The Ultimate Beginners Guide To Geofencing Marketing
Hyper-targeted, location-based marketing is one of the most important digital marketing trends today. One way to implement it in your strategy is by using geofencing, an increasingly popular marketing tool that directly engages potential customers in the area by sending the information straight to their smartphones. Indeed, geofencing can give you the competitive edge you’ve been looking for. This is how and why you should get on board with this marketing marvel right away.
Originally published on My Frugal Business
What Is Geofencing?
Geofencing is a type of location-based marketing (LMS). LMS is a marketing strategy that uses location-based alerts that are sent to a customer’s mobile device to inform them about nearby offers.
Put simply, geofencing triggers an action when a mobile or desktop device enters a specific location. Geofencing creates a virtual boundary around a location using such technologies as GPS, radio frequency identifiers, bluetooth technology and beacon technology. Therefore, it allows marketers to limit their messages to certain geographical areas.
In fact, geofencing creates a wide range of opportunities to target customers in their physical locations thus delivering your campaigns at the right time and place. Most commonly it’s used in the form of push notifications and mobile advertisements that are tied to a business location.
Why Should I Care? Geofencing is a powerful tool that allows marketers to take their strategies to a new, localized level. Plenty of data proves that to gain competitive advantage you no longer can afford to ignore geofencing:
- 30% of the world population are already using location based marketing services.
- 80% say they want to get location-based alerts from businesses.
- 70% of consumers are willing to share their location if they get something in return.
- The locally optimized approach boasts double the click through rate of normal mobile advertising.
- 72 % of consumers say they follow through if they receive a Call To Action while near the physical location of the business.
- 60% of consumers look for local information on their mobile devices, and 40% look for information while on the go.
- Secondary Action Rates (people visiting a store or taking another action after seeing an ad) are more than twice as likely to happen if you use location-based marketing.
What Benefits Does It Provide For Marketers?
1. Local Optimization
Geofencing is extremely powerful to help your business rank high in local searches. This is because this location-based system allows you to target local customers in a specific area. Moreover, it makes your message more relevant and timely.
2. Improved Data
If a customer comes to your store due to your promotions from geofencing, there are many metrics you can measure. Geofencing provides valuable data, like stay durations, messaging effectiveness, how often customers visit your business or when they are near your location. Geofencing tactics combined with some powerful analytics tools like Google Analytics, Capsulink dynamic short URL management tool, Semrush and others will most definitely help you improve your marketing strategies.
3. Personalization
Another benefit is that geofencing allows marketers to gather data to personalize customer offers. Personalization is extremely crucial as 74% of consumers express dissatisfaction when information provided by a company doesn’t align with their individual interests. Thus, geofencing gives you valuable information on what interests the local population allowing you to improve your promotions accordingly.
4. Cost Effectiveness
Geofencing can make your marketing spend more effective. As it allows marketers to reach a very relevant audience, less budget is spent on audiences that are less likely to take action.
How Can I Implement Geofencing In My Marketing Strategy?
Getting started with geofencing is not that hard. Basically, all you need is an app and GPS coordinates. However, if you want to be successful, there are additional aspects you should keep in mind:
1. Know Your Audience
Before implementing geofencing in your marketing strategy, explore your local customers. Make sure you know who they are and create location-based promotions accordingly.
2. Don’t Be Too Broad
Try to keep your geofencing in four-to-five minute travel radius. Consider if your audience is most likely to walk or drive to your location and take it into account when you calculate the radius.
3. Clear Call To Action
Work on the message you want to send to your audience. Be sure that you create a clear call to action that points to an immediate activity. Remember, your aim is to get people to your location as soon as possible.
4. Create In-Store Promotions
Geofencing is a great way to provide your audience with in-store promotions. Once you’ve achieved that the customer has stepped into your shop, you can provide them with special deals, gifts and coupons.
5. Use The Power Of Social Networking Apps
Geofencing works well in connection with social networking apps too. It allows you to create location-based filters, stickers and other shareable content. For instance, geofencing can be used also to engage the audience, gather social media posts or deliver information about a specific venue or event.
Geofencing Done Right
Need some inspiration to get started with geofencing yourself? Check out these successful examples:
1. Sephora
Via its branded app, Sephora delivers messages to customers that are nearby their stores. For instance, if a user has an unspent gift card, they will receive a promptly reminder via mobile notification immediately when they enter an area nearby a Sephora store location.
2. Starbucks
Starbucks uses geofencing to send location-based notification to their app users. These notifications provide a discount coupon or a special offer in a nearby Starbucks. Additionally, the company is experimenting with features that allow customers to order ahead of the queue in their local store, get the directions to new stores, and repeat their regular orders.
3. Walmart
Walmart’s app provides their customers a “Store Mode”. One of the features this mode offers is geofencing. While a customer moves around the store, the app delivers location-based coupons and e-receipts.
4. McDonald’s
Another way to implement geofencing is with Snapchat geofilters. McDonald’s was the first brand to use branded Snapchat geofilters to engage their audience and advertise. They used geofencing to allow users to add a filter of a burger and fry graphic on their pictures whenever they’re near to one of the McDonald’s restaurants.
Final Thoughts
While geofencing can still seem unfamiliar, it has a great potential to help brands connect with their customers. It’s a dream come true for those customers who wish their devices would do more and increasingly interact with the environment around them. And it’s a dream come true for marketers who are enabled to create personalized and targeted offers that help them stay relevant and perfectly fit to their customers’ needs.
