Geofencing is a marketing strategy that allows you to pinpoint your customers’ location and show them the right message at the right time. Geofencing can be used in various ways, such as capturing leads or bringing people to an event. In this article, we’ll go over types of geofencing campaigns, how to know which apps geofence, and more. There’s even a surprise towards the end with an affiliate link for easy shopping!

What Is Geofencing?

Geo-fencing refers to virtual boundaries that are drawn around a business location or competitor’s business. When an individual enters the perimeter, they will be automatically notified on their phone.

Essentially it’s a virtual perimeter around the business’s geographical location, like a virtual fence. So, you can create locally targeted marketing campaigns for all the people that have crossed into that geofence and set up a maximum radius.

You can track these people and send them ads, market to them. So, this is a potent tool to do that, especially when they’re going into, let’s say, a competitor location.

There are two types of geofence: entrance and exit. When users enter a predetermined area, we can track the conversion to know which marketing campaign is most effective.

What Are the Different Types of Geofencing?Geofencing through Messaging

Geofencing is akin to marketing 2.0 because it uses location data from GPS and cellular connections, radio frequency identification (RFID), or WiFi networks. Once you know the different types of geofencing campaigns and which apps use this proprietary technology, you can tell which businesses geolocate their customers with these technologies.

How Do You Know Which Apps Geofence?

You will find that geofencing functionality is already incorporated into over 600,000 apps with built-in location services. In addition, you can find the various geo-fencing technologies used today in various phone and browser applications. These include LinkedIn, geofencing within your Google Chrome Browser, apps such as Uber or Dominoes (to name just a few).

Different Types of Geofencing Campaigns

Now that you understand what geofences are, it’s time to talk about some of the different ways businesses can use them. There are six types of geo-fence campaigns to consider when looking to promote your business. You can geofence…

…at Events

One way to engage in geofencing is through well-planned events. This method might be a conference near you or an activity that appeals to your interests, such as video gaming. You can geofence an event so that the technology will add people registered for said event to your audience; then, you’ll be able to target them and send messages explicitly related to the event.

One of the things you can do is reach your target audience, say, gamers. For example, if you want to appeal to a group in Las Vegas, you might visit a gaming conference or an esports arena in the city. Geofencing is becoming more common as it is used for social marketing and events planning.

…at Conferences and Trade Shows

There are two ways to create a campaign, through trade shows or conferences. This method includes the 10X Conference and funnel-hacking live events. Geofencing can be set up for all of these opportunities as well.

The events, trade shows, and conferences you cannot geofence will often be from an attendance list. There are many different ways to approach these events, but geo-fencing is the best option for those that do not have a secondary booking system like Trade Show Boss.

…at Business Locations

Geofencing a location

Now one more option is business locations. This option can be tricky, though! When using this type of geofence, keep in mind that some demographics are more likely than others to visit a competitor’s store if you’ve got something good going on there, like a promotion or special.

An effective way to reach consumers is by utilizing geofencing. For instance, you can set up a geofence for the T-Mobile store across the street from your physical location. Then, as potential customers enter this perimeter, they will have notifications sent to their phones about how attractive an option switching carriers would be.

…around Amazon Lockers

Another type of geofencing that I came across during my research is Amazon Lockers. You know when you go to the grocery store or certain places now, even Walmart and Target might have them; they have these lockers where they’ve got this technology built into them, so when you’re passing by, it says: “hey don’t forget to pick up your package here from Amazon.

So, from my research, many companies have started to use geofencing technology for location-based reminders. Amazon lockers are one example of a company that’s adopting this type of technology in their products; when your phone enters the range of an Amazon locker it will remind you to pick up your order.

…around Your Competitors

Your next option is about competitors. You can target a competitor’s location or even their specific area like landscaping, for example. View the entire neighborhood and message all residents—this will definitely give them a run for their money.

You don’t want to bash anyone or talk down over anybody, but if you make a compelling offer and they switch — good job on you. I just wanted to make sure that you understood when it comes to geofencing, there are some bad places and there are some good places.

…around Appliances

The last example is about appliances, and it blew my mind when I learned this. My refrigerator has the geofencing capability, like on your phone or smart device. In this case, if you have the app for a Smart Refrigerator installed on your phone, then the fridge will notify you when there’s an issue with product availability before running out of whatever milk that was set as needed in the app ahead of time.

Geofencing is an increasingly important technology, though it’s just starting to make its way into the average consumer’s everyday life.

Setting a Geofencing Radius

Geofencing is best utilized when you target a specific radius. You can find this radius by getting within a few feet of the place. For example, if you’re coming inside and out of Best Buy, it might be wise to set your geofence around 25-30ft away from the entrance.

Enter the conversion zones or loyalty program and rewards, surveys, or promotions to track when people enter and exit. For an even more personal touch, you can survey exiting customers asking for feedback.

Geofencing in Google Maps

Final Thoughts

I’m sure now you’re coming up with a few occasions where geofencing was active. Think about when that happened, where it was, and what type of geofence it was, and try to remember if it worked.

That just about sums up geo-fencing for today!

As marketing and growth experts, the team at Adrian Agency can help you implement this highly effective technique to drive sales and conversions. Call today to schedule a consultation to see if geofencing is right for your business!