business).

In summary, a simple photo station idea helped us gain exposure in the short-term (at the show) as well as long-term (social media avenues). As we connect with brides after the show we look forward to getting their feedback on our photo station and making a further connection with them.

While tradeshows and expos might not work for your small business, think about how you can promote a contest in your store, or on your website.  You could easily hold a monthly contest and announce the winners on your website or social media pages.  Another idea is to have your customers submit pictures to you (either at your store or online) with your products. There are many creative ways to get your customers involved.

What can your small business do with contests to help drive traffic? Are you running a giveaway now that is helping you attract customers?