The digital world is ever-changing and constantly growing. With new technologies, app developments and software, it’s important to stay up to date and relevant in the digital marketing world.
Not only is it important to stay up to date, but it’s also important to have a digital presence. And geofence marketing can help.
What is geofencing?
Geofencing is what marketers call location-based advertising. This allows marketers to target individual, physical locations as opposed to cities or zip codes. In doing so, they can target specific audiences, typically ones in need of or already interested in the products and services being offered.
Who can use geofencing?
Many industries can use geofence marketing to target specific, physical locations and audiences. Here are just a few examples:
• Retail shops: Store owners can geofence the physical locations around their shops or even their local competitors’ locations.
• Car dealerships: Dealerships can target auto body shops or individuals visiting their competitor’s location, searching for a deal on a new car.
• Attorneys/lawyers: Personal injury lawyers and attorneys can target towing shops, auto shops and even ERs since most of their clientele are accident victims.
How does it work?
As stated previously, geofencing is used to target specific, physical locations. When an individual enters the pre-set geofenced area, their mobile device ID is captured. Once the ID is captured, automatic and instant messages are sent to the user and displayed on their device.
Where are the ads displayed?
The ads are displayed in two places, one being the internet browser. This means that when an individual uses the internet, such as Google or Safari, the company’s advertisement is displayed.
The second place is through mobile apps. Individuals with the business’s mobile app, such as Starbucks or Chick-fil-A, will receive a notification for the sale or promotion the company is having. Individuals who use other apps, such as games, on their phones will see ads displayed there as well.
When are the ads displayed?
The ads are triggered when a mobile user enters the geofenced area. However, in many cases, the advertisements are displayed on the browser or through apps for 30 days after the individual has visited the geofenced area.
Why should businesses use geofence marketing?
There are several benefits of geofence marketing. From increased engagement to immediate analytics, marketers can use geofencing to drive sales and increase brand awareness.
• Immediate advertising: The moment an individual steps inside the specified geofence, a location-based advertisement is triggered. This instant advertisement allows the user to immediately see a relevant advertisement based on their physical location.
• Real-time analytics: Geofencing provides real-time data and analytics on the same day the campaign is live. This is highly beneficial for marketing because it allows SEO (search engine optimization) and marketing experts to make quick fixes or changes to the ads based on how well they are performing.
• Better ROI: Considering that marketers are targeting specific locations, such as businesses or convention centers, it is assumed that the audience is already interested in the services and products offered. An audience that is already interested in the product is an audience that’s much easier to persuade. Not only that, but the ads are only shown to the individuals who are in that specific location. This means marketers aren’t wasting time and money targeting cities, zip codes and audiences that aren’t necessarily interested in what they’re marketing.
• Better engagement: Due to the assumption that the targeted audience is already interested in a similar service or product that is being offered by the business, the level of engagement is predicted to be higher. And higher engagement results in higher conversion rates, which is what every business wants.
• Increased brand awareness: The more consumers see your brand, the more likely they are to do business with you. Therefore, geofencing is beneficial to marketing because as individuals receive location-based ads, they not only recognize the brand but trust in the brand. This trust between brand and consumer is what fuels the conversion rates.
Geofence Marketing Strategies
• Choose the right size. Too large of a geofenced area is just wasting money. It’s very unlikely that a mobile user will see an ad and visit a store that is 30 minutes away from their current location. The geofenced area should only be about a five-minute walk (sometimes drive) from the business’ location.
• Research your target audience. When you take the time to research your target audience, you are able to determine what they are interested in, thus determining the most successful ads.
• Incorporate a call to action. It’s important to incorporate a call to action (CTA) in your advertisement. Whether it be “buy one, get one free” or “try out our new lipstick,” a CTA is both inviting and engaging.
• Analyze data daily. Once the ads are live, consistently analyzing them is crucial. This is how brands optimize their ads’ success and make necessary changes.
According to a study by tech company Asurion, Americans check their phones every 10-12 minutes, averaging roughly 80 times per day. With that being the case, targeting users on their mobile devices has become one of the most beneficial marketing tactics.
This is why geofencing is so useful in marketing — it targets users on their mobile phones, based on their locations. Marketers set their geofenced locations and as soon as an individual enters that predefined area, they receive mobile advertisements relevant to the location. This can improve everything from engagement to brand awareness and ROI.
