Geofencing is a fairly new marketing tactic that allows for people in a very specific location to be targeted for certain ads. Geofencing creates a digital fence around a chosen area (houses, parks, convention center, concerts…) and targets the electronic devices people access in these places to send ads to the websites or apps they access. By users being in this location, their devices will continuously give them ads for a chosen time period after they’ve even left the area. Now, why is geofencing so successful as a marketing technique?
Accuracy
Geofencing does not solely rely on zip codes unlike your general marketing methods (or what is known as geotargeting). Geofencing gets specific, down to the contours of buildings, parks, or anywhere you’d like. It relies on GPS technology to gather very accurate geological information to track people’s devices. This is important because it allows for very targeted advertisements. Say you’re a car dealership looking to gain new clients. By geofencing nearby dealerships, you’ll be able to send ads to people already looking at cars and send them advertisements for your own business.
Time Sensitivity
Certain ads are very time sensitive or attract a larger return rate if the consumer is in a specific area during the time the ad is shown. Certain promotions are only efficient is individuals are on or around the business grounds and the efficiency will decrease after they’ve left. Having these ads be constantly sent out past the time the customer is near the business may be a waste of money. Geofencing ensures your targeted audience only receive the ads when and where you want them to.
Customize Advertisements
Not everyone will respond to the same kind of ads, however, it does not mean that the business isn’t for a large audience. A common example of this would be for gym advertisements targeting different individuals. The company may choose to target popular health food stores, but also fast food areas, gaining their attention by designing the ads differently. By using geofencing, businesses can target their desired audience in a very personalized way rather than one big campaign.
Discovering Patterns
Geofencing is an amazing tool to discover patterns and predict consumer behavior. This can be done by targeting individuals in an area and then finding out where they often go afterward. For example, geofencing could discover that people of a particular college often go to a specific café at a certain time of the day. In doing so, cafes could offer promotions or advertisements urging other college students to also come in as it is a hot spot.
Affordability
One of the biggest advantages for geofencing is the fact that your campaign can be extremely targeted and customizable, making you have the greatest possible outcome for your pay. With traditional advertisements, you can launch one campaign for a bigger audience, meaning it will not be relevant to each person who sees the ad. With geofencing, you can ensure that people have a higher interest and therefore a greater reason to click on your ad.
Geofencing truly is one of the most efficient form of advertisements in modern technology. Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar business or an online company selling a product or service, geofencing is the new way to go.
