Location-Based Marketing for Agencies: The Answers You Need

What happens when a client asks you about advertising based on location?

Are you ready to hit the road running, or do you feel like you’re still learning to crawl? Whether you’re on either extreme or somewhere in the middle, the tactics are constantly changing, and you need to keep up to stay in the race.

The rise of privacy concerns in the digital realm are ever-present, so it’s every marketer’s job to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to ad targeting – especially when it comes to the sensitive topic of someone’s location.

It’s tough to be in a race that looks like it has no clear course, so let’s break it down with a Q & A session

Ready? Set. Go!

What is Location-Based Marketing?

Location-based marketing uses location data to target and reach prospects based on qualifying data like proximity, events happening nearby, or physical location using online or offline messaging.

Examples of location-based marketing:

• Connecting products or services to the internet, such as vending machines that can tell what time of day have the busiest flow of sales.
• Connecting sales to an app that users can opt into location and push notification services so that they can receive a reminder or deal when they come in the vicinity of a store location.
• Placing targeted ads based on location while prospects are nearby.

What Is Geotargeting?

Geotargeting (or geotargeted advertising) presents ads and content to audiences based on location information of places they have visited in the past using historical data or by using active data to serve ads based on where people are in the moment. Marketers can then build campaigns to reach more relevant audiences for future campaigns using location to determine an audience’s preferences.

Examples of geotargeting:

• Targeting prospects with mobile ads who are (or have been) in the vicinity of a particular location, like restaurant offers to those within walking distance (also called proximity marketing).
• Offering special coupon codes or discounts to customers within certain locations who have downloaded your app or opted into text messages to incentivize them to purchase.
• Using radius targeting based on anything from latitude and longitude coordinates to zip codes to set up an ad radius around a specific location.

What Is Geofencing? 

Geofencing is based on real-time location that creates a virtual “fence” around a location to serve advertising to audiences who enter the area. This historically has occurred within specific applications or social media platforms to users who have opted in to share their location and/or receive push notifications. 

Examples of geofencing:

• Sending a push notification from a restaurant app to users who are nearby offering a special deal if they order now.
• Setting up a radius where ideal job candidates spend time to advertise job openings, such as open driving positions at truck stops.
• Offering a special deal near a competitor’s location to raise awareness and boost sales (also called geoconquesting).
• Designing location-specific geofilters to promote a location, event, or special offer.

What Are Geotargeting Platforms?

Geotargeting platforms allow users to send targeted advertising based upon specific locations.

Many platforms have tools built into their sites (like Google or Facebook) where marketers can define the specifics such as city, state, zip code, or to define other groups based on location and interest. Other companies offer pre-built lists for purchase, but many of these are based on third-party cookies and may be unreliable when it comes to data privacy.

As third-party cookies begin to deteriorate due to privacy laws, make sure you have a plan of action so that you don’t have to rely on them for future use. To do so, you can turn to a geotargeting platform based upon first-party data or create a plan for individual users to opt-in so that you’re protected when it comes to location privacy.

Remember that data should be aggregated and anonymous to prevent any individual tracking. Plus, you can hide ads from the competition by using geotargeting and IP exclusion.

How Do I Sell Location-Based Marketing Services?

First off, it’s imperative to understand how location-based marketing works and be able to assure marketing clients that you’re using privacy-compliant location data. Once you’re savvy in those areas, agencies or brands of any size can take advantage of the perks of location-based marketing.

While location data is readily available, it can often be tricky to get user permissions.

One way to do so is to provide offers for incentives, like location-based discounts if users opt in to push notifications based on location. Another way is to use a geotargeting platform that takes care of privacy concerns for you and takes the load off your shoulders.

Check out these selling points to offer location-based marketing at your agency.

Features of offering location-based marketing services:

• As a marketing agency, these services can help increase foot traffic based on physical locations of customers.
• You can help customers reach prospects using target industry events to deliver targeted ads based on location.
• Show that you’re getting ahead of the game when it comes to data privacy by providing targeted strategies that don’t require third-party cookies.
• Perform a market test for customers by testing certain areas to discover where they should be directing ad spend.

Benefits of location-based marketing for your customers:

• Increases engagement virtually and in-person based on client goals
• Makes the customer’s business more relevant to their prospects
• Boosts personalization by catering content to specific audiences
• Improves the customer experience by making it simple for customers to engage
• Saves time and budget that could be wasted on broad-scale or generic campaigns

The benefits abound for your customers, and they will help you increase your service offerings because location-based marketing pairs well with other offerings that your agency likely already provides.

If you’re offering any type of advertising, you should be pairing it with copywriting and design services to increase ad performance that will resonate specifically with target audiences. We typically think of digital advertising with location-based marketing now, but it originated with mailers to certain areas to increase engagement, so you can pair your digital services with other channels using ABM campaigns to reach prospects at every angle to boost the performance of your client campaigns.

These tactics will not only help clients, but they will also increase the “stickiness” of your agency services that will encourage clients to continue partnering with your agency.

You know the basics of ABM, so you’re ready to make it happen – and we’re here to help.

Put ABM into practice with our eBook Demystifying Account-Based Marketing: Yes, You Can Make It Happen