Pokémon GO is ginormous. Within days of launching, Pokémon GO has amassed more than a million downloads in America, New Zealand and Australia. These are only 3 regions. Imagine the scale of its popularity when the game is released worldwide. The potential for your business’s growth would be mind-blowingly staggering, to say the least.
Aimed to be a social game that allows players to play and interact together, Niantic Labs designed Pokémon GO to follow after the cult sleeper hit Ingress, the game that sets the mould and proved to Nintendo that such a game model would work. And oh boy, does it work so wonderfully well now.
Primer: Pokémon GO uses your phone’s GPS and camera to transform the real world into a global hunting ground for Pokémons. These Pokémons would be usually found near PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms, the gamified versions of local landmarks and shops in reality.
Many reports have started streaming in about how community-led Pokémon GO walks to collect Pokémon together had garnered thousands of participants. Take this case for example – a hastily-organised Pokémon GO Walk in Sydney by PAX Australia’s Guy Blomberg saw more than 2000 people. The turnout was overwhelming because the Walk was initially meant to be a little meet-and-greet and a fun day in the “sun”.
And for some contextual understanding of Pokémon GO’s popularity, all of this took place smack in the middle of the uncomfortable Australian winter.
So yesterday me and @jiggsy we went for a walk in Sydney with a few friends… #PokeGOwalk (photo by @raejohnston) pic.twitter.com/kgnd0Bbhz8
— Gabby ‘Yug’ Boreland (@YugSTAR) July 10, 2016
Now, imagine that you are running a business, and you can actually turn all these people into paying customers! How fantastic is that?
Now, this game is still in its infancy, and Niantic Labs has reported that they will be building Pokémon GO continually and adding on community features. What better time than now to build a solid fan base and establish your business as one that reverberates with the times AND can be fun and trendy at the same time?
Here are 3 ways that can supercharge your business with
Pokémon GO!
1. Embrace Pokémon in Your Marketing: Tweak your marketing copy to feature Pokémon! Follow the way of this indie clothingstore – it puts up a signboard at the front of its store to show its support for the game.
via imgur
If you are the owner, you can sweeten the deal with a discount on certain merchandise if potential customers fulfill a Pokémon-related criteria!
2. Get Your Services/Wares Viral: Pokémon GO memes are crashing upon us like tsunami waves. If your store happens to be or near a PokéStop or Pokémon Gym, use this to your full advantage! Take snaps or videos of these Pokémon next to your business wares or services (check out how Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art did it), tag them with witty captions and unleash those into the wild for the next viral wave! Heck, you can even serve up a discount or two if potential customers snag a Pokémon at your business premises!
3. Lure Your Customers: Pokémon GO has a Lure module that attracts Pokémon for 30 minutes. It costs $0.99 for one, and there’s a bulk discount if you buy 8.
via Niantic Labs, The Pokemon Company
Using the module strategically during different times of the day could entice many potential customers to your venue! Pair it with timely discounts (for example, cafes and restaurants can serve drinks and food to some really thirsty and hungry trainers), and you have a winner on your hands! It’s an incredibly cost-effective way to get more foot traffic to your business!
There you go! Try these out and let me know in the comments whether these will work for you! As true-blue Pokémon trainers would say, gotta catch them all
You can download Pokémon GO for iOS and Android.
This article originally appeared on dankoh.net
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Photo credit: Getty Images