Only days into its arrival on app stores, Pokémon GO’s reach extends far and wide as users all over the world are taking to the streets to realize — in some cases — lifelong goals of capturing and training a Pokémon.
As a real estate or mortgage professional, Pokémon GO can be a creative way to reach out to younger generation home buyers in your area.
“With Pokémon GO, you’ll discover Pokémon in a whole new world — your own!” the Pokémon Company wrote on its website. “Pokémon GO allows you to find and catch more than a hundred species of Pokémon as you explore your surroundings.”
The resonance of the 1990s entertainment and trading card series is back through this augmented reality form, boasting projections of more daily active users than Twitter. The app hasn’t even been available for a month.
People are walking, running, climbing and more to find their share of various Pokémon species. With its astonishingly rapid expansion, it’s completely overshadowed social media giants Snapchat and Instagram in time spent within the app.
However, when users are on social media, posts about the new game are intertwined with or replacing day-to-day interactions. Pokémon GO is in headlines, numerous articles and spread all over the internet.
Pokémon GO is everywhere, and it’s still growing.
And, businesses, too, are finding their niche within the virtually integrated world. Local businesses are leveraging Pokémon GO’s massive following to attract “Trainers” to their locations. For real estate, that could be your open house.
Here’s how to go scouting for Pokémon in your market.
Building Connections In Your Community
One of the biggest reasons Pokémon GO could prove vastly useful to real estate and mortgage professionals is that the app brings people together with a common goal in mind: capturing Pokémon, of course.
Granted, it’s not your traditional marketing or advertising route, but it’s getting people from all over the world together in ways few others things are. If you want to be the very best, PokémonGO could help you connect with people that more traditional channels are failing to reach.
So, after you’ve downloaded the app on your IOS or Android device, you’re set up and ready to go, the best way to use PokémonGO is to get outside and into your community.
Before heading out, though, post on social media to give your audience a heads up or even invite them along. Then, as you’re on the go, send out updates to tell your audience what’s happening. Throw out location tips too.
On Twitter, watch for related hashtags and mentions of the game to take advantage of the potential reach you could have with like-minded Pokémon Trainers.
Posting pictures or videos to Snapchat and Instagram as you go could be a fun way to update your audience of your endeavor to “catch ‘em all.” Snapchat, in particular, would be a good way to start interactions with your audience around the exploration.
What this does is help you get your brand and business exposure without a traditional sounding sales pitch. The hope is that your social media profiles see more traffic, thus growing your following. And, of course, you want to load up your Pokédex.
Use Pokémon Go To Boost Open House Traffic
Some Pokémon only live in certain places. Maybe that certain place is your open house — or at least nearby. For younger home buyers who might have taken to the game, Pokémon GO is yet another way to successfully reach out to them.
Holly Utt, a social media project leader with Homes.com, wrote about different ways real estate agents could leverage the game to attract buyers.
“When preparing for an open house and trying to draw as many possible prospects, think about how you might drop some popular Pokémon GO terms into your listing’s description,” wrote Utt in RISMedia’s blog.
Utt said this keeps it “lighthearted” and establishes early connections.
“For your Pokémon GO-obsessed buyers, showing them listings in neighborhoods with great game attraction could help make the difference in a sale or seeing another listing,” she wrote. Even if it’s not your open house, Pokémon GO gets you in front of prospects.
It’s likely that as you’re playing, you’ll run into others in your community who are after the same thing you are (Pokémon). Whenever you have the chance, try reaching out and making connections.
As mentioned, this isn’t the traditional marketing or advertising route. So as you’re out there, stay away from traditional pitches to others you encounter in the training field. This face-to-face (Trainer-to-Trainer) interaction could have much more impact than other lead forms.
You’re actually getting out and meeting people, a strategy that’s sometimes talked about as if it’s long gone. Like the rapid spread of this app, take advantage of the moments to get out and talk to members of your community.
An open house is one place, but this could transfer to any sponsored event near a Gym — somewhere likely to see a good amount of foot traffic. To help encourage these “Training” sessions, you could host a get-together in a local park, since again, some Pokémon only live in certain places.
Pokémon GO for Business
This widespread phenomenon could give your business a strong advantage in the field when it comes to reaching younger generation home buyers. It’s a creative route to take, so if you or your team are planning to head down that path, think of other strategies you can put in to place to leverage the app and keep your business top of mind in your market.
The biggest benefits from the app’s spike in usage is that people are coming together because of it. The real estate industry is still about creating and maintaining relationships with your leads, clients, and partners. This app gives you more opportunity to do just that.
However, if you decide that Pokémon GO isn’t fitting into your business model, maybe just invite the team out and have fun with it. It would be a great team building exercise and another way to get to know one another, Utt said.
