The Principles and Benefits of Using Geofencing Marketing
Perfection has no limits, and the same applies to digital marketing. If there is a way to attract and retain new customers, advertisers will use it to its fullest, and why not? One of these methods, not new but gaining popularity, is geofencing. The first thing to keep in mind is not to mistake geofencing for targeting, because it’s a completely different practice.
What is geofencing?
It’s a method of promoting something by, for example, sending a push notification via mobile app, or geofencing display ads on social media, etc. when a customer enters a location that is specifically geofenced by this or that brand. For example, if you enter a store, you may receive a message about its special offers once you walk in. Geofencing works on the condition that a user’s device is connected to some local Wi-Fi or can be pinpointed via GPS, making it possible to specify the user’s location.
Apart from advertising, geofencing is also used for analytical data collection and consumer behavioral analysis. With this information, advertisers can implement better targeting which then can be used in cooperation with demand-side platforms.
Benefits provided by geofencing to marketers include:
– a fast and easy to attract customers in the right place at the right time directly via their mobile phones
– real-time ads and message delivery directly to potential or regular customers
– local marketing campaign improvement
– brand awareness and increased engagement
– offers personalization by means of data collection and analysis
– the chance to influence consumer opinion for choosing your brand over the competitors
How geofencing is used by DSPs?
Demand-side platforms help advertisers find and buy the right advertising inventory from the trusted publishers. The use of geofencing DSPs can help marketers enhance mobile targeting by gathering information about the audience, including demographic data and the peculiarities of their online behavior and how they respond to ads. It all helps target the ads more effectively, but geofencing can provide even greater benefits because it takes into account not only online activity but offline in-store purchases as well. Using a demand-side platform for mobile targeting, marketers can also benefit from setting up a geofence, letting them display real-time ads when customers enter the geofenced area.
Geofencing vs geo-targeting
Geotargeting uses zip codes and is aimed at users with specific preferences within a certain area, while geofencing is about grabbing the attention of all users entering the selected locations, such as stores, cafes, cinemas, festival zones, etc. With the help of Wi-Fi and GPS, it tracks customers’ behavior without needing to target via personal addresses and specific interests. All that matters is for the consumer to enter the geofenced location and their purchase behavior.
Takeaways
Geofencing is used for sending users special offers and promotional messages when they enter the store, are in-store, and on exit, as well as for collecting analytical data. This includes the way users make purchases, how much time they spend in a store, and how they navigate. Moreover, sometimes geofencing may be used to attract customers from the competitors’ area by simply setting up a virtual fence around a store of a competitor. All in all, geofencing provides marketers with unique information that may be used for precise targeting to improve advertising strategy and boost sales, especially when buying inventory using demand-side platforms.
