Geofencing Vs Geotargeting: Which Location-Based Strategy Is Right For You?
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Hey everyone, Jerry with Vinci Digital. This week we'll be talking about Geofencing versus Geotargeting and which location-based strategy is right for you and your business. With so many businesses taking their marketing and advertising efforts online while also struggling to get foot traffic through the door, understanding the targeting options available to you and when to utilize them is critical to getting a return on investment. So, if you haven't heard of geofencing or geotargeting, don't know what the difference is, or how to get started, your brand might be fucked. But hopefully not for long.
So first lets talk about what is geofencing and geotargeting. The terms are sometimes interchangeable but they are very different strategies.
Geofencing involves drawing a virtual barrier or FENCE around a specific area you want to target on the map. Typically geofencing is used to target locations like a university, stadium, shopping mall, auto dealership, or a neighborhood. When a user with a smart phone enters the fence, their IP address is captured and advertisers will use this to serve ads to visitors while they are inside the fence but ALSO after they leave the fence.
So for example, a car dealership may draw a fence around all the other local dealerships in town. When a visitor enters one of these fences, the dealership can serve theirs ads to the user, even while they are looking at cars on their competitors car lot. And, since they have captured the visitors IP, they can continue to serve ads even after the visitor has left and that even includes across other devices connected to that user as well such as cell phones, laptops, desktops, and even smart TVs.
Geotargeting is less specific in terms of geographic area, but allows you to take a more granular approach to HOW you target. Not only are you targeting a specific geographic area, but can also target specific demographics, user behaviors and interests. This allows for a more precise level of targeting that ensures only people most likely interested in a product or service who are also in a specific geographic area will be served the ad.
A great example of geotargeting would be fashion retailers who personalize their ad campaigns and onsite experience based on a visitors local weather conditions. So if the user lives near a ski resort and its the winter time, the ads might promote ski and ice sports attire or swim wear for visitors in tropical areas with warm weather.
It might be hard to know which strategy is right for you. Every business and every campaign are unique and the right solution will depend on the goals you want to achieve with your advertising efforts. Here are three different scenarios and how we would apply either Geofencing or Geotargeting.
So the first scenario would be if you're looking to Improve Business Awareness. In this case, you want to let as many people in your area as possible know you, your product, or service exist. You're not as concerned with targeting specific demographics or interests. Geofencing is the best method to accomplish this because anyone who enters your fence could be targeted with your ad.
The second scenario would be Brick and Mortar Marketing. If you have a physical location, again geofencing may be your best bet because you can create specific fences to target on the map that might attract visitors to your business. For example, an assisted living facility or nursing home could draw a fence around every local physical therapy center, independent living facility, and behavioral health unit in local hospitals to serve ads to individuals who might be helping an aging adult transition into assisted living or might be thinking about moving their loved one to a facility that provides greater levels of care.
And the last scenario would be Getting the Right customers. If you're concerned less with general awareness or brand building and want to serve your ads directly to those who are more likely to take interest in what you offer than Geotargeting is the best solution. You'll be able to set all the specific parameters you want to attract such as age, gender, location, interests, and certain behaviors.
So Look.... there are SO MANY reasons to consider Geofencing or Geotargeting for your next ad campaign. And, regardless if you choose geofencing or geotargeting its critical that you implement your strategy carefully to ensure the best targeting and return on your investment.
If you are interested in learning more about geofencing and geotargeting, make sure to check out our blog post. If you have additional questions and need help weighing your options, reach out to me and we can talk about what makes the most sense for your business.
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