By Linda Farha, Zenergy
www.zenergycom.com

The goal of a pop-up shop is to create a new touch point with customers and engage with them in a unique way but without investing and opening a new store. Here are three details not to be overlooked.

1. Spread the Word Online

It is no coincidence that the boom in pop-ups happened at a time when social media also was seeing rapid growth. Social media gives followers and consumers an insight into brands. Therefore, it can be leveraged to generate buzz around a pop-up event. Social media is indispensable when marketing a pop-up store. Social media shapes people’s lives in that it influences purchases and sharing habits. Mobilize your followers and consumers by creating a variety of content on different platforms. Immerse them in brand messaging through online contest, campaigns, giveaways, imagery, videos, incentives and hashtags. Also use social media during and after your event. Encourage social sharing among your customers, and give them a reason to do so. Create a space that is Instagrammable but also offer incentives for posting at the pop-up. Once the event has finished, use social media to remind those who attended how much fun they had, which in turn will encourage others to visit a potential next event.

2. Create A Strong Sense of Urgency

Pop-up shops’ short-term residency naturally creates a sense of urgency, but this can be heightened through manipulating your decor. To highlight the ticking clock, many pop-up shops favor an industrial and free-flow look. A lack of structure can encourage your customers to move around the store to fully experience your limited products. Everyone loves brand-new and limited-edition products. Attract customers by tapping into their anticipation. Tease products prior to your launch, but also emphasize stock limitations. This will give a feeling of excitement to every potential shopper. Pop-ups are very much visual experiences. Using color not only will help market your pop-up shop but also can intensify the sense of urgency. Traditionally, red and green are used to promote urgency, but if your branding already uses these colors, it could be worth finding other colors to draw in customers.

3. Crossing Over with Another Brand or Store

So you’ve heard of pop-ups, but are you aware of pop-ins? Pop-in shops are nothing new, but the recently coined term has led to a resurgence of them. A pop-in store is a store within a store. Brands sometimes opt to rent a space inside a larger and more established store in order to leverage the established store’s existing physical presence. Setting up a pop-in is great for bringing in new foot traffic to the established store; providing a limited shopping experience always brings in new customers. Conversely, a pop-in shop can help the smaller business tap into the retail store in which it’s located and access the already established foot traffic. It is an opportunity for dual branding and creating something different and unique. Because of these benefits, many brick-and-mortar businesses welcome pop-ins.