Do you remember passing by a coffee shop one day, getting a discount code for it right to your phone? Then you probably experienced geofencing advertising – which sounds like witchcraft, but in reality is a very precise technology used for highly specific and effective marketing campaigns. At Trigger Digital, we get many inquiries from business owners asking us for advice on this technology. They ask if it’s possible to reach out to their potential customers at the moment when the latter are willing to purchase their product.
First and foremost, we would like you to understand how precisely geofencing advertising is executed to learn more on how you can leverage this kind of marketing in your future projects, especially for mobile marketing in Florida. This type of advertisement allows companies to build digital boundaries surrounding certain physical places. Whenever potential customers enter this place with their mobile devices, they get to see the specific advertisement. In other words, we help businesses turn their marketing campaigns upside down.
With this guide, we hope to help you understand better what exactly goes behind the curtains during the development of a geofencing campaign. Moreover, we will help you figure out how the advertisement is delivered to the customer and why this approach might be exactly what you were looking for.
The Key Elements of Geofencing Advertising
For us to explain our process of geofencing advertising campaigns, you should first look deeper into how your device determines its location. In general, geofencing relies on several technologies in order to define location.
GPS, Wi-Fi, and Cellular Data
Modern smartphones interact with the world using several kinds of signals and location-tracking services. Global Positioning System technology allows smartphones to locate their coordinates by interacting with satellites. That makes the determination quite precise, but satellite signals often fail indoors.
That is why geofencing advertising also uses Wi-Fi connections and cellular towers in order to determine location of a particular mobile device. If a smartphone enters any Wi-Fi network or cell tower’s range, the advertising system will identify its exact location with a high level of precision. Thus, they combine all these factors in order to deliver your ads to customers, no matter if they are in their office or visiting competitors.
Creating Digital Boundaries
As soon as you understand how the technology determines the location of the mobile devices, we move on to creating virtual boundaries. The term geofencing basically means creating boundaries around a place on a digital map, which helps answer…how does geofencing work in practice?
At Trigger Digital, we use special software for mapping purposes. First, we drop a pin somewhere on the digital map, and then set a radius around it. The boundaries may range from entire zip codes to a single retail store.
We always recommend our customers consider where exactly they would like to place the boundary. For example, you can build the boundary around a popular exhibition ground or the campus of a local college or a competing business. The platform then monitors for any devices entering this virtual boundary.
Triggering Ads in Geofencing Marketing Campaigns
We have talked about creating boundaries; yet, the most interesting part comes after they’ve been created. We create geofencing campaigns in a way that triggers relevant actions once the user enters the boundary.
Recognizing When a User Enters the Boundary
Whenever a customer enters the area specified by the marketer and located on the digital map, their device sends location data matching those virtual coordinates we’ve previously marked. The advertising system receives this information, adds this device to the retargeting audience. In other words, now we have a list of very interested prospects who are exactly there.
Advertising Delivery Methods
As soon as we’ve identified customers who entered the boundary, it’s time to get our message to them. Usually, this process includes the use of two types of methods of delivering ads, which helps explain how does geofencing advertising work?
First of all, it involves the use of mobile apps. Many smartphone apps collect data on locations, especially those that use location services for their proper functioning. If consumers allow access to their location, it means that your ads can be displayed to them using special ad-networks. There is another very popular method which is called push-notification.
If your business has a dedicated app, entering this particular area will trigger a notification appearing on a home screen. We have created highly personalized notifications that offered customers special deals, so they could visit the shop right after receiving it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Geofencing Technology
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GEOTARGETING AND GEOFENCING?
These terms are often misunderstood by marketing agencies and business owners. The main difference lies in that geotargeting is a much broader term that allows advertisers to target the audiences located in a certain city. On the contrary, geofencing requires building a very precise virtual boundary for targeting customers.
IS GEOFENCING PRIVACY-INVADING?
This issue is often raised, so we would like you to note that at Trigger Digital we take consumer protection extremely seriously. What is more, geofencing relies only on anonymized device data, which means that personal information remains safe. Besides that, customers should always consent to allowing advertising apps track their location before being targeted.
HOW MUCH DOES THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN COST?
There are many different pricing options for geofencing ads. It really depends on the boundary size, duration, and density of population in the particular area. Typically, the advertisers have to pay for the number of impressions generated. As the targeting is precise, the audiences are relatively small, making geofencing a highly effective advertising approach.
Get Ready to Dominate Your Local Market
Geofencing technology gives advertisers an amazing opportunity to precisely find their target audiences using digital boundaries and then reach them with relevant messages. Understanding how geofencing works can greatly help you see how location-based marketing can boost your sales. This type of marketing can seem complicated, but the essence is easy – you just have to reach the right audience in the right place.
If you would like to use geofencing for promoting your business, feel free to contact our team. We will help you identify the best areas for geofencing and promote your products!