Businesses are constantly looking for ways to expand, drive traffic and increase conversions. With the help of the ever-changing digital landscape, new and exciting opportunities pop up all the time, although it can be difficult to weed through the mess and choose the most effective tools for a successful mobile marketing strategy.

One such tool is Waze, a community-based GPS and navigation app that works as a car navigation and a social networking platform. The navigation app is the latest opportunity for businesses to make themselves visible to a specific audience. This unique take on mobile navigation is not only convenient, but can be seen as an effective mobile marketing tool for businesses. But how? Let’s delve into how marketers can leverage Waze as a billboard on mobile devices.

What Is Waze?

For those unfamiliar with Waze, this navigation tool owned by Google has over 100 million active users. The aim of the app is to save time and money on our daily commute. As a navigation and social tool, Waze allows drivers to share information about anything on the road – including speed cameras, road closures, accidents, and more. Users can also send live updates and information to friends. The app also identifies and saves frequent destinations, routes and commuting hours drivers use.

That said, the app is more than just a convenience for drivers – it can be used by advertisers and marketers as well. In 2017, Waze reported that 3.3 million of its users visited businesses advertised on the site, while advertisers saw an increase of 20.4% in store visits.

Waze is actually transforming the way brands target audiences on the move.

How Can Brands Advertise on Waze?

Waze allows its users to advertise within the app to drivers in a designated area. But why would businesses use this opportunity? Simple: to build brand awareness or encourage traffic to a brick-and-mortar location.

The app acts as a digital billboard that allows businesses to put their name and brand in front of the eyes of local drivers depending on a user’s specific location. This helps businesses attract new customers and increase foot traffic.

Waze offers advertising in numerous ways, although these tactics are best suited to brick-and-mortar businesses targeting local drivers near the business location. There are three main ways to advertise on Waze:

1. Branded Pins

Pins act as “digital billboards” by marketing businesses on the map, much like Google Maps. Here, businesses can include various actions a driver might want to take, like rerouting to the business destination, links for more information or even saving the pin for later.

2. Promoted Search

With the promoted search feature, businesses can have a branded, highlighted search result whenever a Waze user searches for the business. Businesses can also choose this ad to be displayed at certain times of the day to suit the user’s behaviors.

3. Zero-Speed Takeovers

This feature acts as a digital billboard and is activated when a driver has stopped for three seconds or more. If the car is not moving, Waze shows ads with information and promotions about a brand as well as calls to action, which can include “Drive There”, “Save URL”, “Download App” and more. These ads collapse once the car starts moving again.

What Types of Businesses Will Benefit Most from Waze?

Brick-and-mortar businesses will benefit the most from Waze advertising, although any business is eligible to advertise on the site. So far, the sectors making the most of Waze offerings include retail, healthcare, restaurants, car services, real estate, grocery stores, and home good stores.

Waze is great for impulse buys like food and entertainment, as many times local drivers scour the area looking for something that may pique their interest without having a clear goal in mind. Perhaps a user is looking to buy dinner but is not yet sure what to get. Simply opening the app means the user can have access to branded pins, promoted search results, and zero-speed takeover ads, driving customers that may not have been privy to the business in the first place.

Signing Up for Waze Ads to Boost Mobile Marketing

Signing up for Waze ads is actually quite straightforward. There aren’t that many settings on the app, making it easier to navigate and understand its features and functionalities. When signing up, users can upload business logos for the pin or create a unique design for the billboard ad. There is also the option to set a daily schedule to run an ad at a particular time for the biggest impact.

Big brands have begun using Waze, so there is no reason why small businesses who need local customers and traffic should not consider Waze ads as part of their overall mobile marketing strategy.

Learn more about how Waze ads can help your business in Chicago and Evanston with 120over80 PPC Management Agency.