The P in the Marketing Mix is one of four essential parts that make up a successful marketing plan. It gives the identity and direction of your marketing strategy. In today’s digital environment, the platform through which you distribute your content is just as important as the content itself. This is where the Fourth P – place – comes in.

You’ve probably heard of Foursquare, an online platform that allows users to ‘check in’ at places like bars and restaurants they visit. The more times users check in, the more rewards they will accumulate. The more rewards accumulated, the more “favorites” the user will receive, which in turn will make them more prominent in the community.

Foursquare and other location-based platforms have opened doors for businesses that want to take advantage of this audience. One example is Groupon. The daily deal company offers discounts at hundreds of places across the country – from boutiques to golf courses and spas.

So, how can brands use location-based platforms to engage with consumers? Let’s take a look.

Focusing On The Target Audience

The first step in answering this question is to consider who your audience is. What are they looking for? What are their needs? What do you know about them that can help you to serve them better?

Many businesses want to target millennials with their marketing, but this audience can be hard to reach. Unless you’re specifically looking to attract this audience, it can be difficult to know how to engage with them. Generating interest and grabbing the attention of one of the most difficult audience’s to reach is no easy task, but with a bit of creativity, you can certainly try.

Offering Special Deals Or Promotions

One of the most effective ways to get the attention of consumers is to give them special deals or promotions. Millennials love discounts, especially when it comes to shopping. So, if you want to attract this audience, consider offering them discounted products or services. You can also use location-based platforms to give users special offers, either with their phones or laptops. 

You may want to try a voucher or discount code that can be used at a specific location or retail store. Alternatively, you could promote a specific product or service and provide users with special deals, whether it’s a discount or an additional benefit, such as free shipping.

Depending on your product or service, you could use digital marketing tactics, such as SEO or PPC (pay per click), to drive traffic to your site. Once you have a good amount of traffic, you could test the effectiveness of different landing pages by putting them through A/B testing. This way, you can determine which offer, product, or service is most effective for converting traffic into paying customers.

Using Gamification To Increase Engagement

Gamification is the use of game principles and elements in non-gaming contexts. One of the most effective ways to engage with customers is through game-like activities. This could include anything from encouraging users to engage with your content to inviting them to join your “gamified” loyalty program.

Giving users a sense of accomplishment for completing simple tasks, such as checking in at certain places or buying a product, can feel good. So, consider using game elements like points, levels, and leaderboards to encourage users to interact with your content. For example, if you’re running a competition where users can accumulate points for checking in at places they visit, you could add a game element, such as a leaderboard that tracks the user with the most points at the end of the month. This way they’ll be competing for fame and fortune, rather than just trying to accumulate as many points as they can.

The Final Step: Measurements And Analysis

The final step in a marketing plan is to measure and analyze the results of your strategy. Did your efforts pay off? What would you do differently? How can you improve your plan for next time?

For the first three steps of your strategy, you will need to consider how to measure its success. For the last step, you will need to consider whether the results were good or bad, and what you would do to improve next time.

These questions will determine whether you should continue with the current approach or try something new. Either way, you’ll be able to take a step back and analyze the results of your efforts.