Geofencing  Advertising

Geofencing advertising sometimes referred to as geofencing marketing, is the application of a virtual boundary around a location, in which certain rules are applied when a mobile device enters or leaves. The size of a geofence can be modified, but most often the shape is a standard radius.

Geofencing utilizes a location-based service in which an app or other software uses GPS, RFID, Wi-Fi or cellular data to trigger a pre-programmed action when the target audience (with their mobile device) enters or exits a virtual boundary set up around a geographical location, known as a geofence.

One of the biggest questions – and common misconceptions – is around the cost of geofencing. So what IS the cost of geofencing marketing? The answer: It depends. Pricing typically ranges between $4-$14 CPM (cpm= cost per thousand impressions).

How effective is geofencing for marketing and advertising?

Studies show that geofencing alerts are effective. 53% of consumers say they have received a geofence alert containing a special offer or discount and have acted on it, according to a 2018 geofencing survey. Another 67% say mobile alerts are always or sometimes useful.

Because geofencing is location-based digital marketing it enables advertisers and marketers to send messages to smartphone users in a defined geographic area in real-time. For example, shoppers that arrive at a specific store in the Galleria Mall in Middletown NY can then be targeted with ads by other stores which are also located in the Galleria mall simply because of their geographic location within the geofence.

Targeting competitors’ locations to drive traffic to your site

This is an excellent ploy for businesses to try and capture a part of their competitors’ market share. Geofencing your competitor's locations can allow you to serve content including competitive promotions about your brand to these users, and maximize your brand’s impression share and drive traffic to your business.

While geofencing marketing may seem complicated on the surface, it’s rather straightforward — especially when you have an experienced company like Hudson Valley Digital  Marketing with our decades of experience on your organization’s side.

Here is a quick description of creating a campaign:

1. Your company creates a geofence in a designated area and an advertising campaign for that geofence
2. A user steps into that geofence and gets added to your advertising audience
3. Your company starts delivering advertisements  to that user, whether via notifications, in-app ads, or search or display ads

Here's a more in-depth GeoFence explanation:

Say, for example,  you’re a fine-dining restaurant that also serves as a venue for events, such as company parties, weddings, and family reunions. You have some competitors within a few blocks of you, however, and want to get ahead. With geofencing marketing, you can create a virtual fence around any geographic area you want. If anyone with smartphone steps inside of your fence’s perimeter — or enters and leaves your perimeter — they get added to your audience and become eligible to receive your ads for up to 30 days.

Geofencing can be a highly effective digital marketing tool, but only when executed correctly. Hopefully, this has given you a checklist of items to consider and the inspiration to add geofence campaigns to your marketing strategy.