As many witnessed in the past week, Pokemon Go has become a huge phenomenon that is sweeping the globe. A good portion of the users are men and women who grew up with Pokemon when they first came to the North American market in the late nineties. This age group is 25 to 30 and there are still plenty of children who got into the later generations of Pokemon. On top of that, there are still quite a number of people playing Pokemon Go who never took part in any Pokemon games.
This is a game for smart phones that allows people to catch Pokemon by navigating their own cities. This game utilizes GPS (for players location) and camera on the phone (to place the image of the Pokemon in the real world; augmented reality) where they have to swipe the poke balls towards the Pokemon in order to catch them. This has successfully led children and adults to going outside and getting exercise.
This is a game that can possibly change the mobile gaming landscape and is quite important to keep oneself up to date on any new forms of technology or trends to better reach out to customers. For the longest time, many companies worldwide have started to advertise on social media by either paying to place their add on the side or by simply posting their own videos on pages they created to communicate with their followers. However, Pokemon Go has shown a huge spike in activity and it has greatly surpassed Twitter and Facebook for daily use; which it still continues to grow. This is an opportunity for businesses to capitalize on the Pokemon craze by applying some of the 9 ways Pokemon Go can help the reputation of your business.
1) Understanding the lingo
Business owners should learn the main concept of Pokemon and more in order to reach out to this particular crowd later on. Sometimes knowing a specific Pokemon and carrying a conversation about it can make a huge difference when it comes to attracting a customer.
2) Knowledge of Poke stops near your business
In the real world, players will be stampeding around Poke stops or spots filled with Pokemon around the city. Within the game, Poke stops are blue cubes where you can get items which are located based off a real world map. For example, a local park can be a Poke stop. If there is a Poke stop located close to your business, you are in luck because this is an amazing way to lure customers to your store to spend time looking for Pokemon.
3) Post screenshots of Pokemon discovered in your store
If you do have a Pokemon Go account, its an easy way to post pictures of Pokemon found in your store which can attract people to come and try to catch rare or different Pokemon. Also, taking a picture of a Pokemon that appeared in store next to a product is easy and cheap advertising. There is a good chance customers or random visitors who came to catch Pokemon will take pictures in your store and post it on social media.
4) Reminding customers you have wifi and outlets
This is an easy way of getting customers to come into your business or restaurant to charge their phone and use your wifi since the game tends to drain the battery and use data. This way they can recharge in your store and create more traffic to your store which can lead to more sales. Especially if it’s a restaurant or coffee shop.
5) Have promotions with names that correspond with Pokemon Go
If a business were to use a Pokemon theme for selling promotions, this can attract a wide variety of customers to the business. Even if there are no promotions, if you use the Pokemon Go lingo to demonstrate your awareness, it’ll go along way with your customers.
6) Use in game Pokemon Lures at Poke stops near your business
A lure is an item that you attach to a Poke stop that functions as bait for Pokemon. If your business is close to a Poke stop, by placing a lure there, you will create lots of traffic to or around your business. If you don’t have a lure, you can always buy a lure for one dollar which would be an investment for the business.
7) Use Pokemon images to advertise on your sidewalk marketing
There are tons of ways to catering to Pokemon Go players and one efficient way is by letting them know they are welcome to the store with simple pictures that represent the Pokemon franchise on posters or chalk boards for sidewalk marketing.
8) Cater to a team and Rotate
Within the game, there are three teams or guilds a player can join when they reach level five (Valour, Mystic or Instinct). Players have demonstrated strong levels of loyalty to their teams and by simply catering to each of the teams can definitely benefit the business. The most important thing they should remember is to rotate which teams they are catering towards either on a daily or weekly basis.
9) Pokemon Gyms
Pokemon gyms are places where they battle with their Pokemon and gain in-game gold by holding onto the gym as long as possible. With a possibility of having three guilds who are all battling for a position at the gym, this will attract hordes of players toward your business and it’ll be even better if your business is the location for the gym.
This is a huge phenomenon that gained traction over night and people are still learning how to adapt to it; which makes it the best time to get ahead by downloading the app and learning firsthand what this game is precisely about. This is one easy way of focusing on reputation management for the business and this includes the acceptance and possibly some rewards for Pokemon Go players who will want to support your business. This is not your average mobile game, it’s a phenomenon that is reaching out to people on so many levels. Pokemon is brotherhood to many; where loyalty is what matters most in any fellowship.