Put Your Downtown on the Map: Mobile Tools That Drive Engagement

Learn how downtown organizations use mobile engagement tools, visitor communication solutions, and digital downtown strategies to attract visitors, boost engagement, and support local businesses with simple, effective mobile solutions. Transcript below.

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Patty Ruland [00:09–20:29]: Good morning or good afternoon, everybody. We’re going to get started here in a minute. Today’s session is a follow-up for attendees of the Main Street Conference we attended a couple of weeks ago. This will be a high-level overview of the solutions that Engage by Cell offers for visitor engagement, resident engagement, and more. We’ll let folks join for another minute. If you have any questions, feel free to type them into the chat. I’m happy to answer them as we go or at the end. Behind the scenes, Megan from our marketing department is here to help monitor questions and pass them along to me.

If you’d like, feel free to introduce yourself in the chat—your name, where you’re from, and so on.

Great, let’s get started. Welcome, everyone, and thank you for taking time out of your busy day. I know this is a hectic time of year as you ramp up for summer events, so I appreciate you being here to learn more about Engage by Cell’s mobile solutions.

I love the title of this session: “Put Your Downtown on the Map.” At Engage by Cell, we provide mobile tools to enhance visitor and resident experiences and drive engagement. We’ve been around for over 20 years, are fully U.S.-based, and offer cloud-based mobile solutions. Most importantly, we’re a human customer support organization. When you call us, a real person answers. When you email us, you get a real response. That personal support is something we take pride in.

Let’s jump in. Every organization faces similar challenges. One of the biggest is that visitors are increasingly tech-savvy and expect more interactive, engaging experiences. Through the Engage by Cell platform, you can deliver that.

We offer several core services. First is GPS mapping, which can be used for indoor venues, outdoor spaces, parks, cities, and downtown areas. This can be integrated into smartphone tours that include event schedules, scavenger hunts, art walks, educational content, and more.

We also offer text messaging, which is great for communication. Many clients use it to send updates about events, ticket sales, road closures, and other timely information. It helps them stay on top of issues and keep their audience informed.

Finally, we offer audio tours, which can guide visitors through historic tours, art walks, and more—all housed within the smartphone experience.

There are many ways people use our platform. Before a visit, users can explore what’s in the area and plan their trip. Once they’re on-site, they can find events, shops, dining options, and more. Scavenger hunts are especially popular—they’re fun for all ages and can help direct foot traffic to under-visited areas while promoting local businesses.

If you have your phone handy, go ahead and scan the QR code on the screen. One of the biggest advantages of our platform is that there’s no app download required. Visitors don’t have to go to the App Store or Google Play. They simply scan a QR code and access everything instantly. I’ll do it here as well. Once scanned, it pulls up one of our client examples—Downtown Austin.

Over the years, we found that people don’t want to download apps, especially for short-term use. They don’t want to take up storage space or deal with deleting it later. With Engage by Cell, that’s not an issue. You can also save the experience as an icon on your home screen, so it looks like an app without using storage space.

People often ask about the difference between a website and what we offer. A website is great for attracting visitors, but how do you engage them once they arrive? That’s where we come in—enhancing the on-site experience.

Let’s look at a few examples. Audio tours allow users to tap a location—like a historic building—and hear a narrated story. There’s also a transcript available. This is especially helpful for accessibility and adds a rich, behind-the-scenes layer of storytelling.

Photo sharing is another feature. For example, a water park client allows visitors to upload photos and create a shared gallery. This not only engages users but also provides valuable user-generated content for marketing. Permissions are built in, and users can like and share photos.

Event voting is another popular feature. One client in Danville, California, replaced paper ballots for a scarecrow decorating contest with digital voting. This eliminated lost ballots and increased participation. Similar concepts are used for holiday displays, food festivals, and more.

Feedback surveys are also powerful. For example, a client hosting a new event used in-app surveys to gather insights on attendance, satisfaction, and areas for improvement. This eliminates paper forms and makes data collection seamless.

Scavenger hunts are always a hit. They can be tailored to different audiences and even used for pub crawls or themed experiences. They encourage exploration and interaction.

Another important concept is that your mobile app is your digital real estate. You can feature sponsors within the platform. For example, the Atlanta Botanical Garden highlights its main sponsor on every page. You can include multiple sponsors, offer coupons, and create additional revenue streams to help fund your app.

Contact collection is also key. Many clients include forms to capture emails or phone numbers for newsletters and text messaging. This allows you to build your audience and support ongoing marketing efforts.

We also support special event maps. For example, Downtown Houston uses a general map year-round but creates customized maps for specific events, highlighting only relevant locations. This makes navigation much easier for visitors.

As for promotion, word of mouth is great, but we recommend including QR codes or links in email signatures, websites, and printed materials. Many clients also use window clings in storefronts so passersby can scan and access the app instantly.

Analytics are another major benefit. We provide real-time data on usage—how many people are viewing your map, which sections are most popular, and when traffic peaks. You can track interactions down to specific map points and collect all submitted data from surveys and forms.

I’ll pause here for any questions. For those who attended the Main Street Conference, we do have special pricing available. I’ll follow up via email or individually. Pricing is based on the size of your organization—we aim to make it affordable for everyone.

If there are no questions, I want to thank you again for your time today. This presentation and recording will be sent to you via email, likely tomorrow or the next day. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thanks again for joining, and have a great day.

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