After discussing about Contextual Advertising, let’s continue with the idea of personalizing your marketing campaign while we are talking about location – based advertising. We already covered the basics of this type of marketing last year when we provided 5 valuable tips for location – based mobile marketing, but in this competitive world it is mandatory to go above and beyond for the success of your app. This is why we will offer you more insights regarding this solution.
What Is Location Based Advertising?
Let’s start with a little recap. Location based advertising is a marketing method which offers personalized ads according to users’ current location sent by their mobile devices. It is an effective service taking into consideration that location – based advertising is forecasted to reach almost $15 million dollars by next year, as you can see in an article published on eWeek.
Types Of Location – Based Advertising
For creating a smart strategy focused on location – based technique you need to know the main types of this method and to choose the one that fits into your plan.
Place – Based Targeting
As you can imagine, place – based targeting aims to reach users which are in a particular zone during a specific period of time. For example, people around a specific restaurant right before launch.
Geo – Awareness
This type of location – based ads are among the first ones which appeared on the market. Its general definition refers to discover customers which are around a certain location. This can be used for the clients of a retail store every time they get close to the area where it is situated.
Geo – Fencing
Geo – fencing is similar to above category with the difference that you are able to set fixed delimitations of the zone you want to act according to latitude and longitude data. A proper situation where you can apply this technique is to draw a 1 kilometer geofence around the location of a grand event related to your app.
Geo – Conquesting
Think about that like a strategy to follow customers in your competitions’ location and to convince them that your services are better. This is a solution for conquering your competitions’ audience by targeting them when they are in your rivals’ zone of action. This is available for every business which activates in a brick – and – mortar building.
Why Is It So Effective?
After checking the chart above, we should explain a little this phenomenon. Let’s imagine that you are in your favorite mall walking around, asking yourself what you really want to buy because you don’t want to throw away your monthly budget. Not to mention that the lights and crowded place made you forget why you came here in the first place. In that exact moment your phone is ringing and you receive an offer for your favorite products from that store behind you. Most of them were on your list when you left home. Well, you are literally saved by the bell with location – based advertising.
Personalized Than Ever
Related to our exercise above, it offers you the feeling that an old friend saw you passing by that store. He called you by your name for making you to turn around and to remember him. Doesn’t it sound familiar?
Precise Timing
When is the right time to receive a message about a sale? The answer is when you are right in that place, because that is the moment when you are able to buy. Not later and certainly not tomorrow when you already forgot about the offer.
Highly Relevant
Knowing customers’ exact preferences offers advertisers an easy way to draw their attention to their favorite products and to convince them that they won’t find a better solution. This way, customers save their time and money and that happens with advertisers as well. Because, focusing their campaign on what really matters will allow them to improve mobile customer acquisition costs.
Location Based Advertising Models
After you planed why and where you can reach your users, you need to know how to engage them.
Snapchat Sponsored Geo Filters
If you follow our blog posts, you should recognize this model from our article about Snapchat Ads presented two months ago. Snapchatters that arrive in a location predefined by advertisers can take a Snap and use Geofilters to share the image with their friends.
Image Source: https://www.snapchat.com/ads/sponsored-geofilters
Location Based Text Messaging
Along with a strong database with customers’ phone numbers advertisers have more information related to users’ interest. Adding location – based method will bring them rewards for all their efforts.
Image Source: https://iabuk.net/sites/default/files/white-paper-docs/Location%20Based%20Advertising%20-%20Whitepaper.pdf
Location Based Banners
Banner ads have reached a level where can include even rich media for impressing users. With the help of location – based elements they can offer a real success.
Image Source: https://iabuk.net/sites/default/files/white-paper-docs/Location%20Based%20Advertising%20-%20Whitepaper.pdf
Top Tips For Advertisers
We can’t end this article without more advices on how to create effective campaigns using this location – based advertising.
Make It Personalized
It is all about personalization. Look at this message from Starbucks. It has users’ name, his current location and his favorite drink. We forgot to mention about half price offer. Who would refuse that? It offers the feeling that the brand is a real person which knows Phil forever offering him to share the price for his favorite coffee. Amazing where technology brought us! According to Starbucks, the success of this campaign was 100% and it is no wonder why this happened.
Image Source: https://econsultancy.com/blog/67418-what-is-location-based-advertising-why-is-it-the-next-big-thing/
Optimize Your Ad Creative For Locations
Speaking of which, this is where technology meets innovation. Be creative when you are trying to reach your customers.
Image Source: http://www.adweek.com/tag/location-based-mobile-advertising/
Use Maps
If users see the image of a map and the short road until the destination they will be convinced to try your way.
State The Location
Mentioning the location inside the message will maximize the chances to draw users’ interest over what you have to say.
Leverage Special Events
Take advantage of special events which take place in the wanted area to attract customers. If you know your users’ location and their favorite artist you can create your campaign around a concert to increase engagement. The same technique works with sports events.
Image Source: https://www.slideshare.net/havas-media/locationbased-marketing-lbm-global-media-trends
Manage, Track And Optimize Your Campaign
Even if everything sounds great on paper, in reality you can’t do anything without a well-structured data. You must be aware that all the information received from customers need to be filtered in order to use only what really influences the final result. Tracking your efforts will allow you to adapt your strategy accordingly in real time.
Image Source: http://www.placecast.net/location-native-mobile-advertising.html
FINAL THOUGHTS
If we convinced you with all the above then start optimizing your campaign with location – based solutions. It isn’t a better way to give an extra personalized touch to users’ mobile device when it comes to promote your product. And certainly won’t be a better moment than the one when they are in the specific area where they allow themselves to spend money. Offer them the occasion to do that.