Did you know that digital marketing grows at a much faster rate nowadays?
The total spending within the United States alone is at $94 billion. Search marketing makes up the majority, with companies spending around $42 billion.
One of the most easily misunderstood concepts within the industry is geos. A lot of experts can tell you that the two common terms–geofencing and geotargeting–often get interchanged. These two are different and you can use them in different marketing strategies.
Understanding what each term means is the first step. Approaching your geofencing provider can help if you know the right questions to ask.
Are you ready to learn the difference between the two concepts? Read on and find out.
What is Geofencing Advertising?
This is the concept of placing an imaginary boundary around locations. It uses IP addresses to do so.
The ads you put within this parameter get user attention as long as they’re within the location. It doesn’t matter what device they use–a computer, a tablet, or any mobile device can see it.
Certain locations like schools, sports stadiums, or residential areas are common targets for geofencing. It targets an audience that is most likely interested in businesses, services, and other deals in their area.
Snapchat and some other services allow you to get an area and geofence it. You can draw this virtual fence around the location you want. What this means is you can control where the ads and filters appear.
What is Geotargeting?
This concept attempts to give ads to specific people that meet its requirements. They only target people within its given radius. Its key difference from geofencing marketing is that it checks on a set of consumer criteria.
Some of these criteria include:
- Demographic
- Behaviors
- Interests
- Location
This technology allows you to control where the ads should appear. You can exclude locations as you see fit.
If your business intends to target a larger audience base, this is a good choice. After all, it’s defined by demographics and keywords.
Benefits of Geofencing and Geotargeting Marketing
There are a lot of benefits using both in your marketing campaign. This is especially important when you’re trying to dominate your local area. If you’re a small to medium business, these two concepts are your friends.
Small businesses are the backbone of the industry. After all, more than 50% of the employed population of America works in small businesses. Here’s how you benefit with both:
1. It Improves Your Sales
Geofencing can use the GPS location tracking available in smartphones to find customers within your area. If you’re a business with its own physical location, you can send messages to customers. It can be an ad or an invitation for the best deals.
What this means is that you can promote your business to individuals with a possible interest in what you can offer. This increases the number of people going to your location. With more foot traffic, you might gain more loyalists to your brand over time.
2. It Gathers Customer Data
Both geofencing and geotargeting tools help your business collect information. This allows you to gain a better understanding of your consumer’s buying habits. It’s often more effective than surveys and questionnaires.
Once you gather enough data, you’ll know which customers to persuade more within your area. You gain an advantage over your competitors since you know what to use to persuade your customers, so if you’re not using these, you might get left behind.
3. It’s Customizable
When you run marketing campaigns in various locations, you can geotarget your audience. What this means is that you can run each of these all at once. It’s easy to change depending on the location of the ad campaigns.
You have the ability to change your message depending on the audience you target. This will let you focus on different people based on your criteria. It’s a unique method of engaging and matching your business with relevant people.
4. It Helps Control Your Visibility
When you geotarget people, you have the ability to get the most qualified leads around. With this, you’ll save a lot of money and make the most out of it. As an example, you can use your budget to run a local campaign and get most of the people in your area.
This allows you to make the most out of your marketing budget. You’re wasting money if you opt for a national campaign instead. You can restrict the ads and choose where they appear so you only spend money on advertising to the audience within your locality.
5. It Helps You Learn About Your Competition
With the use of geofencing, you have the opportunity to get an analysis of your competitors. It allows you to know your biggest competitor in the local markets. You’ll have a general idea on how loyal your customers are.
If you want, you can see where they go if they aren’t visiting your business. Sizing up your competition allows you to know how much budget you need to prepare. Knowing this, you only spend on advertising to stay ahead of your competitors.
6. It Enhances Your Deals
Using both will give you a more focused means of letting people know about your special offerings. It allows you to discover your potential customers and give them a deal they can’t refuse. Once you know your audience, you can start writing the right messages to deliver.
Get Geotargeting Services
Do you need tools to promote your services in a local setting? If so use geotargeting and geofencing.
It allows you to mold the data you gather into the foundation of your marketing campaign. Take advantage of the insights and analysis it offers.
Doing this ensures your conversions increase in bounds and leaps. If you don’t plan to use both, think of your target market. For example, if you don’t mind specific audiences, geofencing is your best option.
Do you need geofencing and other solutions? Contact us today and we’ll help you outsmart your competition in the best way possible.