There are loads of ways to target an intended audience using demographics including age, occupation, income, and more to tailor specific content to specific individuals that can become members of your target audience.
A popular strategy to target an audience is through their location demographics with location based targeting, but just knowing the 50 mile radius of a city the audience lives in isn’t always enough to effectively advertise to them or engage them with brand messaging. People are unique, and the parameters we use to reach them need to be just as unique.
Through Geofencing, you can utilize ultra-precise targeting down to the block, store location, or even the street corner of a specific intersection, or ultra-broad targeting of neighborhoods or highways, to reach your intended audience, by creating a virtual boundary or ‘fence’ around locations you want to target.
Using the audience member’s daily activities as parameters for advertising, static or video content can be effectively and quickly delivered to earn high-quality leads with this user-based and personalized marketing tactic.
How does Geofencing Work?
Employing the perfect combination of cellular signals and data as well as GPS, Wi-Fi, and RFID (radio frequency indicator), Geofencing as a technique allows us to learn about the audience through observation – real world actions can be strong indicators of an audience member’s interests, activities, or lifestyle.
When a mobile or other device enters or exits a Geofence, the device is accounted for in a DSP system, and becomes a destination for content to be delivered to. Similar to brick and mortar stores utilizing signage on the sidewalk for promotions, but instead of someone having to walk by to see the sign, we can send the ‘sign’ out to hundreds of channels to an endless number of individuals in an area and at the correct moments, to gain traffic.
We can therefore target these specific spaces and deliver advertising materials in the exact moment that a person is entering, leaving or is within a Geofence. Thus, we can target audience members at the exact right place, at the exact right time.
But, is Geofencing right for my business?
No matter what industry, business, or goal, Geofencing can be incorporated into any company’s marketing initiatives. Competitor locations can be targeted while promoting a sale, a gas station can be promoted for those travelling on an interstate, cooking ware can be advertised to someone leaving a grocery store, luggage can be promoted to someone entering an airport – the possibilities are endless.
Let’s say an art convention based in New York City is coming to Chicago in a month, and the event-based business wants to earn awareness and ticket sales. To promote the event, about a month or so prior we can Geofence places including art supply stores, art class locations, art galleries, and more to target those who are actively interested in art. Most likely, these audience members will be interested in attending an art convention, as they are visiting similar places. So, instead of advertising to the entirety of Chicago about the art event, we are ensuring the Geofencing technique as a safer, more reliable way to spend advertising dollars and earn quality leads.
As another example, a trip to the hardware store might mean someone is tackling a home improvement project, and that’s the perfect moment to deliver ads for the nearby professionals who can help. Or, we can deliver the ad after the audience member has exited the Geofence for up to a month after the fact, meaning that repeat messaging can take place and further promote awareness for the services even once the audience member is back in the comfort of their own home.
Incorporate Geofencing techniques in your marketing
An important aspect of Geofencing to consider is it will take time to see conversions and gain momentum, so it is recommended that the geofence is put into place as soon as possible, so that as many audience members as possible are targeted when they’re at the right places over the course of the campaign duration.
As a solo campaign, Geofencing can be extremely effective and precise. But when incorporated with other tactics, such as OTT/CTV advertising or Paid Search advertising, your marketing efforts will become the total package of solid and consistent branding, and allow for a more omnipresent strategy, allowing your audience to see your messaging in multiple areas – in and out of their homes.
We encourage businesses within varying industries to advance their marketing strategies with Geofencing, adding it as a valuable tool in the tool box of digital advertising services offered by 535media.