Geofencing is a term that we hear a lot now regarding online advertising, but what does it mean exactly? Geofencing refers to micro-targeted ad campaigns based on geographic locations, meaning your ads will only show for people that are in a specific are, at a specific time. Often the ads are also targeted based on user interests and demographics to help define the target audience even further.

Geofencing is an insanely versatile marketing tool that we are just scratching the surface of. It is a link in a brand-new chain of micro targeting audiences that is picking up steam lately. These micro-targeting online advertising techniques give us the ability to really tailor our ads to our focused target audience, getting the ads where they need to be for maximum effectiveness.

So what is the best way for business to use geofencing?

Conventions & Events

Geofencing is often used to target people attending various events or tradeshows. If a company has a booth at a tradeshow, and they want to drum up more interest with the attendees, they can run a geofenced ad that targets everyone at the event. This will help to increase their brand recognition, and also help with attendee engagement. If you create specialized campaigns that entice people to visit your booth and engage with your company.

Competitor Locations

With geofencing, you can now target individuals as they are visiting your competitors. By “fencing” your competitor’s location, you can run ads that alert people to your current promotions and help to build their interest in your brand over your competitor’s. This is an insanely useful tool for marketers and can be very effective when used properly.

There are so many more uses for geofencing, all depending on the industry that you’re in. A supplements store can target people in a gym, a skateboard shop could target people in a skate park, a music store could target a concert. The list goes on and on.