Most of the digital advertising campaigns we manage include some sort of geotargeting aspect—meaning, we are limiting the geographic area in which our ads can serve. For many campaigns, this geotargeting includes the city or cities where they do business; with larger, national businesses, this geotargeting might extend across the US or into Canada or Mexico.
Regardless of the location, geotargeting helps to ensure that a business or nonprofit’s ads will only show where they do business. But, for niche businesses, or advertisers with limited ad budget or a several DMA-sized target area, geotargeting may be still be cost prohibitive, and may end up causing ad inefficiencies because of how many folks not in the target audience will end up being served ads.
For organizations such as this, we recommend including geofencing into your digital advertising strategy.
Geofencing, Defined.
At its core, geofencing is a location-based digital marketing service that uses GPS, RFID, Wi-Fi, or cellular data to create virtual boundaries—or “fences”—around specific geographic areas. When a mobile device enters or exits this area, it triggers a pre-set action such as a push notification, text message, app alert, or targeted ad.
Think of it like drawing a digital circle around a mobile business, a local Chamber event, or your own storefront. When potential customers enter that zone, your business or nonprofit can automatically deliver a relevant message or offer, directly to their smartphone.
How Geofencing Works
Geofencing relies on a mobile or laptop device’s location data. Here’s a laymen’s terms version of how it works:
Define the Fence: Use digital mapping tools to draw a virtual boundary around a chosen location. This could be as small as a few meters or as large as several miles, though we typically recommend no larger than a 1 mile radius for a geofencing tactic.
Set the Trigger: Decide what happens when someone enters, exits, or lingers within the geofenced area. This could include:
- Showing a mobile ad
- Sending a special offer via SMS
- Pushing a notification through the company’s own app
Geofencing can work through mobile apps or mobile browsers with location services enabled, giving digital marketers a powerful real-time engagement tool.
The Benefits of Geofencing
Geofencing can be a powerful strategy for small businesses, nonprofits, and enterprise organizations, even those with large ad budgets or a national audience. Below are some of the benefits of including geofencing in your digital advertising strategy:
1. Hyper-Local Targeting
Geofencing allows businesses to target customers in extremely specific areas, like:
- Near your store
- In a competitor’s location
- At a popular local event
- Around your food truck’s current position
This means your ad messaging reaches people who are physically close to your business and likely to convert in-person and same-day.
2. Real-Time Engagement
Timing is everything. With geofencing, you can engage customers at the exact moment they’re near your business. For example, a coffee shop can send a 10% off coupon to people walking by during the morning commute.
3. Cost-Effective Advertising
Why pay to advertise to people across the country or even in the county over if your customers are all within 5 miles? Geofencing ensures your ad dollars go toward reaching people who are more likely to visit your physical location.
4. Competitive Advantage
Targeting competitors’ locations is a bold and effective tactic. For instance, a taco truck can geofence around a national chain, offering a discount to customers who are already thinking about getting tacos but haven’t made a purchase yet.
Running a Geofencing Campaign
Geofencing campaigns can be executed across social and display ad campaigns. As some platforms have limitations on how refined the geotargeting parameter can be, and cannot go beyond DMA or zip code, check with your respective marketing platform to see if geofencing is possible with their technology (and if not, drop us a line!).
To begin, you’ll need addresses and/or lat/long coordinates in order to set up your geofencing campaigns. Many platforms will provide a .csv-upload feature in order to make bulk adding your geofencing parameters easier. Finally, you’ll want creative assets that differ from any geotargeting messaging you are running.
Get Started with Geofencing
As digital advertising continues to evolve, one thing remains clear: relevance is king. Geofencing enables hyper-relevant messaging that connects with potential customers right where they are—all in real time.
For local businesses, nonprofits, and organizations on the Central Coast, this is more than just a trend. It’s a powerful opportunity to drive foot traffic, increase conversions, and outshine the competition.
If you’re ready to tap into the power of geofencing and watch your business grow, let’s talk.
