Your consumers are on mobile. That’s just a fact. We all live and work through our mobile devices from connected tablets to smartphones to smartwatches. This is even truer when people are traveling through their day. Google Maps is one of the top apps consistently in all platform app markets.
Google has figured out how to get businesses even more attention from foot and driving traffic with its introduction of Google Beacon. This is an excellent service for any size business owner to look into and here’s why:
What are Google Beacons?
A Google Beacon is a small Bluetooth device, no bigger than your average lighter, that sends signals to other Bluetooth-enabled devices. When a Bluetooth-enabled device comes within range of the beacon, the beacon sends a notification to that device that could trigger a message or piece of content, like a sale. Beacons won’t just send messages to everyone that walks by though, these messages depend on applications installed, the user’s settings within those applications and if the user has Bluetooth enabled.
Beacons interact differently based on the apps downloaded on the said device. Some examples include:
Google Chrome or the Physical Web Applications
With these, users can discover URLs associated with your business or products that are just one swipe away from the widgets panel on an iPhone or the notifications on an Android device.
WeChat allows consumers to shake their phone to discover location-based content. Beacon interacts with this app to send an informational landing page or deliver a coupon.
Mobile Wallet (Apple Wallet)
Allows businesses to send personalized content to consumers that use this application. The messages appear in the lock screen and are one swipe away.
What Beacon Can Do for Your Business
There are endless possibilities for where Beacons can be used. Airports, malls, festivals, retail stores, and even restaurants are great examples. The important aspect is that the Beacon is tied to a physical location. A Beacon can be a great way to advertise to not only customers already coming into your business but potential customers walking by as well. This could be a great way to help increase foot traffic into your business.
Potential Benefits
Beacons are fairly new technology, but have the potential to help many different aspects of your business and will only continue to improve.
Hyper-Local Targeting
The Beacon presents a huge opportunity for businesses to fine-tune their marketing strategies locally and stay on top while the digital marketing landscape continues to change.
Promotions
Advertise coupons and single day sales straight through the beacon to encourage customers to purchase more, or bring new ones in.
Events
Advertise an upcoming event to passersby or customers in your store. If you’re a concert venue, imagine hitting your customer base without having to hand out a flyer.
Reputation
Engage with customers who have been in your location for a certain amount of time and request feedback like a review.
User Content and Engagement
Encourage customers to upload content like photos or videos. The more engagement people have with your business, the higher Google will value you as a business, and in turn, increase your rankings.
How Can You Get Your Google Beacon?
If you would like to get your own Google Beacons you can access the Google Beacon Platform online and purchase them from Google partners starting at $25-$30 each. If you are interested, V Digital Services can also help with the request with our Premier Google Partner Representative.
The Future of Beacon
Get ahead of the curve with Google Beacon. We see the potential that Google Beacon has and it’s only going to get better from here. The market is being flooded with Beacon software, hardware and cloud services and more and more apps are being created with beacon technology in mind. Digital marketing is always changing and the Beacon can be a great way to make sure you’re ahead of it.