40 The Costco Connection APRIL 2017
sent a flood of people into the streets (and
sometimes into traffic, reportedly) in
search of digital Pokémon.
The unintended effect of this game was
that these players were walking by businesses every day. Heeding their entrepreneurial instincts, restaurants and stores
quickly began catering to those Pokémon
Go players by offering happy hour specials
and discounts.
Max Robinson of UK-based Ace Work
Gear is a great example. “We noticed huge
amounts of people of all ages hanging near
our building and realized that it was related
to Pokémon Go,” he says.
So Robinson decided to get active with
his brand’s barely used Snapchat account.
His team used Snapchat to not only keep
followers updated on Pokémon Go, but also
to promote their own products. The brand’s
high-visibility clothing, which had been
gathering dust in the store, suddenly
became a hot Pokémon Go commodity.
“We sold more than 200 high-visibility
items—mainly vests—in the first two weeks
of August,” says Robinson. “Better yet,” he
adds, “many of these items were embla-
zoned with our logo.”
Yes, the Pokémon Go craze has sub-
sided, and the marketing opportunity along
with it. But trends like this will always pop
up. The key is to do what small businesses
do best: Be nimble and responsive. If you
can seize trendy opportunities while main-
taining longer-term mobile marketing
efforts, you’ll be in the best position to
master the power of mobile marketing.
Local mobile marketing opportunities
are constantly morphing, and your Main
Street tactics will have to continue to evolve
BuzzSumo: Maintain your content marketing and search engine optimization
campaigns with BuzzSumo, which lets you
determine the content that specifically resonates with your audience. This helps you
develop blog content tailored to what your
customers are searching for.
Buffer: Schedule posts and promote
your brand to your audience in one place.
Take advantage of the social platforms
your audience uses most, and you will find
yourself (and your business) mastering
mobile marketing with ease.
Wantify: Making your customers aware
of your latest deals is a great way to get
them in the door. Using Wantify, you can
send real-time updates on sales and exclu-
sive deals to your VIP customers.
Mozeo: To reach your audience directly,
get their attention via text message. Send
direct messages with specials, sales and
information about your business.
Square: Mobile marketing is essential,
but so is ease when it comes to point of
sale. Not all customers carry cash, and
having a handy mobile app at the ready for
taking payment is crucial when it comes to
managing your business.—JS, RS
Five essential mobile marketing apps
to keep up. The good news: We’re only just
starting to see the ways that mobile mar-
keting can translate into foot traffic and
sales for brick-and-mortar businesses, lev-
eling the playing field in this competitive
marketplace. C
Brothers Jeff and Rich Sloan are cofounders
of
StartupNation.com, a business advice and
networking website for entrepreneurs.
MOBILE MARKETING
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39
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