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In a world where mobile apps are in such abundance that it’s probably easy for people to forget how many of them are installed on their mobile devices, possibilities are endless.
Sure, many know about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and some might even be familiar with Snapchat.
But what about an app that’s specific to an entire community?
This summer and beyond, the Experience Green Lake app hopes to be just that and more for not only tourists, but Green Lake residents as well.
“I was excited to launch it because it’s really to cater to our community, our local area, as well as our visitors,” Green Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Meier said of the app.
Meier explained that the app is designed to make it easy to find things like restaurant information, specials, places to be and events that are happening nearby.
This is a view of the home screen of the Experience Green Lake app.
“There’ll be buttons to push and find out what’s going on right away versus going to Facebook, going to our website, trying to dig up information where you’re not sure where to look,” Meier said.
She added the app is “super easy and user friendly” and she “thought this would be really a great tool” for the chamber to use because the chamber is tourism focused, but also community focused.
Meier credited Green Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Social Media Specialist Angie Evans for helping to quickly put the app together.
Meier noted she is excited for the app to take off right in time for the summer and added that local businesses already are adapting.
“We printed window clings so that all of the businesses in downtown Green Lake will have them in their windows for guests to scan the QR code and load [the app],” Meier said.
Chamber members will be able to utilize the new Experience Green Lake app at no cost, according to Meier. She added that for some businesses, categorization within the app may vary.
“Walk the Dog is in shopping and they’re in the dining section,” Meier said. “Because this is something that the chamber is doing with our room tax dollars for our marketing efforts, this is free for chamber members.”
Meier noted that non-members of the chamber can be represented on the app provided that those businesses pay a fee or become members of the chamber. Meier explained that chamber membership may be beneficial for a number of reasons.
“If a non-chamber member from let’s say Princeton wants to join, they would have to either join the chamber or they would pay a fee to be on our app,” Meier said. “A chamber membership is $240. You’re getting exposure on our website, which is incredibly popular, and you’re getting in our destination guide, which we print 20,000 [copies of]. And you’re getting all of the marketing that we do outside of our region to get people here. There’s other marketing tools that we can upsell to our members that would put them maybe at the top of the list if it’s alphabetical and they want to be in a premier spot on the app.”
This is a view of the Dine & Drink page of the Experience Green Lake app.
For local businesses, Meier says the new app may provide unique opportunities for engagement and marketing overall, noting that “the analytics behind it are at their fingertips.”
“The businesses will go in, they can see their analytics, how many people have looked at their app on their site and then clicked into their website,” Meier said. “They’re also going to be able to get push notifications, which I love because if I like a specific restaurant in Green Lake, I can favorite them and then on a Tuesday I might get a push notification from them saying ‘Hey, it’s Taco Tuesday and we have half-price margaritas.’ They’re going to be able to go in as a business with no login and password and go in and put their specials, put their menus, put their hours. Because all of the businesses have different hours randomly. Some weeks, they’re open on a Thursday and sometimes they’re not.”
How the Experience Green Lake app is used will vary from business to business, but Meier noted the importance for businesses to keep their information on the app up to date, something that might make life easier for Green Lake residents and visitors alike.
“I think it’s just frustrating for our visitors not knowing who’s open when and where to get breakfast or a cup of coffee,” Meier said. “Those lodging partners love it when people are here or they’re not here and they’re just trying to find out, ‘Where should we book our hotel this weekend? We’re coming up to go for a quick weekend getaway.’ For our local residents going, ‘Hey, I want to go down to Little Corporal [Restaurant] and grab a cup of coffee. When are they open?’ Sometimes Facebook gets buried and websites aren’t updated, so I hope our businesses really utilize that and keep it current.”
Meier added that tourism businesses might find the app particularly useful.
“They have the ability to change their photos and all of that,” she said. “So [it’s easier] to entice that visitor to get to their button and learn more about their business.”
Meier added that the chamber will continue to make minor tweaks to the app as issues arise and that the public is welcome to bring awareness to such issues assuming they come about.
The app, Meier says, will always be free to use.
