Geo-Fencing: Digital Marketing for the Smartphone Era
For virtually any marketing team, one of the biggest challenges is to understand if a marketing campaign is working - and if they are accurately targeting potential customers. With the advent of smartphones, marketing targeting capabilities are beyond any capabilities we have had in the history of advertising. Although increased marketing has lead to ad fatigue with users, when done correctly, ad campaigns can reach new customers effectively. One newer method of targeting users isn’t based on their online behavior or search history, but instead their physical location.
Roughly 90% of us with smartphones keep our location services on throughout the course of our day. Our phones can do remarkable things like tell us the current weather, plot the nearest route on the maps app and find the nearest slice of pizza (the most important feature). These location services allow marketers to reach that user in a given “fenced” geographical area in a city, based on the parameters needed for the campaign. There can be a pull for brands to feel like these ads are the “magic bullet” in marketing since the ads can be hyper-targeted. Here are a few aspects of geofencing to consider if it is right for your brand:
Advantages
Competitor Targeting: Geofencing is often used to target competitors of a given brand. As an example, if you are a car dealership and would like to target everyone on a competitor’s lot with your ads, you can capture an audience that is most likely ready to buy a car. Often, the reporting can indicate who was served an ad to your competitor and drove to your location. These typically aren’t high numbers of conversions, but they carry significant weight as leads.
Event Targeting: Geofencing can be remarkably powerful for targeting people who visit a particular event. Using an example, if you were a restaurant that wanted to capture people who attended a concert, you can target the venue for the given time and day. Using a special offer, you can also tailor the ads to users of the event.
Addressable Geo-Fencing: With advances in targeting, and with more mobile devices per household, heavy marketers of direct mail can leverage the mailing lists they purchase with home targeting. As an example, if a restaurant uses mailers with a coupon for a free appetizer, they can use similar messaging on digital ads directly targeting the same households of the mailing. Addressable geofencing does carry one of the highest per-ad prices, but when paired with direct mail, this can be very effective.
Ultimately, geo-fencing is a powerful new tool for the savvy marketer. No single tactic is ever the “magic bullet,” and even the best marketing channels need to be diversified. Targeted marketing campaigns, mixed with an organic content development strategy, is a tried-and-true concept for successful marketing campaigns.