August 22, 2019

Geofence Marketing Frequently Asked Questions

Find Answers to Your Questions About Geofencing Marketing

Call us today at (888) 267-4321 or fill out the form below so that we can discuss your specific geofencing needs. In the meantime, below you’ll find answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about geofence marketing.

What is geofencing marketing?

Geofencing marketing, often referred to simply as geofencing, is a location-based marketing strategy that utilizes virtual perimeters, or "geofences," to trigger specific actions or messages when a mobile device enters or exits the designated area. This technology enables businesses to engage with potential customers based on their physical location, delivering targeted offers, notifications, and information. For more detailed information, you can read our guide to geofencing.

How does geofencing work?

Geofencing relies on the GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular data, or RFID technology in mobile devices to determine when a device enters or exits a predefined geographic area. Once a device crosses the virtual boundary of a geofence, it can trigger automated actions, such as sending push notifications, displaying ads, or collecting location data for analysis. Geofencing allows businesses to create personalized and location-specific interactions with their audience.

What is the geofencing definition in a nutshell?

In essence, geofencing refers to the practice of setting up virtual boundaries or geofences around physical locations. These geofences trigger automatic actions or messages on mobile devices when they enter or exit the designated area. Geofencing marketing leverages this technology to deliver targeted content, offers, and notifications to users based on their real-time location.

How precise can the virtual boundary be, and what’s the smallest boundary that can be built?

Many companies mention they have geofencing capabilities, however they may not necessarily provide geofencing as precise as others. For example, we are able to build our geofences as small as the contours of buildings (25 square feet in
many cases), while others tap into the wifi networks of particular buildings and locations and reach mobile devices that ping off of such networks.

There are several that can only build their geofences around a block, but not a building. The more precise your geofence, the more targeted your advertising will be. That is the crux behind geofencing...targeting prospects based physical presence in a location can indicate their intent.

Up to how many buildings or locations can you geofence in a given geofencing marketing campaign?

Some geofence service providers charge based on the number of buildings and locations you want to target. For example, some will require you to spend $1,500 on just 1 building, which doesn't make sense and won’t maximize your marketing
dollars. What happens if you cannot exhaust your budget on just that one location? More importantly, you are limiting your potential to reach better prospects that are more likely to convert to your new client when you limit yourself to just one location.

Can I display digital ads on the mobile devices of my leads or current customers?

Yes, businesses can leverage our addressable geofencing solution to showcase personalized ads on the mobile devices of both leads and current customers. This innovative approach adds multiple touchpoints to your existing marketing campaigns, effectively engaging your audience at their precise locations. By employing addressable geofencing, you can amplify your ROI through enhanced customer interactions and targeted messaging.

Where will my ads be delivered, and how will prospects see my ads?

Our geofence marketing platform will deliver your ads primarily to mobile devices via mobile apps and internet browsers. In addition, we have the capability to display your ads across multiple devices such as tablets, laptops, and desktops…we
can also display your commercial through connected tv (CTV) and over the top (OTT) devices.

It's important to remember that most ads will be delivered via mobile apps with the main reason being mobile app users typically spend the majority of their time on mobile apps as opposed to their internet browsers on their smart phones.

How long does each prospect stay within my target audience segment pool?

Within our geofencing suite, we have one platform that can keep the prospect inside the segment pool for up to 30 days, and another platform that can keep each prospect for up to 6 months. You also have the flexibility in allowing a prospect
to drop out of your audience pool after just a couple days or weeks. For example, personal injury attorneys can geofence ER centers to target people who may have been in an accident. But keeping them in your audience pool for 1 month is not practical strategy considering most have made a decision on needing a personal injury attorney within 2 weeks of an accident.

Can I capture prospects during set periods of time?

Yes, our geofencing platforms allow you to capture prospects inside of your target locations within specific days and/or times. This is extremely valuable if you’re a b2b advertiser and want to reach the employees of a specific location as opposed to their customers visiting that location. This allows you to maximize your marketing dollars and limit wasted spend on prospects you don’t intend to reach.

How exactly do your geofence services work? What are the technical aspects of the geofencing process?

A virtual geofence is traced around the specific location, such as retail establishments, restaurants, live events, buildings, etc. As people enter these geo-fenced locations during the set timeframe, they will then become part of an audience pool
that you can then display your banner and video advertisements to. These prospects will see your ads on various apps such as Angry Birds, Weather Channel, Emoji Keyword, Words With Friends, or while browsing the internet on their mobile devices.

Do companies need to sign a long-term contract to launch a geofencing campaign?

Like with any marketing method, it’s best to commit at least 3 months to any new marketing method to properly gauge its long-term potential. With that said, we do not require you to sign a long-term contract, and a test campaign can run as short as 1-2 weeks.

What industries do the best with geofencing marketing?

There are many industries that perform well with geofencing, but these are the top ones we've noticed excel and benefit
from geofencing: automotive, medicare supplements, life insurance, home improvement, solar, retailers, restaurants, legal, insurance, event marketing, mortgage, education, real estate, health care, non-profit organizations.

How can I gauge the success rate and effectiveness of my geofencing efforts?

Unlike most traditional marketing methods such as print, commercial, and radio, our geofence platforms allow you to track and measure online conversions such as page visits, phone calls, form submissions, searches within your website, button clicks, and video plays. If you have an office or brick and mortar location, we can also measure the amount of foot traffic
generated specifically from your geofencing efforts.

Is geofence marketing only available in the US, or can I launch an international geofencing campaign?

Yes, our team can reach prospects and geofence in overseas markets including Canada, UK, Mexico and other markets. It’s important to remember that the delivery of the ads are contingent on the mobile apps being utilized in those markets.

What information is included in the reporting?

Our reports include standard information such as number of impressions, number of clicks, and click through percentages. We can also provide much more granular information to enhance the ongoing performance of your campaign, such as which apps are generating the most engagement, or which geofenced location is converting the most foot traffic to your location.

Can I make changes during the campaign?

Some geofencing providers do not allow for changes to campaigns in real time. However, at Gemstone Data we work side by side with our clients and will make the necessary changes mid-campaign in the interest of the success of your campaign. For example, you may see that a specific creative is outperforming the others and may want to replace the lower performing ads. Or you might want to add more locations to your geofence targets, and we offer the flexibility and nimbleness to ensure your campaign is set up to succeed!

What are the size requirements for the digital ads?

In regard to the banner sizes, we typically recommend the following ad sizes in pixels that typically gets the bulk of traffic when placed in inventory on websites and mobile apps (must be under 150 kb's each):

  • 300 x 250
  • 320 x 50
  • 160 x 600
  • 728 x 90