“Location” has become an indispensable part of our everyday life. We tag Instagram photos to show cool locations we’ve been to. On Facebook, we check-in to our favorite coffee place. We share our location with restaurants to get food delivered. Almost 1/3 of our mobile searches are location-related.
It’s no wonder marketers are turning to location-based mobile marketing to target customers and get more sales. So if you want your businesses to thrive, you need to start using location-based mobile marketing techniques. In this article, I will explain everything you need to know to get started.
What is Location-based Mobile Marketing?
Location-based mobile marketing utilizes different techniques to target users based on their location. The most common ones are geo-fencing, geo-conquesting, and proximity marketing. Each of these techniques uses different technologies to target users. Technologies like GPS, IP address, and beacons. When a user is in a specific location, automated messages and ads get triggered.
The goal of location-based mobile marketing is to grab the attention of the users and hopefully turn them into customers. You do that with ads that are location-specific and relevant to the user. Your chosen audience receives notifications on their smartphones or tablets. Location-based ads can also show up if a user conducts a “near me” search.
What’s important to note is that users first need to opt-in to receive notifications. This includes allowing the app to access their current location. Privacy is a big deal when it comes to location-based marketing. People are already scared of companies stealing their data and surveilling them. So first make sure you always get all the permissions.. Otherwise, users will see you as untrustworthy. And that’s not how you want to be perceived.
Why is Location-based Marketing so Attractive to Marketers?
We spend A LOT of time on our phones every single day. That’s just a fact. We can lie to ourselves and pretend that we’re not constantly staring at our phone screens. But let’s be honest. We can’t live without our phones. And what’s interesting is that we increasingly use mobile devices to access the Internet. More than half of all internet users browse websites using their phone or tablet. In fact, the World Advertising Research Center predicts that by 2025, ¾ of internet users will access it using their mobile devices.
Marketers are very aware of that fact. That’s why so many marketing strategies focus on mobile. Location-based mobile marketing takes advantage of the fact that people are constantly using their phones. It means users can be reached anywhere and anytime. Marketers also love it because it allows them to provide the users with relevant and personalized offers and messages, instead of generic ads that won’t grab their attention.
Factual reports that “84% marketers currently use location data in their marketing and ad campaigns, and 94% plan to in the future.”
Many companies have experienced huge success with location-based mobile marketing. And that’s no surprise. It’s data-driven, personalized, and relevant to the user. As a result of that, businesses see an increase in engagement, conversions, and sales.
In a survey done by Statista, 89% of marketers say the top advantage of using location-based marketing is sales. In fact, Google reports that “67% of smartphone users are more likely to purchase from companies whose mobile sites or apps customize information to their location.” So it’s no wonder that Businesswire’s report shows location-based advertising campaigns are twenty times more successful than those that are not location-specific.
Location-based mobile marketing enables marketers to reach people at the right time with the right message. And that’s the perfect recipe for a successful advertising campaign.
What Technologies and Techniques are Employed in Location-based Mobile Marketing?
Let’s get into specific techniques used in location-based mobile advertising. I’m going to break down each one and explain how they work.
Geo-fencing
Geo-fencing refers to setting a virtual fence around a specific location with technologies such as GPS, IP address or RFID. The goal is to show location-specific ads to users who enter that geographic boundary.
For example, a store owner can set a digital boundary around the area of the store. When users get within that radius, the store can send them a notification, an offer or a discount.
However, the issue with geo-fencing is that it doesn’t consider user demographics. So when using geo-fencing, every user that enters that specific location will get an alert. That means the notifications will be generic and irrelevant to many. Nothing kills engagement more than content that’s not relevant or interesting to the user.
Let’s say you own a kid’s clothing store. You use geo-fencing to set a virtual fence around your store and send a discount to everybody who enters that location. Yes, a lot of people who have kids will get that discount. As a result, they might come to your store and purchase something. But a lot of people who don’t have kids and are not interested in kid’s clothing will also get it, just by being in that location. In that case, you have targeted the wrong people and won’t get any results.
If you want to target only the users who meet your criteria,, you will get much better results with geo-targeting.
Geo-targeting
Geo-targeting uses the same location technologies as geo-fencing. But unlike geo-fencing, geo-targeting allows you to target users based on demographics, interest, behavior, and even their purchase history. That results in ad campaigns that are tailored to your target audience. (If you want to learn how to determine your target audience for a successful mobile marketing strategy, click HERE.)
So instead of targeting anyone who enters a specific location, you target audiences that fit your exact criteria.
For example, you can target men over 30 in the Manhattan area with an interest in cars. Or you can target users who have visited your store in the last 90 days and are currently in the area.
Urban Outfitters is a big brand that uses geo-targeting well. In one campaign, they promoted party dresses through push notifications in their app. Who did they target? Women who have recently been to a nightclub or bar. The results? Conversions increased by 75% and revenue by jaw-dropping 146%!
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that according to Statista, location-based mobile ad spend will grow to $32 in 2021.
The key is to provide users with a contextual and personalized experience. People expect that you understand them, anticipate their needs, and offer them relevant solutions to their problems. All location-based mobile marketing trends are heading in that direction.
Geo-conquesting
This is where location-based mobile marketing gets fun. Did you know that you can literally steal your rival’s customers? Yep, it’s a sneaky move, but as they say, all is fair in love and war… and marketing.
The goal is to set a virtual fence around the location of your competitor. Then target their customers with ads that show your products/offers are better.
One of the most famous geo-conquesting campaigns comes from Burger King. Remember that time when they trolled their rivals, McDonald’s? I’ll explain. The “Whopper Detour” campaign used geo-conquesting techniques to target users within 600 feet of McDonald’s locations. When users entered the perimeter, that triggered a notification that gave them a coupon for a 1 penny Whopper. Plus, they received directions to the nearest Burger King. Ingenious, right? Do I even have to mention that the campaign was a huge hit?
Proximity marketing
The main difference between proximity marketing and other location-based techniques is in the targeting radius. While geo-fencing allows you to target huge areas such as an entire city, proximity marketing is perfect for small areas within 200 ft. It’s very precise and allows you to know the exact location of the user, even if they’re indoors. Technologies used for proximity marketing include Bluetooth beacons, NFC, RFID, Wi-Fi, and QR codes.
Proximity marketing works best for events, museums, bookstores, car dealerships, department stores, etc. You can guide users through your store or give out very personalized offers.
A great example is a proximity marketing campaign from Barneys New York, a department store. Users who enable push notifications and location info get personalized offers and recommendations for nearby activities and attractions. It drives sales and keeps users in the area.
To Summarize Location-based Mobile Marketing
Location-based mobile marketing can be a game-changer for your businesses, no matter how big or small it is. When you send users personalized offers based on their location, conversions and revenue go up. People want relevant content that is tailored to their needs and they don’t mind sharing their location to get it. Local Search Association reports that 70% of users have no issue with sharing information about their location if they get something valuable in return.
So utilize different location-based techniques like geo-targeting, geo-fencing, and proximity marketing to get more conversions and increase revenue.
Need more help with location-based mobile marketing techniques? Ask anything you want to know in the comments below.
I think you’ll also find these articles interesting! 👇
- How to determine your target audience for a successful mobile marketing strategy?
- How to Do Mobile App Personalization that Drives Engagement and Retains Users
- Start a Winning Mobile Marketing Strategy
About Udonis
In 2018 & 2019, Udonis Inc. served over 14.1 billion ads & acquired over 50 million users for mobile apps & games. We’re recognized as a leading mobile marketing agency by 5 major marketing review firms. We helped over 20 mobile apps & games reach the top charts. Want to know how we make it look so effortless? Meet us to find out.
Top comments (0)