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Choosing to exhibit at a trade show is a strategic decision. Perhaps now more than ever, the decision "to show, or not to show" is fraught with huge financial risk. Costs for services like labor and freight continue to rise, and travel expenses are becoming an even larger part of the pie.

That said, the trade show arena (the figurative one, not the literal one) offers some unbelievable bargains. The payoff in terms of face-time opportunities with clients and prospects is still one of the most cost-effective and time-efficient ways to connect with your audience.

In some form or other, guerilla marketing has been with us for a long time. Theater posters plastered on construction barriers... companies paying people to have logos tattooed on their bodies... messages scrolling on the Good Year blimp... all are powerful examples of how it can work well.

Guerilla marketing is defined as "an unconventional system of promotions on a very low budget ... relying on time, energy and imagination instead of big marketing budgets." And these low-key, grassroots ideas are often some of the most effective marketing tools around.

Every day, we're surrounded by these subtle, "here I am" promotions:

"Helping to end world hunger."

It's a tall order. Many of us have poured pennies into those little UNICEF collection boxes, or collected soda can tabs, or sponsored friends in walk events. All with the goal of ending world hunger.

But how much does that actually cost? Is it even achievable?

According to United Nations' estimates, "the cost to end world hunger completely, along with diseases related to hunger and poverty, is about $195 billion a year."

So how are we, with our little boxes of coins, bags of soda tabs and $10 pledges going to make a dent in a problem of that size?

Outdoor media is perhaps the most original grassroots promotional tool.

Think about it: traditional outdoor media includes everything from the old Burma Shave signs to the signs for your front-yard lemonade stand or yard sale. You see outdoor advertising every day but perhaps you've thought it's not the best way to market your product or service.

That may be, but consider this: on a broader scale, outdoor media includes not only billboards but also taxi toppers, bus shelters and benches, and signage in shopping malls. And what about signage in stadiums, movie theaters and convenience stores?

Online social networking may be a foreign concept to you, but trust me: it's not foreign to the new group of Gen Y adults who will be your clients tomorrow. Succeeding in the coming years will mean embracing (or at least, accepting) this technology and understanding how it can work for you.

And rest assured: it can work for you.  Let me tell you how: