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Behind Those Banner Ads: What is Geofencing in Marketing?
Derek Oss • May 2, 2024
Imagine craving a caffeine fix and strolling past your favorite coffee shop. You then see an ad later that day for the exact same coffee shop, offering a discount just for you! Or maybe you're scrolling through online stores, checking out the latest sneakers, and bam! Ads for those same shoes start popping up everywhere you look. Spooky, right?
Maybe a little but trust us, you’re not Jason Bourne and no command center is following your every step. It's actually a clever marketing strategy called geofencing, and it's changing how large and small businesses reach their customers.
Understanding Geofencing
Geofencing creates an invisible boundary around a physical location, like your favorite store or gym. This tactic allows marketers to establish these virtual perimeters using GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular data, or IP addresses. When someone with a smartphone enters or exits the designated area, they can receive targeted messages, notifications, or even banner ads. It's essentially a personalized billboard that follows you around (virtually, of course).
The Power of Reaching Customers at the Right Moment
Geofencing's strength lies in its ability to connect with potential customers at the best time. Consider a scenario where you're walking past a sporting goods store right before the weekend. A geofenced ad might remind you to pick up some new baseball gear for a kid's game or hiking gear for the nearby trails. With a well-crafted landing page, a great ad can be the deciding factor to make a conversion for people who check your site out! This is the power of geofencing – highly relevant marketing that cultivates targeted actions.
Creative Applications of Geofencing
With vast possibilities, geofencing is being employed by businesses in innovative ways, as seen in the following examples:
- Retail Stores: Attract customers with special offers or announcements about new product arrivals.
- Restaurants: Target nearby office workers with happy hour deals or entice passersby with a complimentary appetizer.
- Gyms: Motivate gym goers by offering discounts on memberships or personal training sessions when users are near the facility.
- Event Venues: Remind attendees of upcoming concerts or conferences.
- Competitor Targeting: Subtly nudge potential customers towards your store when they're in the vicinity of your competitor's location (always maintain a professional tone).
Addressing Privacy Concerns
It's understandable to feel apprehensive about location tracking. However, users must opt-in to some mix of location services, cookies, and privacy agreements for it to function. Additionally, geofencing is anonymous – it tracks users within a designated area, not their entire whereabouts.
Tailoring Your Geofencing Strategy
Geofences aren't a one-size-fits-all solution. Marketers can achieve highly targeted campaigns through various methods:
- Radius Fences: Create a circular perimeter around a specific location, like a store or park.
- Polygonal Fences: Define a custom shape for even greater precision, ideal for targeting specific areas within a building or shopping mall.
Implementation and Cost Considerations
While geofencing offers immense potential, it's not a DIY project that businesses can slap together. Partner with a marketing agency that’s assembled the necessary tools and expertise for effectively executed campaigns. The cost varies depending on the campaign's size and complexity.
However, compared to traditional advertising methods, geofencing can be a highly cost-effective way to reach a targeted audience. Plus, your campaign can be tracked in real time, so your team can tweak things on the fly to get the best outcome.
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