The digital marketing world has a lot of technical terms that you’re probably not familiar with if you’re not involved in it every day. Words and acronyms like SEO, SEM, geofencing, PPC, alt tags, and many others. The list could go on for a very long time. Fortunately for you, GeoReach is here to be your guide as we teach you about these terms, what they mean, and how they affect your marketing strategy. Read our short guide below where we answer the questions, what is geofencing and how is it different from geotargeting.

What is geofencing?

The main difference between geofencing and geotargeting is how specific you want your marketing campaign or a specific ad to be. Geofencing is a broader approach as it involves drawing an imaginary border around a specific area and presenting your ad to everyone in the area. An example of this could be a food truck. The owner of a food truck could be in a certain location for one night only and to maximize ROI with advertising money, they might want to limit their reach to a 10-block radius around the location for two or three days before. This is both cost-effective and targeted. The food truck can attract customers from a nearby area without spending the extra money it might cost to expand across the population.

What is geotargeting?

Geotargeting is a more exact approach than geofencing. Let’s go back to the food truck example and say this specific food truck specializes in vegan tacos. These tacos aren’t for everyone and the owner knows that. Rather than creating an ad that they want to run across the entire 10-block radius, they can target people who interact with vegan Instagram posts, look up vegan recipes on Pinterest, and share material about a vegan diet on Facebook. This is the demographic that wants to be targeted and geotargeting will do that.

What are the pros of each?

Each method is going to have its pros and cons and they’re typically going to be based on the goals you’re trying to reach during your campaign. With geofencing, it’s important to remember that you’re able to advertise to anyone with a mobile device or PC within the area where you’ve drawn your digital fence. This can make for much greater brand awareness and get more eyes on your company. If you feel that you can appeal to a wide range of customers, this will often be your best bet.

In contrast, geotargeting allows for a much more direct method of advertising. You can be more efficient with your advertising and get it in front of those you believe fit your customer's base mold. Whether it’s a specific income bracket you’re looking to draw the attention of or simply people who like to share cat memes, geotargeting will make that possible.

Schedule a call

To learn more about the specifics of what geofencing is and how your business can benefit from it, schedule a call with our team of experts. At GeoReach, we can provide you with location-based digital marketing solutions that will get your business reaching your target audience and growing your online presence. You can either give us a call at 203-816-1574 or send a message using our contact form. We would love to hear from you and present you with solutions to your digital marketing needs.