The Site Selection Process: Using Geotargeting & Geofencing in Advertising: The Basics

Location-based marketing can be very effective for any business. You can provide customized, relevant content to your customers by recognizing where they are located and customizing your messaging accordingly. You can do this with two digital programmatic marketing tactics: geofencing and geotargeting.

Geofencing targeting and geo-targeting can be an effective tool for many organizations if smart data is combined with a smart strategy. While the phrases geofencing and geotargeting may appear to be identical but they are not. Let’s look at the similarities and differences between the two tactics, as well as how each may be used to locate and convert more customers.

What is geotargeting?

A technique for identifying a visitor’s location on a website to offer location-based information or adverts. Each visitor’s computer has an IP address that identifies its precise location. The first 3 digits of an IP address represent a country code, but the remaining numbers are often used to refer to specific areas within that domain. Geo-targeting refers to the use of geographic data for marketing objectives.

What is geofencing?

Geofencing is a location-based RFID (Radio Frequency ID) technology that allows a variety of organizations and enterprises to track, market to, and effectively inform administrators when a person enters or exits a virtual geofence. Beyond marketing, geofencing has a wide range of applications.

How do they differ?

Geofencing, as defined, is the act of drawing a virtual barrier around a location or specifying the target audience’s location using GPS, beacons, or a Wi-Fi network. The act of delivering adverts to an audience that meets a specified targeting condition, usually a person’s location, is known as geotargeting. The main distinction is that when creating a campaign, geotargeting can additionally target a customer’s demographic, interest, or behavior.

How can a business use geotargeting and geofencing in advertising?

Increased online client involvement is a way organizations may employ geofence-based advertising. They can use geofences to let visitors know where to access their website or social media profiles when they go into their stores (or even just pass by). This may lead visitors to search the company’s website for further information, news, and even discounts. Customers can also use social media to ask questions or provide comments about the firm’s products and services, which helps the company improve them.

Some marketers have innovatively employed geofencing by installing geofences around competitors’ locations. When customers walk into a competitor’s store, a corporation can send them tailored adverts touting things like better product choices, lower prices, or special offers. It may be enough to entice customers to at least visit the promoted company (especially if they are unfamiliar with its locations). They might even buy something, indicating the beginning of a full-fledged brand loyalty transfer.

 If a consumer is about to walk into a competitor’s apparel store, for example, you can hand them a product coupon for your store and remind them that it is only a few steps away. This form of geofencing is a great technique to get people to come into your store.