If you build a mobile app, you need strong marketing strategies in place to have a competitive edge. Today, the app store is flooded with apps in every industry. There is a lot of competition and users need a personalized experience to stick to an app. Geofencing can be a powerful tool that can enable marketers to take advantage of location-based marketing.
Geofencing enables you to target prospects at the right place and at the right time. By targeting people in a specific way you make your marketing campaigns more relevant to them. This way they are more likely to engage. In this article, we will look at what mobile app geofencing is and how to get started with it.
What is Geofencing?
Geofencing is a technology that enables mobile apps to leverage location-based marketing. This strategy can help marketers to target app users in a specific geographic location at the right time. This makes your messaging more relevant and engaging to your audiences.
Geofencing uses the user’s location or user’s proximity to a location that is of interest. For example, if a user is close to a store they may receive push notifications with any ongoing promotions in the store to encourage them to visit. This can be applied not only to a small location like a store but also to larger areas like a city.
How Does Geofencing Work?
A geofence is a virtual boundary that prompts applications or software to trigger responses when mobile devices enter or leave that area. Geofencing apps can use GPS, RFID, Wi-Fi, or cellular networks.
The geofence for a location can be a radius around a fixed point created by applications that use Google Earth to define boundaries. A geofence can be defined for an area between 50 to 50,000 meters in radius. You can target customers through zip code, city, or if they enter any building. Geofencing does not need hardware, it comes in the form of software that can be integrated with a mobile app.
Note that using geofencing requires user permission to track location and send notifications as a privacy norm.
How Can Marketers Use Geofencing?
There are several ways marketers can use geofencing. Geofencing is commonly used to engage with app users once they enter the defined location or to track their offline interactions through location data.
Here are some ways marketers leverage geofencing:
- Increase foot traffic to any store or restaurant by sending notifications about ongoing promotions.
- Give product suggestions based on their previous purchases or in-app interactions.
- Users can be prompted to share their feedback after they visit a particular location like a restaurant.
- Geofences can be used around airports, business centers, or tourist attractions so that when they exit they can be notified about places to eat, stay, and explore.
- Geofencing can be used to collect valuable data to track a user’s offline behavior. This data can be used to improve your services. It can also help you create more relevant and personalized campaigns to engage your target users.
Tips for Implementing Geofencing
Don’t depend on GPS
Ensure that your geofencing is not dependent on GPS as it will drain the user’s battery quickly.
Size geofences appropriately
The size of your geofence depends on what you are trying to achieve. Simply using a wide radius may not work for your app. You need to think about how relevant your notifications will be for your customers. Hence, use the appropriate geographic size that is relevant to your target users which helps you get high click-through rates and engagement.
Send clear messages
Your messages should be clear in their purpose and your users should know that your service is nearby. This makes your messages relevant to your users and encourages them to open your notifications.
Use notifications strategically
Ensure that you do not spam your users with too many notifications. Use them strategically so that it is relevant and useful for your users. Remember that users give you permission to receive notifications. Hence you need to be careful that you use them wisely, otherwise the user may disable them.
Collect data
Geofencing gives you an opportunity to collect data on a user’s offline behavior. Don’t overlook these insights as they can be valuable for your marketing campaigns. Based on these insights you can create personalized campaigns for your target customers.
Use the right CTA
Call to action or CTA can encourage users to take the desired action. Messaging is not enough; you need to include relevant CTA that the user finds appealing or interesting. This creates a sense of urgency to take action, especially in scenarios like discounts or promotional events.
How to Get Started With Geofencing?
If you want to implement geofencing technology, then here is how you can get started:
- Start by assessing your existing app marketing strategy and ensure that geofencing is relevant to it.
- Choose an appropriate geofencing software that can help you implement it. Ensure that it is highly accurate and does not lower the battery.
- The software you select must also include all the important features based on your app or business needs.
- Test the software to see that everything works seamlessly.
- Implement the software in your app.
- Create geofencing notification campaigns that are personalized for your target audiences.
Geofencing technology can give you an edge over your competitors. The mobile app market is highly competitive. To ensure that your users are loyal to your app, geofencing can be a great tool to create personalized campaigns that are useful to them. An average user can spend around 4 to 5 hours on their mobile device. If you send them highly targeted and relevant messages, they are more likely to open them.
Users like to have a personalized experience when they engage with a brand’s products or services. Geofencing can help you target users based on location and time and this ensures that your messages are more relevant to them. You can use the demographics of the local population to personalize your campaigns. This improves customer experience. Moreover, you can also collect valuable insights on your users to make improvements to your products and marketing campaigns.
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