Over 3.5 billion people around the world rely on their smartphones every day. With over 45% of the world on their phones, you have a chance to boost your business.
How? With the addition of geofencing as part of your digital marketing strategy, you can target an audience and attract them to your business. As you allow consumers to benefit from your business, you can learn from those consumers, too.
Not sure where to start? With this guide to geofencing, you can learn everything you need to know before further developing your strategy.
Read on to learn more about geofencing today!
What is Geofencing?
Before we dig into this guide to geofencing, let’s answer the question everyone is asking: what exactly is geofencing?
Geofencing is a location-based marketing tool.
Using RFID or GPS technology, a geofence creates a virtual geographic boundary, usually around a business. When consumers pass into this invisible fence with their phones, an alert will trigger. You can use geofencing to send personalized alerts to consumers as they approach your business.
You can even send them alerts when they’re about to leave the boundary.
Adjusting your target radius will help you improve your reach. You can make adjustments to your targeting, timing, and messaging as well. These adjustments can improve your chances of reaching ideal customers.
Geofencing allows you to appear in front of customers as it’s relevant to their location. As a result, you can remain top-of-mind as people approach your store.
By learning how geofencing works, you could reach customers before they become lost opportunities.
Applications
Geofencing is sometimes used as part of a larger digital marketing strategy. For example, a restaurant can send alerts to nearby customers to advertise daily specials or coupons. Retailers can alert shoppers about their latest sale.
It helps to focus on urgency when creating geofencing ads. The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) can become a major motivator.
Consumers will want to jump on the opportunity for a coupon, discount, sale, or special.
Here are a few other ways companies are using geofencing technologies to their advantage:
Personalized Marketing
Who are your customers? What products and services do they care about? Why should they choose your business over another?
Geofencing allows companies to specify their target audience. You can create a target audience based on their age, gender, or other key demographics. Identifying your target audience ensures you reach consumers most likely to convert into customers.
Once you’ve determined who make up your target audience, you can create personalized messages.
About 71% of consumers feel frustrated with impersonal experiences. Another 91% of consumers are more likely to visit brands that offer relevant recommendations. Today, almost 90% of businesses are investing in personalization.
You can use geofencing to advertise your sales, events, and other information relevant to your shoppers.
By using data about customers and personalized messages, you can increase your chances of generating new leads.
Go Local
Local search engine optimization (SEO) is a marketing strategy that can help companies reach local customers. Geofencing can support your local SEO strategy by helping you reach nearby consumers. As they click on your ads and visit your website, Google will take notice.
Consider creating location-based blog posts that benefit your local customers. Don’t forget to use audience and keyword research beforehand.
Your research can help you determine which topics to cover.
Answering the questions your customers are asking will help them recognize you’re there to help. They might even visit your store to learn more about your products or services. In fact, about 82% of consumers consult their phones while in a store to learn more about a product.
As more people visit your website, it can boost your local rankings, helping you reach even more customers.
Social Networking
Social networking is another great way to personalize your customers’ experiences with your brand. You can create customized filters for photos and stores that are specific to your brand.
Encouraging customers to post a photo, write a review, or check into your store can boost brand awareness and recognition. You’re also promoting user-generated content (UGC). As consumers share their experience with your store, you can meet even more customers.
Employee Tracking
Learning how geofencing works can help you track your employees, too. A manager who is miles away can watch as employees come and go.
This can help with payroll purposes and keep employees accountable.
Home Automation
This guide to geofencing could benefit your life at home, too. You can use location tracking to determine when your kids arrive or leave. You can even use home automation technology to have the lights turn on, or doors unlock as you approach the front door.
Pros and Cons
Before you start using geofencing as part of your digital marketing strategies, it helps to know what you’re getting into. Below are a few pros and cons to keep in mind.
Pro: Boost Productivity
If you’re using geofencing to track your employees, it could help improve productivity. It’s also ideal if you have many remote employees. You can watch as employees arrive at the office or store, even if you’re working at home.
Knowing you’re able to track their arrivals can encourage your employees to work harder. You can keep your team accountable to arrive at work on time. As their efficiency and productivity improve, you can boost production.
In some cases, geofencing can protect your company, too. Geofencing technology allows you to restrict access to certain devices and apps while your employees are at work.
As a result, you can make sure no one walks off with private information or important data.
The underlying productivity boost can help improve your ROI.
Con: Privacy Issues
While geofencing can boost your team’s productivity, some employees are concerned it fails to protect their privacy. Some employees might find geofencing alerts are too invasive. They might avoid sharing their location data with employers as a result.
Your customers might feel the same way, too.
Geofencing alerts are somewhat disruptive. An ad will appear on the customer’s phone while they’re shopping. Interrupting their experience could annoy and frustrate customers.
Before adding geofencing to your digital marketing strategy, consider everyone’s privacy. You might want to give customers a chance to opt in and out from receiving ads beforehand.
Pro: Automated Accuracy
Geofencing is an easy digital marketing tactic to automate. Instead of wasting time and energy on advertising, you can set it and forget it. You can even place your ads to appear on a schedule, allowing you to plan ahead of time.
Automating your advertising will save you time, allowing you to focus on other tasks.
As a result, automation can further improve your productivity. You can focus on creative and problem-solving tasks that require your attention. Otherwise, you can dedicate more time to your customers and clients.
When setting a schedule, think about your heavy traffic times. When do you notice a lot of foot traffic around your store?
Timing your ads to appear accordingly can help you increase foot traffic into your store. Then, you can generate more sales and boost business!
If you’re using geofencing for your team, you won’t have to worry about tracking their time. You can even alert your employees about certain tasks you need them to complete.
As a result, geofencing could make it easier for them to track their time with each task.
Con: Sometimes Tedious
Otherwise, you might drive them away.
Technology isn’t always perfect. You might experience a few technical difficulties when setting up your campaigns for the first time. It’s important to make sure those problems don’t frustrate your customers.
You might find your target radius is too small and not bringing in customers. If it’s too large, you could attract unideal leads. You might need to make adjustments to your radius overtime to find the sweet spot in between.
If you’re already busy managing your business, you might find making these adjustments frustrating. Consider outsourcing your geofencing needs instead.
Pro: Access to Data
Remember, geofencing gives you data about customers that you can use to improve your marketing strategy further. You can then use this data to make educated decisions about your marketing strategies in the future.
For example, when do you generate the most foot traffic into your store? What days of the week do you attract the most customers?
What are the hours when you want to attract more customers?
How long are customers lingering in your store? What demographics do they fall under? Which marketing messages attract the most leads?
Using your data to answer these questions can help you make smarter decisions. Then, you can optimize your campaigns to generate more leads!
Con: It’s Draining
If your employees are using geofencing technology, it could drain their battery life or data. You might want to reconsider having your employees use their personal devices for geofencing. Otherwise, their batteries might not last.
Get On the Map: Your Complete Guide to Geofencing Marketing
Ready to put yourself on the map? This complete guide to geofencing is only a start! By creating a geofencing strategy for your business, you can boost productivity and generate new leads.
Don’t wait to start experiencing the benefits of geofencing today!Eager to get started? Discover our paid media services, including geofencing, before giving us a call!