You may have noticed a few more faces glued to their phones when walking throughout your neighborhood. No, it’s not an influx of Facebook status updates or adding new photos to Instagram that’s the cause. Instead, there is a new app phenomena sweeping across the nation on onto the iPhones and Androids of players young and old, Pokémon Go.
If you have a smartphone, young kids, have watched the local news or have visited any public park in the last week or so, chances are you’ve seen plenty of people playing Pokémon Go. The app’s meteoric rise since its launch last Wednesday already has it in position to outpace the daily active users on both Twitter and Tinder, and it doesn’t really show any signs of stopping.
Lesson #1: Engagement is Always On
In a society where Pokémon Go reigns supreme over the mobile app world, it’s not uncommon to see strangers out on the street at 3 a.m. unapologetically dashing across the street to the nearest Pokéstop in nothing but their pajamas all in attempts to catch a Pikachu. Whether you’ve witnessed this or are still waiting to catch a trainer in action, the one thing that Pokémon Go has made objectively clear is that engagement is always on.
If you find the capturing your customer’s attention is rarer than finding the illusive Mewtwo, then it may be time to up your engagement strategy as a brand. One simple way to make sure you are keeping your audiences engaged is by aligning your audience’s interests with the content you are putting out on the web. Creating hyper targeted buyer personas will help you keep your brand’s message on the right track.
Thanks to the launch of Pokémon Go, Pokémon fever is as strong as its been in ten years!
One of the biggest complaints thus far about Pokémon Go is that the app needs to be open and active on your phone if you want to be alerted whenever a new Pokémon approaches. Don’t let your brand fall victim to the same shortcoming by consistently reaching out to your audience through a variety of marketing channels. Whether it’s a monthly email, regularly posted blog content or social interaction, if you can keep your brand fresh in the minds of your customers you’ll find your engagement numbers blasting off faster than Team Rocket.
Lesson #2: Real Experiences are What Matter
Lucky for us, Southside is crawling with Pokémon just waiting to be caught.
One of the biggest draws to Pokémon Go is that blurs the line between fantasy and reality. While past Pokémon games have followed a similar gameplay style as Pokémon Go, wandering throughout virtual maps in an attempt to capture as many Pokémon as you can lacked an authentic connection. Pokémon Go bridges that connection gap, projecting the fantasy world of Pokémon onto the real world. The mobile app scatters virtual creatures in the real-world, giving users the thrill of searching for and catching Pokémon in their own neighborhoods, homes and workplaces.
You can leverage this desire for something real with your brand, too. We’ve moved away from a society of interruption ads, media buys and disruptive communication. If you want your brand to be a success, it’s about providing your customers with real & authentic experiences that customers can cling onto. So abandon your pushy sales approach in favor of something more real, and provide your customers with candid moments to help them escape otherwise mundane stock and promotional photos to truly tap into their emotions and capture their engagement.
Lesson #3: Build a Community
If the quickly growing list of live Pokémon Go meetups and influx of the Pokémon photos popping up in your newsfeed aren’t evidence enough, let us be the first to tell you that Pokémon Go is creating a community unlike any other. Arranged Trainer Meetups, posts on Craigslist Missed Connections and informal gatherings outside and around Gyms and Pokéstops (in-game locations where players can battle one another or collect items) are just some of the ways Pokémon Go is connecting its users young and old. Outside the game, photos of Pokémon in-line at grocery stores, atop desks in the office or sitting by table side during dinner are springing up all over the web as an interesting way to let others know how far you are in the game.
If you want your brand to see similar success, building a strong social community is a great way to start. Encouraging your customers to interact with one another and your brand is a great way to make everyone feel like a part of something bigger than themselves. We live in a connected world. It’s time to stop self-broadcasting and start driving participation if you want to build enduring customer relationships. Turn the social observers in your audience into active contributors and influencers by asking questions, taking polls or having them share pictures of their new products under a certain hashtag. No matter what route you take, this lighthearted and fun approach to your brand will give something for your customers to rally behind.
The augmented reality that drives Pokémon Go puts Gym Battles right outside our front door!
Lesson #4: VR Isn’t Going Anywhere
The popularity of Pokémon Go makes one thing absolutely certain – we’re no long fast-approaching our augmented future. It’s already holding us tight in its grasp.
Pokemon Go goes beyond placing a virtual map over the top of our real world environment. It interprets our real world environments to create realistic experiences for gamers. Water-type Pokémon are found along rivers, ponds and beachfronts, while nocturnal Pokémon are found at night and into the earliest hours of the morning.
Virtual reality goes well beyond the gaming world, and discovering how you can deploy VR technology will shape the future of your brand experience should be a big part of your marketing strategy in the months ahead. While VR technology is still relatively new for many marketers, here are some ideas to help you leverage VR technology for your brand:
- Product launches, walkthroughs and displays
- Interactive ‘how to’ demonstrations
- Visual reporting and data systems
- Role playing exercises
- Brand immersions and consumer activation
Lesson #5: Nothing Tops a Clear Call-to-Action
“Gotta Catch ‘Em All.” No matter if you were a child, had a child or even had grandchildren in the last two decades, you’ve probably heard the infamous slogan of the Pokémon franchise at some point in your life. It’s short, catchy and provides you with a clear objective. You could even go as far as to say that the slogan that launched Pokémon as a video game franchise may just be the perfect call-to-action in recent memory.
If you’re conversion rates are not nearly as high as you’d like, maybe it’s time to give your crappy call-to-actions a refresh. A great CTA button can do wonders for getting your users to take desired actions, improve conversion rates and ultimately help your business reach its defined objectives. Create something strong, bold and relevant that grabs the attention of your visitors unlike any other, and you may be on your way to becoming a conversions master.
Pokémon Go is everywhere, and it’s breaking the internet in its wake. While your brand may not have quite the same level of meteoric rise, there are a bunch of branding tricks you can take away from the most popular app in recent memory. Leverage the power of your brand while achieving rapid and sustainable growth with help from Eyeflow Internet Marketing. Our growth hacking experts understand what it takes to grow your brand, building authentic experiences that drive audiences to your brand like no other. If real results are what you’re after, it’s time to deploy the growth-driven marketing efforts from Eyeflow today!
The post 5 Branding Tricks to Take Away from Pokémon Go appeared first on Eyeflow Internet Marketing.
