Geo-location enables advertisers to deliver strong, relevant communication that will helpfully inform future decision-making, as well as strengthening brand-consumer relationships.
While geo-location is no newcomer to the marketing landscape, the opportunities to connect with consumers using real-time communication have reached unparalleled levels. But what exactly does geo-location mean, and more importantly, how can it work for you?
What is geo-location?
Geo-location identifies the particular user location by interpreting GPS signals from individual devices. This information not only details exactly where your customer is located, but also where they have been recently frequenting, what they have been watching, searching for, finding and buying. It enables advertises to compile a complete and accurate user profile that in turn allows the unique opportunity to serve a perfectly customised advertising message. This stream of user information ranges from analysis of real-time behaviours through to agile marketing insights that inform the relationship between digital spend and purchasing conversions.
Why is it important?
With the number of smartphone users expected to exceed 5 billion this year, the ability to geo-target and specifically access this volume of consumers is reason enough to take it seriously. In a mobile-first society, phones are lifestyle enablers, relied upon for a multitude of tasks that range from seeking out content to revealing tips, tricks, discounts and information. Ever present at the centre of the path to purchase, phones are the key holder to a consumer’s heart and their purse strings. Through geo-targeting, advertisers can monitor, identify and activate these audiences as well as track the ongoing conversion relationship between digital spend and in-store purchase. This highly targeted technology allows a personalised understanding of individual behaviours that can successfully inform and effect marketing strategies.
The strategic use of geo-location data enhances your performance through hyper-targeting methods that have previously been impossible. You can apply your ideal frequencies, value your audiences better and reach them across multiple digital environments.
How can I use it?
Data is only as good as the providing source so selecting a partner that can deliver accurate and stable real-time information is of primary importance. Once this is in place, there are several ways to strategically employ geo-targeting to individualise your marketing strategy.
The simplest opportunity is to use location-based marketing to personally tailor your communications. Proven to improve customer engagement and interaction, these relevant ads are displayed using accurate GPS information. Take this a step further and isolate a particular area, also known as geo-fencing. Geo-fencing allows the advertiser to serve specific messages within an individualised radius; to serve location-specific messages in immediate time – such as offers, discounts and time-sensitive information. Geo-fencing can equally work just as well in reverse by suppressing messages within a particular area where it may not be relevant or timely.
Consider this more specific opportunity even more tightly targeted by layering in previous behavioural activity such as viewed content, searches and past purchases. Geo-location enables advertisers to deliver strong, relevant communication that will helpfully inform future decision-making, as well as strengthening brand-consumer relationships.
What now?
Many consumers are willing to share their location information but will regard it as an equitable value exchange. Special deals, offers and added value are all mechanisms that will develop the consumer relationship in exchange for unlocking value location data. The task for brands is to develop a level of trust with consumers so that sharing location data becomes as familiar as allowing a digital tour in a museum, or interacting with a local Facebook event. The benefits are clear for both parties. Consumers will benefit from a huge range of tailored and immediately relevant messages ranging from discount and offers, to retail information and local events. Advertisers will benefit by gaining deeper insights and understandings around their customers which then informs future marketing activity. More importantly, through geo-location, the digital marketing process is now converging with physical and real-time behaviours to drive actual in-store purchasing – as opposed to online commerce that has traditionally undercut the bricks and mortar high street stores.
